France Election 2012: François Hollande Promises to Curb Foreign Workers

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: François Hollande, the Socialist front-runner in France's presidential elections on Friday promised to curb the number of foreigners allowed to work in the country in a time of economic crisis, in a measured overture to the far-Right electorate.

Under pressure to respond to the 18 per cent of voters who backed National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in Sunday's first round, Mr Hollande also stipulated that he would uphold and enforce a ban on the full Islamic veil, despite the fact he abstained in a Right-wing-led parliamentary vote in 2010.

"In a period of crisis in which we find ourselves, limiting economic immigration is necessary and essential," said the centre-Left candidate who two polls released yesterday suggest will beat his conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy in the May 6 run-off by between eight and nine percentage points.

The figures suggest Mr Sarkozy's lurch to the hard Right on immigration and security has so far done little to boost his uphill re-election bid with eight days to go. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Friday, April 27, 2012

Dutch to Ban Muslim Face Veils Next Year
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Minority government set to prohibit niqabs and burqas and other forms of clothing that cover the face.

The Dutch minority government plans to ban Muslim face veils such as burqas and other forms of clothing that cover the face from next year.

The ban would make the Netherlands, where 1 million out of 17 million people are Muslim, the second EU country to ban the burqa after France, and would apply to face-covering veils if they were worn in public.

"People should be able to look at each other's faces and recognise each other when they meet," the interior affairs ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The ban will also apply to balaclavas and motorcycle helmets when worn in in[f]appropriate places, such as inside a store, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen told reporters, denying that this was a ban on religious clothing. » | Friday, January 27, 2012

Two Views on France’s Burqa Ban

CNN: France's Islamic veil ban spurs passionate reaction worldwide » | Michael Saba, CNN | Monday, April 25, 2011

’Wear Scarf Or We Will Kill You’, Muslims Told Woman
DAILY EXPRESS: ISLAMIC extremists bent on imposing Sharia law have threatened women and told them to cover up their heads, it has been claimed.

One woman was told she faced death if she failed to don the hijab, or headscarf, in east London’s Tower Hamlets.

Signs warning the area is a “gay-free zone” have also been seen while posters at bus shelters featuring models and a Bollywood film have been defaced with black paint. Incidents involving posters have also happened in Birmingham. » | Anil Dawar | Monday, April 18, 2011

THE SUN: Wear hijab or die: ISLAMIC extremists bent on establishing Sharia law in Britain have threatened to kill women who do not cover their heads. » | Anthony France | Monday, April 18, 2011

The Burka Is an Alien, Cultural Monstrosity
MAIL ONLINE: The decision by the French government to outlaw all forms of public face-masking, including the burka and niqab, is welcomed by all thinking Muslims around the world.

The Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford which has pioneered an enlightened and egalitarian Islam salutes France for its bold legislative steps to eradicate this hideous tribal dress code that is deliberately given a completely false veneer of Islam.

However, since Britain tackles social problems in its own particular way and has different ways of doing things, the scourge of this foreign face-masking fad that is unfortunately growing in popularity in the Muslim community has to be confronted imaginatively and not exclusively through legal channels.

What is critical is that every effort should be made to disparage and discourage this tribal trend and cultural custom from infesting British society. The burka is an alien, cultural monstrosity.... and it CAN be banned in Britain » Dr. Taj Hargey | Tuesday, April 12, 2011

French Burka Ban: Police Arrest Two Veiled Women
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: French police arrested two veiled women this morning just hours after the country's new ban on wearing the burka in public came into force.

The women were arrested along with several other people protesting in front of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris against the new law.

Jourrnalists at the scene said the arrests came after police moved in to break up the protest which had not been authorised.

On Saturday police arrested 59 people, including 19 veiled women, who turned up for a banned protest in Paris against the draconian new law, the first of its kind to be enforced in Europe.

Earlier, French police said they will be enforcing the country’s new burka ban "extremely cautiously" because of fears of provoking violence.

They fear Muslims extremists will use the law to provoke fights with officers, while rich visitors from countries like Saudi Arabia will also cause trouble.

