KUWAIT TIMES: COPENHAGEN: With a headscarf elegantly draped over her hair, Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, a Palestinian-born Dane, has sparked a heated debate in Denmark by declaring that she would wear her veil in parliament if elected in 2009. A member of the ex-communist Unity List, Abdol-Hamid has a good chance of becoming what could be the first veiled Muslim in Europe to be voted into parliament. The 25-year-old social worker and former television host from the Danish city of Odense is known for her commitment to politics and equal rights, as well as her headscarf and her refusal to shake hands with men. But the prospect of a woman in parliament wearing the traditional headscarf, or hijab, has further disrupted sensitibilities in Denmark, a country still shaken by last year's Mohammed cartoons row that swelled from a domestic Danish affair into a worldwide crisis pitting Muslim values against Western ideals. Headscarf controversy rocks Denmark’s election Campaign (more)
Mark Alexander
