Far-Right French politician Marine Le Pen drew the ire of Jewish and Muslim communities over the weekend by calling for a ban on wearing kippot and burkas in France. Le Pen said on Saturday that if she had just come out against the Muslim head scarf then she would be "burned as an Islam hater. Therefore, I ask our Jewish nationals to make a little effort and sacrifice a small item for the sake of equality." According to Le Pen, France's delicate religious balance has disappeared due to massive immigration, which has made France "fall victim to extremist political parties." Le Pen and her right-wing National Front party surprised many earlier in the year when her party won 18 percent of the French vote. French President Francois Hollande denounced Le Pen's call for a ban on religious head coverings, saying, "Everything that tears people apart ... divides them, is inappropriate." And Richard Prasquier, head of France's Jewish council, said, "There are secular fanatics just as there are religious fanatics, and I oppose both of them." Religious tension has been running high in France recently following a French magazine's publication of a satirical cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad last week. Muslim law explicitly prohibits depicting Muhammad. France has since closed many of its embassies in Muslim countries to protect French nationals from possible mobs looking to vent their rage.
