France MPs' Report Backs Muslim Face Veil Ban
BBC: A French parliamentary committee has recommended a partial ban on women wearing Islamic face veils.

The committee's near 200-page report has proposed a ban in hospitals, schools, government offices and on public transport.

It also recommends that anyone showing visible signs of "radical religious practice" should be refused residence cards and citizenship.

The interior ministry says just 1,900 women in France wear the full veils.

In its report, the committee said requiring women to cover their faces was against the French republican principles of secularism and equality.

"The wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our republic. This is unacceptable. We must condemn this excess," the report said.

The commission called on parliament to adopt a formal resolution stating that the face veil was "contrary to the values of the republic" and proclaiming that "all of France is saying 'no' to the full veil".

Presenting the report to the French National Assembly, speaker Bernard Accoyer said the face veil had too many negative connotations.

"It is the symbol of the repression of women, and... of extremist fundamentalism.

"This divisive approach is a denial of the equality between men and women and a rejection of co-existence side-by-side, without which our republic is nothing."

The report is expected to be followed by the drafting of a bill and a parliamentary debate on the issue. >>> | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

BBC: Countries across the continent have wrestled with the issue of the Muslim veil - in various forms such as the body-covering burka and the niqab, which covers the face apart from the eyes. The debate takes in religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. The Islamic veil across Europe >>> | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Interdiction du voile intégral : l'avis des juristes
Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Dans son rapport rendu mardi, la mission parlementaire préconise l'interdiction de la burqa par la loi dans les services publics. Les spécialistes du droit estiment en effet qu'une loi est mieux adaptée que des arrêtés municipaux ou des décisions de justice. Mais la justification de l'interdiction s'annonce délicate.

Le parlement peut adopter une loi restreignant le port de la burqa mais la voie est étroite : tel est l'avis des universitaires entendus par la mission d'information de l'Assemblée sur le port du voile intégral. En tout état de cause, une limitation du port de la burqa ne peut être édictée que par une loi, et non par des arrêtés municipaux ou par des décisions de justice, jugent ces juristes.

Ainsi Anne Levade, professeur de droit public à Paris XII, «le législateur bénéficie d'une plus grande liberté que l'autorité réglementaire pour poser des interdictions générales». «Les réglementations éparses qui peuvent exister ont des fondements juridiques très fragiles, observe Bertrand Mathieu, professeur de droit public. Le législateur est seul compétent pour réglementer l'exercice d'une liberté publique», en l'occurrence le droit de se vêtir librement. Et plus encore si le port du voile intégral est considéré comme la manifestation de convictions religieuses. Si les parlementaires décident d'élaborer une loi, quelle base juridique peuvent-ils invoquer?

Selon le professeur Guy Carcassonne, une réglementation du port de la burqa dans les lieux publics ne peut être motivée par le principe de laïcité. Dans son sens actuel, la laïcité signifie que l'État est tenu d'être neutre à l'égard des religions et de respecter la liberté de conscience. Le gouvernement a certes le droit d'interdire à ses agents et aux élèves des collèges et lycées publics de manifester ostensiblement leur confession. >>> Guillaume Perrault | Mardi 26 Janvier 2010

Ganzkörperschleier: Paris will Burka aus der Öffentlichkeit verbannen
WELT ONLINE: Muslimische Frauen in Ganzkörperschleiern sollen in Frankreich nicht mehr Bus und Bahn fahren dürfen. Eine parteiübergreifende Parlamentskommission empfahl ein vollständiges Verbot der Burka in öffentlichen Einrichtungen. Auch Schulen, Krankenhäuser und Behörden dürften verschleierte Frauen nicht mehr betreten.

Frauen im Burka in der südfranzösischen Metropole Marseille. Der Ganzkörperschleier soll in Frankreich aus dem öffentlichen Leben verbannt werden. Bild: Welt Online
In Frankreich zeichnet sich ein Verbot der Ganzkörperverschleierung muslimischer Frauen in Behörden und öffentlichen Einrichtungen ab. Eine parteiübergreifende Enquetekommission der Nationalversammlung forderte einstimmig eine Parlamentsresolution, die ein Verbot der Burka „auf dem Gebiet der Republik“ verlangen soll. Eine große Mehrheit der Kommissionsmitglieder sprach sich zudem für ein Gesetz aus, das die Vollverschleierung in allen staatlichen Einrichtungen untersagt.