All garments which cover the face were officially banned from first thing this morning, with offenders facing fines of 150 euros (£133).

But police admitted that they feared being accused of discrimination against Muslims, whether approaching women in tinderbox housing projects or on the Champs Elysee [sic].

"The law will be very difficult to apply on certain estates," said Patrice Ribeiro, of the Synergie police union.

Referring to two Paris suburbs where riots regularly break out because of alleged discrimination against Muslims, Mr Ribeiro said: "I can’t see police going to book dozens of veiled women doing their shopping in Venissieux or in Trappes.

"It will be the same when a police officer is about to arrest a veiled Saudi who is about to go into Louis Vuitton on the Champs Elysees. In all cases, the forces of order will have to be measured and cautious in their behaviour." » | Peter Allen, in Paris | Monday, April 11, 2011

Defying France's Full Veil Ban
After more than a year of controversy, the ban on full face veil in France has just come into effect.



But some women are already vowing to defy the restriction, Al Jazeera's Tim Friend reports from Paris.



As the extreme right wing gains increasing popularity in France, President Sarkozy has been accused of trying to win back votes ahead of next year's presidential election by deliberately stigmatising Muslims.



The government vehemently denies this, and argues that the full veil is a symbol of male oppression.


LE FIGARO: Voile, signes religieux : ce qui est interdit en France : FOCUS [–] La loi sur le voile intégral qui entre en vigueur ce lundi vient s'ajouter à celle déjà existante sur les signes religieux dans les écoles. Récapitulatif des pratiques non-autorisées. » | Par Pauline Fréour | Lundi 11 Avril 2011

Frost Over the World - Debating the Face Veil
Just days before a ban on the full face veil starts in France, Sir David Frost is joined by British politicians Salma Yaqoob and imam Taj Hargey to discuss whether France has made the right decision. Plus, Guma El Gamaty discusses the situation in Libya and Knox Chitiyo talks about events in Cote d'Ivoire

Syria Relaxes Veil Ban for Teachers
THE GUARDIAN: Bashar al-Assad also orders closure of Syria's only casino in bid to appease Muslims ahead of proposed anti-regime protests

Syria has closed the country's only casino and reversed a ban on teachers wearing the Islamic veil – moves seen as an attempt to reach out to conservative Muslims ahead of calls for pro-democracy demonstrations.

Syrian activists have urged protesters to take to the streets on Wednesday and the following two days to honour more than 80 people who were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that erupted nearly three weeks ago.

President Bashar al-Assad's decisions on Wednesday were unusual concessions to religious concern in Syria, which promotes a strictly secular identity.

The recent protests, however, have brought sectarian tensions into the open with thousands of people taking to the streets calling for democracy in a country where Alawites – followers of a branch of Shia Islam who represent just 11% of the population – have been in power for nearly 40 years. The country is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim. » | Associated Press in Cairo | Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Two New French Crimes
THE NEW YORK TIMES: On April 11th the French Republic will give birth to two new crimes: hiding one’s face in public and encouraging another to hide her face. On March 2nd the prime minister sent a circular to the head of each of France’s regional departments to explain the rationale of the new law. “The French Republic,” he proclaimed, “does not live with a hidden face.”

While the French president has made it clear that Muslim women who hide their faces are not welcome in France, the new law is not limited to Muslims. For the French government now believes that “to hide the face breaches minimal needs of social life.”

So on April 11th hiding one’s face in public will become a misdemeanor, with a €150 fine and/or civic training to teach the criminal the need to show her face. The prosecutor must prove that (a) the face was hidden and (b) the person was in a public space. He need not show intent to violate the law. If one encourages another to hide her face, one risks a year in prison and a €30,000 fine, two years and a €60,000 fine if the person encouraged is under 18. » | Ronald Sokol* | I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor | Friday, April 01, 2011

*Ronald Sokol is a lawyer in Aix-en-Provence, France. He taught at the University of Virginia Law School and is the author of “Justice after Darwin.”

