Militants release tape of French hostages

French authorities have made it clear the ban is aimed at head scarves.
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Islamic militants released a brief tape showing two French journalists kidnapped recently in Iraq and said they were holding the men to protest a French law banning head scarves in schools, according to footage aired Saturday by an Arab TV station.
The station, Al-Jazeera, said the group gave the French government 48 hours to overturn the law but mentioned no ultimatum.
Christian Chesnot of Radio France-Internationale, or RFI, and Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro newspaper and RTL radio have not been in touch with their employers since Aug. 19, the French Foreign Ministry said last week.
The station's news reader said the group described the French law banning religious apparel in public schools as "an aggression on the Islamic religion and personal freedoms."
On the tape
The tape, lasting 3-4 seconds, showed the men separately, each standing in front of a black background emblazoned in red with the group's name, the Islamic Army in Iraq, in Arabic. The tape did not give the hostages' names, but their employers in France later identified them.
Chesnot appeared first, saying in poor Arabic that "we are being held by the Islamic Army in Iraq."
The tape then showed Malbrunot. "First of all, I want to tell my family that all is well and we are being treated well," he says in French just before the tape cuts off.
France's Foreign Ministry issued a brief statement calling for the journalists' release. "The services of the French Embassy in Baghdad, like the French authorities, are mobilized more than ever. Once again, we call for the liberation of the two French journalists."
Sheik Abdulsattar Abduljawad, from the Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential Sunni Muslim group believed to have links to insurgents, also called for their release -- and for concessions by the French government.
"We call the Islamic Army in Iraq to free the French hostages and ask the French government to cancel their decision forbidding the wearing of the Hijab [the head scarf]," he told Al-Jazeera early today.
The French law, which takes effect Wednesday, forbids public school students from wearing religious apparel and "conspicuous" signs showing their religious affiliation. That includes Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses.
French authorities have made clear, however, that the ban is aimed at removing Islamic head scarves from classrooms. The law sparked protests at home and abroad, with many Muslims saying they felt unfairly targeted.
Dalil Boubakeur, president of the umbrella group the French Council for the Muslim Faith, said he was "stunned" by the "brutal gravity of this situation."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.