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.