Canada Veil Ban Controversy
A row is brewing in Canada, after a politician introduced proposals aimed at mandating the removal of veils in polling stations. The private member's bill was tabled by a politician from the ruling Conservative Party. He says the law would increase transparency during elections. But critics say it fuels Islamaphobia. Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab reports

British Schools Where Girls Must Wear the Islamic Veil
THE TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of girls are bring forced by British schools to wear the Islamic veil in a move which has been heavily criticised by mainstream Muslims.

Islamic schools have introduced uniform policies which force girls to wear the burka or a full headscarf and veil known as the niqab.

Moderate followers of Islam said yesterday that enforcement of the veil was a "dangerous precedent" and that children attending such schools were being "brainwashed".

The Sunday Telegraph has established that three UK institutions have introduced a compulsory veil policy when girls are walking to or from school. They are:

• Madani Girls' School in east London;
• Jamea Al Kauthar in Lancaster;
• Jameah Girls' Academy in Leicester.
•
All three are independent, fee-paying, single-sex schools for girls aged 11 to 18. Critics warned that the spectacle of burka-clad pupils entering and leaving the schools at the start and end of the day could damage relations between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

Ed Husain, co-director of Quilliam, the counter-extremist think-tank, said: "It is absurd that schools are enforcing this outdated ritual – one that which sends out a damaging message that Muslims do not want to fully partake in British society.

"Although it is not the government's job to dictate how its citizens dress, it should nonetheless ensure that such schools are not bankrolled or subsidised by the British taxpayer."

He added: "The enforcing of the niqab on young girls is not a mainstream Islamic practice – either in Britain or in most Muslim-majority countries.

"It is a desert practice which belongs to another century and another world."

Dr Taj Hargey, an imam and chairman of the Muslim Educational Trust of Oxford, said: "This is very disturbing and sets a dangerous precedent. >>> David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, October 02, 2010

It is becoming increasingly clear that most of the problems that the West is facing are being caused by Islam and Muslims. Until the West rids itself of the cancer of Islam, there is little hope of improvement; inevitably, the West will sink deeper into the mire as time marches on. Alas, the politicians haven't the spunk to do anything about our slide into backwardness and darkness. – © Mark

This comment also appeared here

Muslim Women Who Wear the Hijab and Niqab
CNN: Nadia and Aliya, two Muslim American women who cover themselves in adherence to their faith's promotion of modesty, explain their choice.

Australian Court Orders Muslim Witness to Testify Without Burka
THE TELEGRAPH: An Australian court has ruled that a Muslim woman must remove her burka while she gives evidence so that the jury can assess her facial expressions.

Judge Shauna Deane of the Perth District Court said that it was "inappropriate" for the woman, only identified as Tasneem, to have her face covered while testifying in the A$752,000 (£433,000) fraud trial.

Lawyers for Tasneem, 36, had asked the judge to allow her to give evidence while wearing the burka because she had not removed the veil in public as an adult and would find the experience highly stressful.

The full Islamic veil covers the whole body except the eyes and hands.

Mark Ritter, prosecuting, told the court that Tasneem, who emigrated to Australia seven years ago, had worn the garment since she was 17.

He said she wanted to give evidence but would feel uncomfortable without the burka and that could prejudice the way she presented her evidence.

"It goes beyond stress, it would have a negative impact," he said.

However, the defence raised concerns about how the jury could assess her credibility if they could not see her face. They argued that wearing the garment was a cultural, not a religious, choice and that even in Islamic courts women were required to remove the veil. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Thursday, August 19, 2010

Burqa Decision Ripples Across World
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: IT WAS just one decision made by one judge in one case in Perth and Judge Shauna Deane was at pains to make that clear.

But the impact of her decision yesterday to order a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in Western Australia's District Court is unlikely to remain so localised.

A prosecution witness known only as Tasneem, 36, has kept her surname a secret but will have to show her face in the fraud trial of a former Muslim school director called Anwar Sayed.

