Paris Burns On

I think the whole business is just an unfortunate misunderstanding, directly tied to literacy rates among ghetto-ized youth.

Obviously they confused Paris with Paris, or possibly her ex-boyfriend Paris ("Because it's too much trouble remembering whose name to scream out").

It's a natural mistake, and I'm certain that once the error is cleared up, they'll set fire to the right one.

But seriously folks . . .

The Paris riots seem to stem primarily from the poverty and disaffectation of young, second-generation immigrant communities. But I feel there is also another reason.

This may be the best argument I've ever seen for Canada's policy of multiculturalism, a suspect doctrine that essentially says "I'm okay, you're okay, and our quaint old folkways are okay as well" and results in piles of hyphen-Canadians. Don't get me wrong--I'm generally in favour, but it carries through to a ridiculous extent, sometimes.

Recently, the province of Ontario had to make a decision about whether to allow Sharia Islamic courts, that is to say about whether to allow a parallel justice system to settle family disputes and similar matters. After all, the proponents argued, similar Hasidic courts had been regulating the affairs of Orthodox Jews for a long time.

There's a difference, though: Sharia is not practiced in any country which wholeheartedly recognizes the rights of women. In places where it is practiced, it seems to be subject to substantial corruption. And giving it legal standing here threatens some of the priciples of equality we hold dear.

So the Ontario court struck down the Hasidic courts--a quaint tradition also made redundant under a system which cherishes separation of church and state. I can only say thanks to the God of atheism.

Still, Canadians of all stripes enjoy a remarkable degree of social and religious freedom, and we as a nation prize that attitude (including me as an individual, though I'm not blindly accepting about it).

In France, separation of church and state is a monomania: Take the banning of "overt displays of religiosity"--a law aimed primarily at devout Muslim women, and the banning of the hijab. Yet if someone wants to wear a headscarf as a fashion choice, surely it's okay? Meantime, "overly large" crucifixes are also banned, as are the "bling-bling" Stars of David you see all these rabbis wearing.

I prefer the Canadian way: express your religion and culture all you like.

Just try not to burn anything in the process.