The first comprehensive analysis of the philosophical issues raised by the hijab controversy in France, this book also conducts a dialogue between contemporary Anglo-American and French political theory and defends a progressive republican solution to so-called multicultural conflicts in contemporary societies. It critically assesses the official republican philosophy of laicite which purported to justify the 2004 ban on religious signs in schools. Laicite is shown to encompass a comprehensive theory of republican citizenship, centered on three ideals: equality (secular neutrality of the...