Mr Sayed's defence team - to their client's apparent dismay - had argued the jury should be able to see her facial expressions.
Tasneem had a ''right to religious expression'', Judge Deane found, but she had to be fair to everyone involved in the trial.

The decision was reported around the world and will be popular in Western Australia, with about 80 per cent of 3000 recent respondents to the watoday.com.au and 6PR radio websites believing the witness should be made to remove her burqa. >>> Joel Gibson | Friday, August 20, 2010

Judge Bans Burqa From Perth Court
WA TODAY: The Muslim woman who wished to testify while wearing a full-face veil says she accepts the decision by a Perth District Court judge to ban the niqab.

The 36-year old woman, known only as Tasneem, is a witness in a case against Anwar Sayed.

Mr Sayed is accused of fraudulently stealing up to $750,000 in public funds by artificially inflating student numbers at his school, the Muslim Ladies College in Perth's southern suburbs.

Today, judge Shauna Deane said that in the interest of a fair trial the witness should not be allowed to wear a niqab, commonly known as a burqa.

But she said she would speak to counsel about ways to accommodate Tasneem's desire to maintain her modesty in line with how she practices her faith.

Tasneem issued a written statement following the decision, which said: "I accept her decision and thank her for her careful consideration of this matter.

"I appreciate my request to wear my niqab in court has stirred much public debate, however, I would emphasise that this was not a demand, I merely asked to dress as I normally would in front of people I do not know."

She said she was not trying to make a religious statement.

"This is my personal choice and rather than oppressing me, it liberates me," Tasneem said.

"Like many Australians I believe in God and for me wearing the niqab serves as a constant reminder that I am accountable for my actions.

"I respect that other women who share my religion do not share this particular belief and that interpretations surrounding Islamic dress standards do differ.

"Therefore I understand this can be confusing for non-Muslims as they witness varying degrees of cover and I accept the full cover I choose to wear can be confronting to some." (+ video) >>> Aja Styles | Thursday, August 19, 2010

Photograph: Google Images
Saudi Cleric: OK for Women to Show Face in France
SALON.COM: Influential Sheikh Ayedh al-Garni slams the proposed burqa ban, but gives Muslims permission to obey it

This weekend brought news for Muslim women in France: They are allowed to go out in public without a full veil. You might wonder how exactly this is news, seeing as the country's recent push for a burqa ban is all about forcing women to go unveiled in public -- but the pronouncement didn't come from the French government but rather an influential Saudi cleric.

Sheikh Ayedh al-Garni spoke out against the proposed ban, calling it "illogical and unreasonable," but conceded: "In case a ban is enforced against a Muslim woman there -- and as a consequence there is a reaction or negative implications or harassment or harm -- it is better for the Muslim woman to reveal her face." It isn't the most generous fatwa, considering that if the French law passes, they won't have much of a choice, regardless. >>> Tracy Clark-Flory | Monday, July 26, 2010

Muslim Women 'Refused Bus Ride' Over Veil
YNET NEWS: Two students claim London bus driver told them, ''I am not going to take you on the bus because you two are a threat'

London bus company Metroline said on Friday it was investigating claims by two Muslim women that they were not allowed to get on a bus in the capital because one of them was wearing a face veil.

The company confirmed an incident involving two 22-year-old students from Slough, Berkshire took place on a No. 7 bus at Russell Square on Tuesday.

The firm said the women had made a complaint to Transport for London (TfL) and that Metroline was following it up, but stressed it was still merely an allegation at this stage.

Interviewed by the BBC, Yasmin, who was wearing a hijab, which leaves the face and hands uncovered, and Atoofa, dressed in a niqab which covers the face but leaves the area around the eyes open, said they were stopped from boarding because of their appearance.

"He (the bus driver) said, 'I am not going to take you on the bus because you two are a threat,'" Yasmin said. >>> Reuters | Friday, July 23, 2010

YNET NEWS: Poll: Most Brits back face veil ban – Two-thirds of British public say they want to follow in France, Belgium's footsteps, outlaw burqas‬ >>> Ynet | Friday, July 16, 2010

The Burka Empowering Women? You Must Be Mad, Minister
MAIL ONLINE: These British apologists for the burka make me see red, whatever side of the political spectrum they come from.

