In September of 1994, 12-year-old Emilie Ouimet arrived at her Montreal high school wearing an Islamic head scarf. The principal ordered her to remove the scarf or face expulsion for violating a school prohibition against all headgear. The code was meant to deter students from wearing symbols associated with gangs. Emilie insisted that her action was out of religious conviction, and transferred out.

Within months, Quebec society became engulfed in heated debate about the hijab . Did it symbolize an extremist trend? What did it mean for Quebec identity? Were there limits to religious expression in public space?

The rest of Canada, meanwhile, seemed puzzled by an issue that grabbed headlines in Quebec daily.

One view held that the tempest was due to events in Algeria and France. After the annulment of democratic elections in 1992, Algerians experienced a vicious civil war between the government and Islamists. The conflict spilled onto French soil when terrorists bombed a Paris Metro station. With France's Muslims under the microscope, scrutiny focused on the hijab . French officialdom branded the " foulard Islamique " as a political statement with tenuous connections to terrorism, despite assertions by Muslim women to the contrary.

The news from France was followed closely in Quebec. North African expats were often the most strident in their opposition to the hijab . In addition to fears of extremism, they stressed that there was no place for the " foulard Islamique " in a secular school system. The concept of " laïcité ," with strong roots in the educational systems of former French colonies, resonated in Quebec as well. At the time, the province was about to abolish confessional school boards.

While laïcité does not have deep historical roots in Quebec, it is a long-standing French tradition, dating back to the Third Republic of 1905 when the church was officially extracted from the education system, and from much of public life. According to John Bowen, author of W hy the French Don't Like Headscarves , laïcité defines the character of public space as essentially "neutral." Any threat to neutrality can be interpreted as a threat to the state.

In France, the education system is essential for moulding students into loyal citizens of the Republic. They are expected to uphold the neutral character of the school by keeping their religious beliefs private and inconspicuous - a microcosm of the relationship between the state and the individual. The same applies to the French civil servant. That is why, according to French political philosopher Blandine Kriegel, "there will never be Sikh civil servants in France." In fact, it was in 1988 that French teachers first objected to the hijab on the grounds that it violated laïcité .

The French concept of laïcité is distinct from the Anglo-Saxon view of secularism, due in part to the different philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke. For Rousseau, the individual had to abstract oneself from particular traditions and accept the transfer of certain rights to Republican Law - a move from pluralism to unity. The individual gains freedom through the state, which has the right to regulate the public, organized face of religion. On the other hand, Locke believed freedom of conscience to be the foundation for individual rights, which guarantee freedom from the state. These divergent views have permeated the many societies that have evolved from former French and British rule.

In addition, the legacy of French colonialism has left the ugly mark of racism against immigrants from lands once considered inferior to the Republic.

Does this have any relation to the situation in Quebec?

First, Quebec identity is still a dynamic work in progress. A francophone minority in a sea of anglophones, Quebeckers are understandably sensitive to cultural incursions. Yet, there is little consensus toward a Quebec Republican model. Unlike France, Quebec's schools and government departments are not key instruments of a Republican ideal.

Second, while Quebeckers are adamant at keeping the church out of politics, there is no consensus on what constitutes laïcité . Is it strict separation of church and state, or is it the full control of organized religion by the state (as in France)? Will Locke's principle of freedom of conscience prevail, or will Rousseau's vision of loyalty to the state?

Third, while Quebec does not have the colonialist legacy of France, some would argue that Quebec (and Canada) are cut from the same Euro-centric cloth vis-à-vis non-European immigrants.

In France, Muslim women faced two waves of opposition against their choice of wearing the hijab : charges of extremism and the violation of laïcité , culminating in the 2004 law that banned all conspicuous religious symbols in public schools. Now a third wave is under way as hijab opponents accuse Muslim women of violating the French definition of equality. Wanting a complete public hijab ban, they warn of a return to a time when the church ruled women's lives They unfairly graft their particular Catholic experience onto all Muslims.

Given a similar discourse in Quebec, expect the third wave to hit la belle province , too.

sheema.khan@globeandmail.com

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