Das würde unter anderem bedeuten, dass Frauen, die eine Burka tragen, keine öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel wie Busse oder U-Bahnen benutzen dürften. Auch der Zutritt zu Schulen, Krankenhäusern und Behörden wäre Burka- und Nikab-Trägerinnen damit untersagt. Weiter erlaubt wäre die Burka damit auf offener Straße und in der Privatwirtschaft.

„Ganz Frankreich sagt Nein zum Ganzkörperschleier und verlangt, dass diese Praxis auf dem Gebiet der Republik verboten wird“, heißt es im Vorschlag des Parlamentsausschusses für die Entschließung. Eine Burka zu tragen widerspreche „den Werten der Republik“. >>> AFP/dpa/ks | Dienstag, 26. Januar 2010

Für Burka-Verbot in Frankreichs Service Public: Parlamentskommission will Einschränkung von Verschleierung
NZZ ONLINE: Frankreich setzt ein offizielles Zeichen gegen die volle Verschleierung: Die Burka soll zwar nicht ganz aus der Öffentlichkeit verschwinden, aber das Tragen soll eingeschränkt werden. Die parlamentarische Kommission spricht von einer Herausforderung für die Demokratie.

Die vor sechs Monaten ins Leben gerufene parlamentarische Mission hat in ihrem «Burka-Bericht» klare Worte gefunden. Das voll verschleiernde Gewand sei Ausdruck einer gesellschaftliche Einkerkerung, die von einer islamische Minderheit propagiert werde. Der damit verbundene absolute Rückzug einer Person aus der Öffentlichkeit spiele sich oft auf dem Hintergrund einer sozialen und materiellen Not ab. Die Bewegung und die damit verbundene Ghettoisierung verkörpere eine Herausforderung für Demokratien.

Die Gruppe der Parlamentarier, die mit ihrem Bericht ein erstes offizielles Zeichen gegen die volle Verschleierung in Frankreich setzt, hat ihren Bericht am Dienstag dem Präsidenten der Nationalversammlung überreicht. Die Analyse, die unter dem Vorsitz des kommunistischen Abgeordneten André Gerin entstanden ist, gilt als Baustein eines Gesetzesentwurfs, der demnächst in Angriff genommen werden dürfte. Hoche Wellen wirft das Thema bereits jetzt. Denn, so eine der brennenden Fragen, lassen sich in der Republik individuelle Rechte (hier das Recht zur «freien» Kleidung) mit dem anderen staatsprägenden Gebot der gesellschaftlichen Integration vereinbaren?

Starke Symbolkraft

Der Bericht und die Schlussfolgerungen sind klar: Die Kommission schlägt nämlich vor, dass dort, wo öffentliche Dienstleistungen erbracht werden, die Verschleierung nicht toleriert werden soll. Von einem generellen Verbot, was einem Totalverbot des umstrittenen Gewands in der Öffentlichkeit gleichkäme, rät die Gruppe ab. Nun wird sich das Parlament mit dem Bericht befassen; anschliessend soll ein Gesetzesentwurf ausgearbeitet werden. Die Stossrichtung der Kommission … >>> Manfred Rist, Paris | Dienstag, 26. Januar 2010

Bravo for Nico! Nicolas Sarkozy Backs a Ban on the Full Muslim Veil
TIMES ONLINE: Curbs on wearing the full Muslim veil come a step closer in France today with a report that will call for a ban on the dress in post offices, universities, hospitals and state-owned premises, as well as public transport.

Last night President Sarkozy was due to endorse the proposals, to be made by an all-party commission. Last week he called the niqab, the form of veil worn in France, “contrary to our values and to the ideals we have of women’s dignity”. Parliament is expected to act on the proposals in the spring.

