Two French journalists have been taken hostage in Iraq, in protest against the French ban on Muslim headscarves in French public schools.
A French law that prohibits students in state schools from wearing any conspicuous religious symbols takes effect on September 1, when the school year begins. The ban includes Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses.
The Muslim world has been up in arms since the law was passed, claiming it is a violation of religious rights, and that it targets Muslims unjustly.
The kidnappers said they wanted the French government to overturn the law within 48 hours, but they did not say what the consequences would be if this does not happen.
The Qatar-based Arabic TV channel Al-Jazeera received a videotape of armed men holding the kidnapped journalists. Al-Jazeera aired a few seconds of the tape on Saturday, showing two men standing in front of a black banner that bears the name of the Islamic Army in Iraq, in Arabic.
According to Al-Jazeera, the group described the French law banning religious apparel in public schools as “an aggression on the Islamic religion and personal freedoms.”
The journalists were identified as George Malbrunot who works for Le Figaro and RTL radio and Christian Chesnot, an employee of Radio France International. They have not been in touch with their news organizations since August 18 and last week the French Foreign Ministry declared them missing in Iraq.
A spokesman for French President Jacques Chirac said French officials have not been contacted by the hostage-takers and that the government has not reached the point where they wish to reconsider the headscarf law.
Al-Jazeera also broadcast a tape declaredly released by the same group showing the killing of Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, 56, who was abducted last week. The abductors warned they could not guarantee his safety if Italy would not remove its troops from Iraq, however the Italian government was insistent on not giving in to terrorists’ demands.