MAIL ONLINE: Italy is set to become the next European country to ban the burka after a government report ruled in favour of the proposed legislation.
MPs from the anti-immigration Northern League party, a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling right wing coalition, have presented the proposal in a bill.
It comes just weeks after France banned the wearing of burkas and other forms of face veils - a decision which prompted al Qaeda terrorists to vow revenge.
An Interior Ministry report now being considered by the Constitutional Affairs Commission says that if introduced the law should make clear burkas and other face coverings were being banned not for 'religious reasons but for security reasons.'
As part of their investigation the Interior Ministry heard from several leading Muslims on the use of the burka and several pointed out there was no mention of its use at all in the Koran.
Ejaz Ahmed, of the Italian Islam Committee said: 'The use of the burka and the niqab does not have its origins in the Koran - in fact it is not even mentioned in the Koran.
'The burka has nothing to do with religion and was being worn even before Islam was founded - it was worn by the Romans, Byzantines and Persians and wearing it is not a religious obligation.
'There is no connection between the burka and the niqab with the Islamic religion - the burqa should be banned to respect women’s dignity and the safety of the public given that in Pakistan many suicide bombers have hidden devices under burkas.'
However others from the Islam Committee ruled that the burka was part of Muslim culture. Italy to become next European country to ban burka after government report recommends forbidding it in public >>> Nick Pisa | Thursday, October 07, 2010