If they become law women with covered faces would be refused public services such as transport, university classes and benefits. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Ban That Bloody Burqah! Ban on Burqas Receives Strong Public Support in France
THE SUNDAY TIMES: A report drawn up by French MPs will this week call for a ban on Afghan-style burqas and other garments that cover a woman’s face.

The proposal has strong public support. According to an opinion poll by Ipsos for the magazine Le Point, 57% of voters favour a ban while 37% are opposed.

The recommendations of a parliamentary commission, to be published on Tuesday, are expected to include a bar on wearing full veils on public transport and in schools, hospitals and public-sector offices including post offices. The commission is thought likely to call for a total ban after further consultation.

President Nicolas Sarkozy launched a debate on veils last June, telling a special sitting of both houses of parliament that they were “not welcome” in France. He said last week the full veil was “contrary to our values and to the ideals we have of women’s dignity”. >>> John Follain in Paris | Sunday, January 24, 2010

Paris Imam Backs France's Burqa Ban
THE TELEGRAPH: Hassen Chalghoumi, whose mosque stands in a northern Paris suburb where many Muslims live, said women who wanted to cover their faces should move to Saudi Arabia or other Muslim countries where that was a tradition.

A French imam active in Muslim dialogue with Jews has backed a law against full face veils, parting ways with most Muslim leaders in France urging parliamentarians not to vote for a planned "burqa ban."

France's National Assembly is likely to pass a resolution soon denouncing full veils and to try in coming months to hammer out a law forbidding them, deputies say.

President Nicolas Sarkozy calls the veils an affront to women's dignity unwelcome in France, home to about five million Muslims. Fewer than 2,000 women wear the veils, known here as burqas although most are Middle Eastern niqabs showing the eyes.

"Yes, I am for a legal ban of the burqa, which has no place in France, a country where women have been voting since 1945," Hassen Chalghoumi, 36, told the daily Le Parisien.

Chalghoumi, who has received death threats for his promotion of dialogue with Jews, said that full face veils had no basis in Islam and "belong to a tiny minority tradition reflecting an ideology that scuttles the Muslim religion."

"The burqa is a prison for women, a tool of sexist domination and Islamist indoctrination," said Chalghoumi, whose mosque stands in Drancy, site of a wartime camp where Jews were detained before transport to Nazi concentration camps.

Chalghoumi criticised some of the tougher measures proposed by conservative politicians, such as imposing fines or cutting off child support payments for veiled women. >>> Sophie Taylor, for Reuters in Paris | Friday, January 22, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Vicki Woods just doesn’t get the idea of a ban on the burqah, does she? She doesn’t seem to understand that these Muslimatoon (Arabic plural of the singular Muslimah) are trying it on. She criticizes the French for wanting to introduce a ban, but has no better suggestions of her own with which to replace the proposed measure. Of course, the French government could always decide to deport these women who won’t integrate. Maybe Vicki Woods would prefer the French to legislate for that! >>>

Burqas in Public Could Be Banned in France
BBC: Women in France could soon be banned from wearing a muslim veil that covers their face in public places.

The BBC understands that a parliamentary commission, which has been taking evidence for six months, will decide that wearing the burqa or niqab should be restricted.

Gavin Hewitt reports. Watch BBC video >>> | Thursday, January 21, 2010

Debating the Burqa Ban Debate
BBC: French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy and former London Mayor Ken Livingston join Jeremy Paxman to discuss differences between how France and the UK publicly debate religion and the wearing of religious apparel after French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the burqa to be banned. Watch BBC Newsnight video >>> | Thursday, June 25, 2010

France Gets Tough on the Burqah
MAIL ONLINE: Women who wear the burka in France should be banned from using public transport or receiving state handouts, a government spokesman has said.

The call came just one day after the head of President Nicolas Sarkozy's party, the UMP, said that Muslim women wearing full face veils should not be granted French nationality.

Now UMP party spokesman Frederic Lefebvre has demanded any woman breaking a proposed law making the garment illegal should be 'deprived of her rights'.

