FathimaH--I agree, but when large groups show up to court chanting slogans and protesting the arrest (as was the case in this instance) it's easy for the media to portray the incident and mainstream rather than isolated.
To be honest, I don't think the objection is so much to women in the veil--at least for most people that support the ban. What stirs up the average person in these countries is when protesters show up chanting slogans in Arabic at the courthouse in support of a woman like this--a clear narcissistic nut who misuses her religion to play the victim and intimidate others. It plays into all the anti-Muslim stereotypes--aggressive, foreign, fanatical, etc. For the average Frenchman or Australian who doesn't know any Muslims, these are the images they see. Unfortunately, two reasonable people of different faiths having an ordinary chat about the weather just doesn't make headlines.
FathimaH--I agree, but when large groups show up to court chanting slogans and protesting the arrest (as was the case in this instance) it's easy for the media to portray the incident and mainstream rather than isolated.
To be honest, I don't think the objection is so much to women in the veil--at least for most people that support the ban. What stirs up the average person in these countries is when protesters show up chanting slogans in Arabic at the courthouse in support of a woman like this--a clear narcissistic nut who misuses her religion to play the victim and intimidate others. It plays into all the anti-Muslim stereotypes--aggressive, foreign, fanatical, etc. For the average Frenchman or Australian who doesn't know any Muslims, these are the images they see. Unfortunately, two reasonable people of different faiths having an ordinary chat about the weather just doesn't make headlines.