Former French minister slams hijab row

A renowned French cultural figure has lashed out at the ongoing campaign in French media and within French political circles against the Islamic headgear worn by some French Muslim women.

Jack Mathieu Emile Lang, the former minister of culture in France and the current Director of the Arab World Institute in Paris, said the ongoing campaign against the hijab aims only to cause harm to Arabs and Muslims.

“Some of those who criticize the Islamic headgear are Anti-Semitics too,” Lang told The Reference in an interview.

He called on the members of the French society to stop targeting the hijab. He accused the campaign against this Islamic dress of hitting hard at an important principle of the French society, namely this of equality.

Commenting on remarks by the late French poet and playwright Jean Cocteau after he wrapped up a visit to Egypt that Egyptian women are secret factors for the making of modernity, Lang said these remarks apply even more to the present.

Arab women, he said, are great forces inside social movements in the Arab world today more than ever before.

He cited the example of Saudi Arabia where women made huge strides.

“By all measures, this is an example that deserves praise and encouragement,” Lang said of Saudi women.

He quoted French poet Louis Aragon as saying that women are the future for men.

Lang was by far the most famous minister of culture in France after the late minister Andre Malraux. He held the culture portfolio in his country for 14 consecutive years, a precedent in the history of France.

Over these years, he left indelible marks on the French cultural scene. His achievements include the overhaul of the Louvre Museum and the construction of the Louvre Pyramid. He then became the director of the Arab World Institute in Paris.

Lang has many friends in the Arab Maghreb and the Arab Gulf. He is also friends with a large number of Arab celebrities, including the former Egyptian minister of culture Farouk Hosni.