Mr. Sarkozy’s rationale for the ban is not centered on public security concerns, but on what the burka symbolizes to him. “The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience,” he opined. Is there a real difference between France or Turkey forcing women to remove their veils, and Saudi Arabia or Iran forcing them to keep them on? Well there is one baffling difference: we hypocritically label the former as liberation, and the latter as oppression. That is a double standard that sacrifices the integrity of the principle for the benefit of arbitrary cultural determinism.

Ahmed Rehab debates conservative radio host, John Gibson, on French president’s Sarkozy’s decision to ban the burqa and its implications.

Zidane: the nominal Muslim, the son of Algerian immigrants, the French hero, and above all the intelligent footballer who conquered Europe and the world, for me will always be the small boy who struggled to beat the odds, counting only on his creative genius and will power.