He said: 'When you don't respect your responsibilities, you should not have access to any benefits.

'The rights and responsibilities of citizens in France are important.

'When you ignore rules that make things illegal, like a ban on the burka, you have have some of your rights taken away, like the right to state benefits or using public transport.'

Ruling UMP party chief Xavier Bertrand said on Sunday that women who wear burkas and niqabs should not be allowed to acquire French citizenship.

He said: 'The full veil is simply a prison for women who wear it and will make no one believe a woman wearing it wants to integrate.'

President Sarkozy has branded Islamic face veils 'a sign of debasement that imprison women' and said they are not welcome in his country.

As the national debate raged on Islamic headwear, Sarkozy said last week he wants MPs to vote on a total ban on all full face veils in France. Ban women wearing the burka from benefits and public transport, demands French government spokesman >>> Ian Sparks | Tuesday, January 19, 2010

UKIP Woos White Working Class with Call for Total Ban on Burkas
My comment on this article in The Times today:

Ms Jagger, this is not a class issue; rather, this is an issue of national identity and preserving one's culture and values. The burqah does not belong here. The practice has its roots in the desert. It is actually not Islamic, even though it has come to represent Islamic fundamentalism. Its actual roots lie in the class structure of Saudi Arabia! Upper class women in Arabia, the city-dwellers, wore them for two main reasons: to protect the skin from the hot sun in the desert (pale skin on women is prized there even to this day); and as the hallmark of a lady who didn't have to do manual labour, as the poorer classes did.

There is therefore absolutely no reason for wearing them in the United Kingdom. They were never really a religious duty anyway. The prophet of Islam called for modesty. One doesn't have to cover oneself from head to foot to preserve one's modesty! – © Mark

TIMES ONLINE: The UK Independence Party is to call for a ban on the burka and the niqab — the Islamic cloak that covers women from head to toe and the mask that conceals most of the face — claiming they affront British values. The policy, which a number of European countries are also debating, is an attempt by UKIP to broaden its appeal and address the concerns of disaffected white working-class voters.

UKIP would be the first national party to call for a total ban on burkas, though the far-Right BNP believes they should be banned from schools.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the leader of UKIP, said yesterday: “We are taking expert advice on how we could do it. It makes sense to ban the burka — or anything which conceals a woman’s face — in public buildings. But we want to make it possible to ban them in private buildings. It isn’t right that you can’t see someone’s face in an airport.”

He explained that UKIP wanted to bring to the fore the issue of the increasing influence of Sharia in Britain: “We are not Muslim bashing, but this is incompatible with Britain’s values of freedom and democracy.”

Nigel Farage, the former UKIP party leader, will announce tomorrow that the party believes the fabric of the country is under threat from Sharia and that forcing women to conceal their identity in public is not consistent with traditional Britishness.

UKIP believes that the burka and the niqab have no basis in Islam, are a threat to gender equality, marginalise women and endanger the public safety because terrorists could use them to hide their identity. >>> Suzy Jagger, Politics and Business Correspondent | Saturday, January 16, 2010

France Set on Banning Muslim Niqab in Public
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Sarkozy's party, opposition in unison about need to curb use of ‘prison for women,' but disagree about how to do so without violating constitutional rights

A bruising battle is shaping up in France over whether fully veiled Muslim women should be banned from appearing on the street or in any other public setting, a proposal already endorsed by many of President Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing allies.

The fight is not over whether the face-covering niqab , or burka , as it is commonly called in France, should be tolerated.

Mr. Sarkozy has said the head-to-toe garment is unwelcome on French soil. The leader of his party bloc in the National Assembly called it a “negation of life in society.” The spokesman for the Socialist opposition condemned it as “a prison for women,” a description only slightly less damning than that of his Communist colleague who termed it “ambulatory prison.”

Five months after setting out to ban the burka , French politicians are with few exceptions divided only over how to go about it without violating constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.

