Vol. 22 · No. 3 · Issue 71 · Fall 2004
Cloth on her Head, Constitution in HandGermany's Headscarf Debates and the Cultural Politics of Difference
Beverly Weber
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Abstract
As the current debates about the headscarf in Germany and France demonstrate, "Islamic" veils and headscarves garner attention for minority women in Europe to an unparalleled degree. For centuries, Islamic veils and headscarves have served as powerful symbols in Orientalist discourse, functioning as markers of the Oriental woman's supposed eroticism as well as convenient tropes for philosophers. Recent kidnappers' demands in Iraq that France lift its headscarf ban demonstrate the complex appropriations of Muslim women for fundamentalist discourses as well.