.EVERY FEW years the French receive worked up regarding a product of spiritual clothing that they regard as unsuitable in the classroom. This moment a dispute has broken out at la rentru00e9e, the begin of the brand-new school year, over a federal government decision to outlaw from state universities the abaya, a full-length robe used by some Muslim women for quietness. To folks in nations along with a practice of liberal multiculturalism, the restriction looks like an improper violation of the right to spiritual expression. To protectors of a strict version of French secularism, it is actually a step necessary to defend the republic coming from spiritual disturbance. Why is France so stressed about Muslim dress in its own colleges?