France's Le Pen cancels meet with Lebanon grand mufti over headscarf

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS | Tue Feb 21, 2017 | 7:35am EST

France's Le Pen cancels meet with Lebanon grand mufti over headscarf

By Simon Carraud | BEIRUT

French far-right National Front presidential candidate Marine Le Pen canceled a meeting on Tuesday with Lebanon's grand mufti, its top cleric for Sunni Muslims, after refusing to wear a headscarf for the encounter.

Le Pen, among the frontrunners for the presidency, is using a two-day visit to Lebanon to bolster her foreign policy credentials nine weeks from the April 23 first round, and may be partly targeting potential Franco-Lebanese votes.

Many Lebanese fled to France, Lebanon's former colonial power, during their country's 1975-1990 civil war and became French citizens.

After meeting Christian President Michel Aoun - her first public handshake with a head of state - and Sunni Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Monday, she had been scheduled to meet the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian

He heads the Dar al-Fatwa, the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims in the multireligious country.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-lepen-idUSKBN1600R6

[jehop61]

1. Abhor her politics

But good for her. Why should a western woman have to wear a headdress? Always cringed when western reporters wear them while reporting in the Mideast .

[nycbos]

2. I hate to say it...

... but good for her. She shouldn't be forced to comply with a dress code.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Yep. Good for her. It's bad enough

western women have to wear such crap in their countries. I am inclined to think we shouldn't permit headscarves here, but I'm willing to respect the women who do wear them.

[ChazII]

4. In agreement

with the other DUers here. She should not have to wear a scarf.