The Socialists' spokesman, Benoît Hamon, said on Wednesday that while his party opposes the niqab , it has decided that an outright ban would be unenforceable. But a number of leftwing deputies have indicated they will refuse to follow the party line if a ban comes up for a vote.

Several members of Mr. Sarkozy's party have said they plan to introduce a bill to outlaw the wearing of the niqab in the next few days.

Jean-François Copé, the party's parliamentary leader, called the garment a threat by radical Islamists to the nation's security. “Extremists are testing the republic by encouraging a practice they know to be contrary to the essential principles of our country,” he said.

Women wearing the head-to-toe covering, which leaves just a narrow opening for the eyes, are a rare sight in France. The French domestic intelligence agency said late last year it has even counted them, and found precisely 367 niqab-wearers in a country with a Muslim population estimated at close to six million.

Still, the garment has become a red flag, feeding a more generalized unease over the visibility of Islam that has dominated a continuing government-sponsored debate on France's national identity. >>> Susan Sachs | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

France: The Banning of the Burqah


Inside Story: The Burqah in France

Signs of Enlightenment! France: Fines for Wearing the Burqah
MAIL ONLINE: Women who wear Islamic veils in public will be liable to a fine of more than £700 under strict new laws being formulated in France.

The amount could be doubled for Muslim men who force their wives or other female members of their family to cover their faces.

Jean-Francois Cope, president of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP Party in the French parliament, said the new legislation was intended to protect the 'dignity' and 'security' of women.

He is set to file the draft law in the National Assembly after Mr Sarkozy said veils are 'not welcome' as they intimidate and alienate non-Muslims, especially in a secular country like France.

'We want a ban in public areas,' said Mr Cope, making clear that the veil would not be allowed in public buildings, nor on the streets of France, as it encourages extremism.

Mr Cope said: 'The wearing of the burkha will be subject to a fine, probably of the 4th class, which is to say 750 euros.'

He said the fine would apply to 'all people on the public street whose face is entirely covered'. Women who wear burkhas and niqabs on the street in France face fines of more than £700 >>> Peter Allen | Thursday, January 07, 2010

France Socialist Party Opposes Burka Ban
BBC: France's opposition Socialists have come out against a law banning the burka - even though they remain firmly opposed to the garment.

The announcement comes ahead of a parliamentary report on the issue that is due out later this month.

Last summer, French MPs held hearings on whether to ban the Muslim veil, which covers the body from head to toe.

President Nicolas Sarkozy had said the burka was "not welcome" in France, home to Europe's largest Muslim population.

Mr Sarkozy has left open the idea of introducing legislation to ban the burka.

While the Socialist Party opposes the wearing of the burka, it was "not favourable" to a legal ban, said party spokesman Benoit Hamon. >>> | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Burka Barbie: Famous Doll Gets a Makeover
THE TELEGRAPH: Barbie, the iconic plastic doll, is famed for her glamorous clothes and pneumatic figure – but that tradition has been turned on its head with the introduction of a new burka-clad model.

The look is part of an exhibition, backed by Barbie creator Mattel, of the doll in multicultural outfits by Italian designer Eliana Lorena.

Two of the Barbies are wearing the burka, the loose fitting robe with veiled holes for the eyes which is worn by some Muslim women.

The collection of more than 500 Barbies is being sold at a Sotheby's charity auction in Florence, Italy, in aid of Save The Children.

The sale is part of Barbie celebrations for her 50th anniversary this year. >>> | Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Muslim Men Who Force Their Wives to Wear the Burkha Are Not Welcome in France, Says Justice Minister
MAIL ONLINE: Muslim men who force their wives to wear a burkha are not welcome in France, the country's justice minister has said.

Michelle Alliot-Marie said husbands making their wives wear a full body coverings did not 'share the nation's values'.

They would have their citizenship requests rejected, she said.

Her remarks come as a French government committee is considering whether to make it illegal to wear burkhas and niqabs on the streets of France.

The burkha is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with a mesh screen over the eyes, and the niqab is a full-body veil with slits for the eyes.

President Nicolas Sarkozy called them 'a sign of subservience and debasement that imprisoned women', saying they were not not welcome in France.

