Tag: veils

On July 13, members of the lower house of the French parliament are expected to vote on a bill that would make it illegal for Muslim women to wear full veils — those that cover all of the face except the eyes — in public places.

Majorities in Germany (71%), Britain (62%) and Spain (59%) would also support a similar ban in their own countries. In contrast, most Americans would oppose such a measure; 65% say they would disapprove of a ban on Muslim women wearing full veils in public places compared with 28% who say they would approve.

In a significant escalation of Spain’s debate over how to handle radical Islam, the Senate on Wednesday narrowly and unexpectedly approved a motion to ban Muslim women from wearing in public the burqa or other garments that cover the whole body.

The Spanish vote comes amid several national initiatives across Europe to restrict the spread of radical Islam and defend liberal values.

Iran’s hard-line Muslim clerics are determined to reverse the trend of what they regard as “badly veiled women” — those who wear looser, less strict head scarves and tight overcoats. These Muslim extremists believe they are holding up “the law of God, which is above human rights.” Small wonder that many western countries are taking steps to curb similar expressions of Muslim extremism.

Spain’s government plans to ban the use of the Islamic burqa in public places under a proposed new law on religious freedom, the justice minister said Tuesday.

“We believe that there are things like the burqa which are hard to reconcile with human dignity and which especially pose problems of identification in public places,” Francisco Caamano told reporters.

The French parliament unanimously approved a resolution that would declare the full facial veil known as a burqa as an affront to French values, paving the way for a full-fledged ban on the garment worn by a small minority of French Muslim women.

If the bill becomes law, France would be the second country in Europe after Belgium to prohibit the wearing of the full veil in public.

The French government is drawing up a law to ban Muslim women from wearing a full-face veil in public, despite advice that it could be illegal.

The new law will stop the niqab and the burka from being worn in the streets, shops and markets and not just in public buildings.

A Muslim-owned jewellery shop has decided to ban customers wearing veils after being targeted by robbers disguised as Islamic women.

The family said they accepted the policy may offend some Muslims, but expect other businesses to take a similar approach.

Criminals wearing Islamic veils have carried out at least one other robbery in the city.