Sometimes when we read about a political decision being taken in another country, the response seems both easy and obvious. Chechen independence, an Iraqi trial for toppled leader Saddam Hussein, approval of the Kyoto treaty to slow global warming, disapproval of the Israelis' land-gobbling border fence: None of these things seems to give outside commentators much pause.
Earlier this month, a news story from France looked set to join the list of topics that almost everyone agrees on. French President Jacques Chirac called for a ban on Muslim head scarves and other overt religious symbols, such as Jewish skullcaps or large Christian crucifixes, in public schools and also raised the possibility that private employers would be free to ban such items in their workplaces.
Illiberal, repressive and bigoted, right? That was a widespread reaction in most societies that, like France, have a reasonably long history of dealing with ethnic and religious minorities, as well as in more homogeneous societies, such as Japan, that are just beginning to face the issues raised by so-called multiculturalism.