They can be Left-wingers who'll countenance no criticism, however valid, of hardline Muslims. They can be Right-wing libertarians who insist any woman has the right to wear whatever she chooses.

And, as we discovered this week, they can be members of the British Cabinet who ludicrously claim the burka actually empowers women.

Yes, Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, really did claim that the burka delivers its wearer blissful freedom. As a Muslim, you might expect me to agree with her, but I can't. She is wrong. Her fatuous and ill-conceived defence of the burka rendered me apoplectic with fury.

Does she even understand the harm she does by sanctioning this perversion of our faith?

Immigrant Muslims who came to Britain to get away from Stalinist ayatollahs, mullahs and women-hating fanatic regimes in their home countries must be spitting their teeth out after hearing Spelman's astounding endorsement of this dreadful garment.

We Muslims who came here wanted the freedom that Britain's proud history of democracy was renowned for. We wanted better education for our children and to live and pray in peace in a country which, for all its faults, gives us civil rights and equality between the sexes.

Yet Spelman's support for the burka suddenly puts all of our expectations under threat; for the most obvious manifestation of the oppressive Islam we left behind is welcomed here with the blessing of the ruling elite.

I'd like to invite Mrs Spelman to prove she believes what she says by wearing the black sheet and mask - surely she should do that as an act of solidarity with the 'empowered' Muslim sisters she admires so much.

And if she chooses not to, if she feels she would find wearing a burka limiting and suffocating, why on earth is she breezily recommending it as a garment for other women?

Would she honestly be so upbeat about the burka if a daughter of hers hid herself away inside its veil, or if her son brought home a totally veiled bride-to-be? I don't think so. She and the rest of the 'liberal-minded' burka brigade can only afford to be generous because the burka does not - and never will - affect their own lives, nor test their powers of endurance. To check out the shrouded sisters who tell me they feel ' beautifully' liberated under a veil, I tried wearing a burka for a day - and threw it off in a couple of hours, wheezing asthmatically.

I felt wiped out, a nobody - lifeless and voiceless. A Pakistani shopkeeper said I made him nervous because he couldn't see my face. I saw others shrinking away from me - and I could understand their reactions. So, will the defenders of the burka brand me and the shopkeeper racist? I wouldn't put it past them.

In truth, I am a life-long anti-racist and die-hard defender of Muslims - yet one who abhors veils as do countless other Muslims.

It is a view that has provoked fury and warnings from veiled women, who self-righteously tell me that uncovered Muslim females will end up in hell unless they repent. Women like me, they warn, are 'western whores' who should be thrown on the eternal fire, along with our mothers.

Of course, many veiled Muslim women argue that, far from being forced to wear burkas by ruthless husbands, they do so out of choice. And I have to take them at their word. But it is also very apparent that many women are forced behind the veil. Continue reading and comment >>> Yasmin Alibhai-Brown | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Council of Europe Votes Against Ban on Burka*
THE TELEGRAPH: MPs from 47 countries have unanimously voted against a general ban on the wearing of the burka in public.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Europe's human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, passed a resolution warning that if governments imposed such a ban they would be denying women ''who genuinely and freely desire to do so'' their right to cover their faces.

But while the Assembly opposed a general ban, it left the door open for targeted laws against the burka, pointing out that legal restrictions may be justified ''for security purposes, or where the public or professional functions of individuals require their religious neutrality, or that their face can be seen''.

The vote came in Strasbourg amid continuing controversy in France over efforts to introduce a general burka ban.

The Muslim Council of Britain has attacked President Nicolas Sarkozy as ''patronising and offensive'' after he declared: ''The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. We cannot accept to have [sic] in our country [sic] women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity.'' >>> | Wednesday, June 23, 2010

*How stupid and short-sighted can these MPs be? Do they want women to be kept holed up as they are in Afghanistan? Do they want to turn men into sexy lechers who can no longer control their sexual urges when confronted by a beautiful woman with bare face and beautiful hair as is often the case in the Middle East? For that is what happens in societies in which it is de rigueur for women to be kept in purdah: Over time, men lose their ability to control themselves. They become socially inept.

