I’m not sure the way to begin drawing the line as to exactly how accepting of Muslim values French society will be is to institute some sort of dress-code for Muslim women, so long as what they choose to wear isn’t patently or purposefully offensive.

If they want to start drawing a line of tolerance, they should probably start by making it clear that the practice of one’s religion is entirely acceptable, but that religiously motivated violence is entirely off-limits and will be vigorously prosecuted and punished. For good measure they should also make it clear that criminality itself will continue to be defined and judged according to French legal standards, not the standards adhered to under Sharia law, in spite of several complaints issued by the various European Muslim communities.

On the other hand, there is something poignantly French about a law requiring women to wear less clothing.

For me, the broader question is about Third World immigration itself.

It’s easy to understand why citizens of Middle Eastern countries, or for that matter Latin American countries, would want to take advantage of the far-greater opportunities for education, wealth, liberty and general stability that Western nations offer. It’s also understandable that most immigrants do not reject their native cultures outright, preferring to retain, to one degree or another, certain of their native cultural values, preferences and tastes.

What’s troubling is that many immigrants seem not to notice or care that some of the very cultural attitudes and habits they hope to retain are in fact a large part of the reason their home countries have become places they themselves needed to escape from.

For instance, the absolute lack of any separation whatsoever between Church and State, throughout the Middle East, is one of the chief reasons why the Middle East is having such a wrenching time trying to join the 21st century. And yet we hear cries for Sharia law from European Muslims, we see Muslims in the West turning to the fatwas of Muslim Ayatollahs for spiritual and political guidance.

Perhaps most disturbingly, from some quarters of the Muslim community in the West, we see support for and encouragement of Palestinian-style, blood feud-driven, Anti-Semitic violence.

Let’s hope that thinking Muslims who’ve come to the West for an education, a taste of freedom, a chance at prosperity, or simply the opportunity to have a beer and talk to a girl without a veil over her face, begin to realize that at least some of their native beliefs and prejudices are part and parcel of the reason they had to come to the West to experience these simple things.