Secularism, Islam and legal pluralism in Europe: a case study on the use of headscarf in the UK and France

The principle of secularism, or laïcité in French, is a developing concept in the UK as opposed to France where it has been a part of the French Constitutional legacy for over half a century. The rise of secularism in these two states has led to a debate on how to resolve possible conflicts between the right to religious freedom and the state’s interest in restraining religious freedom in order to remain true to its secular identities. For Muslims living in secular states, identity becomes a twofold and sometimes a disparate challenge: they follow Islamic law as part of their religious obligation but are also bound by the secular state law as citizens. This in turn creates a situation of legal pluralism whereby Muslim citizens face a dichotomy of obligations that they have to meet at the same time. This chapter provides a critical analysis of the secular framework’s implications on a Muslim’s identity in the UK and France, and the possible role that legal pluralism can play to provide a workable synchronicity. The analysis is built upon the comparisons between these two jurisdictions’ law and practice to elaborate if there is a balance between their secular identities and the religious freedom of individuals. While the analysis discovers that such balance is problematic, we use the law and practice on use of hijab (headscarf) as a case study to examine whether legal pluralism could find a place for Muslim citizens in a system governed by secular law.