Nicolas Sarkozy is absolutely right when he says that the full veil is not a religious symbol. The full veil stems from the desert where it was used by women in the better-off classes to segregate themselves from the poorer women who had to labour in the fields and in the great outdoors. In other words, it was a symbol of class as much as anything else. It was also a way for Saudi women to keep their skin as pale as possible. Take a trip to the desert Kingdom! You will find that women with an English rose complexion are as prized today as they ever were. Covering the face from the brutal rays of the desert sun was a way of keeping women from the upper classes as protected as possible.

As always with these things, its significance becomes blurred, and the custom takes on a life of its own.

The Koran calls for modesty. Whose version of modesty makes a woman a non-person? Whose version of modesty places women under the control of the males in the family? Whose version of modesty states that women should be kept in purdah?

The MPs who have voted against a ban have voted for restrictions on the human rights of women, and against feminism and liberation. Moreover, this decision sends out the wrong signal: Basically, it tells Muslims that they don’t have to integrate into our societies, for truly no integration can take place where women are enveloped in such ridiculous cloth.

This is the West. They have chosen to come here to live. We have welcomed them. But they have rejected our customs. It is not, I repeat NOT, our custom to keep women in purdah. If that’s what they want, they should go elsewhere. And the people who represent us in these councils and parliaments should have the courage to stand up for OUR WAY OF LIFE. Moreover, it should be remembered that there are many Muslim women who wear the full veil defiantly, as a way of flaunting their 'superiority', for that is how these people truly feel: superior. We should do all we can to stamp this out. – © Mark

Verbunden mit diesem Artikel:

DIE PRESSE: Europarat: Schweiz soll Minarett-Verbot aufheben >>> APA/dpa | Mittwoch, 23. Juni 2010

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Vollverschleierung: Spanischer Senat votiert für Burka-Bann >>> kgp/dpa/AFP | Mittwoch, 23 Juni 2010

More related articles here and here

Iranian Police Issue 'Badly Veiled' Warnings to 62,000 Women
THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian police have issued warnings to 62,000 women who were "badly veiled" in the Shiite holy province of Qom as part of a crackdown on dress and behaviour.

Colonel Mehdi Khorasani, the provincial police chief, said police had also confiscated around 100 cars for carrying improperly dressed women and said that "encouraging such relaxations are among the objectives of the enemy."

The population of Qom is more than one million, with most of them concentrated in the city itself which is Shiite Iran's clerical nerve-centre.

By law, women in the Islamic republic must be covered from head to foot, with their hair completely veiled and social interaction is banned between men and women who are not related. >>> | Monday, June 21, 2010

Nonsense and Dhimmitude from Cristina Odone: It's Not In Our Interest to Ban the Burka
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – CRISTINA ODONE: Religious tolerance – and I mean of Muslims, too – is not only right, it is in our interest. When I read that Barcelona has become the latest European city to ban the burka in civic buildings, I shudder. Is there a faster way to create an “us” against “them” mentality? There are 300,000 (out of a population of 1.5 million) Muslims in Barcelona. Their reaction to such diktats will be twofold: resentment with an attendant sense of victimhood; and further segregation of women. Given that they will no longer be able to ensure their wives’ and daughters’ modesty (as they see it), Muslims may keep them behind locked doors.

An outcome to cheer about? Of course not. And Britons should be congratulating themselves for not having embarked on similar measures here.

Perhaps one of the reasons Britain has been spared the burka ban is that many non-Muslims have experienced intolerance, and decided they don’t like it. Once you hear that a BA employee and an NHS nurse were stopped from wearing a crucifix to work because such expressions of faith are inappropriate in our multicultural society, the appetite to ban a religious symbol wanes. Read on and comment >>> Cristina Odone | Saturday, September 19, 2010