Last week I went to the Flora Friday Film night where we watched the 2006 documentary film The Call Me Muslim. Despite its short run time of less than 30 minutes, it was by far the most thought provoking film of the Flora Friday Film nights so far. The Call Me Muslim interviewed two Muslim women from very different countries. Samah, an 18 year old Syrian girl living in Paris, France, and “K” a 20 something college graduate living in Tehran, Iran. Samah chooses to wear a hijab despite French law prohibiting it in public schools, while K chooses to resist Iran’s law that hijabs are absolutely mandatory.

Going into the movie my initial thoughts were that laws regulating religious garb or religious behavior in any way is unethical, and my view hasn’t changed. However, seeing all the interviews and different perspective in They Call Me Muslim, I have a better understanding of the two sides of the debate and see how someone could take either side of the debate.

As a non-muslim who has lived in the United States my whole life, I probably missed a lot of socio-cultural context that other viewers in Rose may have picked up on. One audience member commented that they thought comparing K and Samah’s dilemmas was misleading because the two laws and societies are so different. This was surprising to me, because I thought there was a clear likeness in the two laws that tried to control a citizen’s religious behavior. I wish I had asked for clarification on his comment, maybe there are nuances that I missed. Regardless of my experience level or exposure to the subject, the question of banning or making hijabs mandatory seems like a fundamental ethical choice. In my opinion, Iran should not require the hijab, and France should not ban it in public schools. Both laws infringe on a person’s religious freedom. Whether or not the incentives to wear a hijab are positive or not is a separate and irrelevant discussion. No matter why someone chooses to wear or not to wear a hijab, they have the right to make the choice themselves.