The country's immigration minister Eric Besson described them as 'an affront to national identity'.

Women's rights groups and left wing MPs went even further, describing them as a 'walking coffin'.

Mrs Alliot-Marie said today she would await the findings of the commission on the burkha, due later this month.

But she added: 'There are still a certain number of basics on which we must stand firm.

'The wearing of the niqab or burkha is a problem that affects our ability to live together, the values of the republic and in particular human dignity.

'For instance, someone who would be seeking French citizenship and whose wife wears the full veil is someone who would not appear to be sharing the values of our country.

'Therefore in a case like that one, we would reject his request.' >>> Ian Sparks | Thursday, December 10, 2009

Niederlande: Frauen mit Burka sollen Arbeitslosengeld verlieren
WELT ONLINE: In den Niederlanden sollen mit der Burka verschleierte Frauen das Recht auf finanzielle Unterstützung bei Arbeitslosigkeit verlieren. Einen entsprechenden Vorschlag unterbreitete der Amsterdamer Bürgermeister. Wer wegen der Burka keine Arbeit fände, solle keine Anspruch auf Arbeitslosenhilfe haben, so Job Cohen.

Verschleierten niederländischen Frauen könnte das Recht auf Arbeitslosengeld aberkannt werden. Bild: Welt Online
Verschleierte Frauen könnten in den Niederlanden das Recht auf Arbeitslosengeld verlieren. Dieser Vorschlag des sozialdemokratischen Amsterdamer Bürgermeisters Job Cohen finde breite parlamentarische Unterstützung, berichteten niederländische Medien.

Cohen hatte erklärt, Frauen, die im Berufsleben nicht auf den als Burka bekannten muslimischen Ganzkörperschleier verzichten mögen und daher keinen Job fänden, sollten keinen Anspruch auf Arbeitslosenhilfe haben.

„Das ist eine gute Idee“, sagte die Abgeordnete Mirjam Sterk von der christdemokratischen Regierungspartei CDA der Zeitung „De Telegraaf“. „Wer wegen des Burka-Tragens arbeitslos bleibt, darf von uns nicht subventioniert werden.“ Eine entsprechende Bestimmung müsse in die Arbeits- und Sozialgesetzgebung aufgenommen werden. >>> dpa/sk | Dienstag, 29. September 2009

France Falls Out of Love with Topless Sunbathing
THE GUARDIAN: Health concerns and new feminist priorities mean French women are covering up on the beach

Photo: The Guardian
For some it's the stuff of naff Cote d'Azur postcards. For others it's a symbol of the feminist struggle in France. Topless sunbathing was once the summer battleground of French post-1968 society – educated middle classes insisted that peeling off was a women's right, while family groups claimed exposed nipples would scare children.

For decades, France has prided itself on being the world capital of seaside semi-nudity. Now the nation is facing a bikini-top backlash. A younger generation of women are covering up, citing new feminist priorities, skin cancer fears and a rebellion against the cult of the fetished body beautiful.

French academics and historians have spent the early summer months pondering the sociological meaning of the demise of France's once-favourite piece of beachwear, the "monokini" – the bottom half of a bikini with no top.

Since the 1970s, when the French state refused to ban "le topless" on beaches, women's semi-nudity has become a symbol of summer in France. It was a point of national pride that the same freedom to strip off in public was off-limits in other more prudish nations such as the US.

Women's bodies have always been the centre of national social debates in France. Jean-Marie Le Pen's far-right Front National once produced a poster warning against immigration which showed carefree French topless sunbathers in the 1990s against a doomsday prediction of burka-clad women invading French beaches in the year 2010. >>> Angelique Chrisafis | Wedneday, July 22, 2009

Everywoman: The Veil

Op-Ed Contributor: Ban the Burqa
THE NEW YORK TIMES: NEW YORK — I am a Muslim, I am a feminist and I detest the full-body veil, known as a niqab or burqa. It erases women from society and has nothing to do with Islam but everything to do with the hatred for women at the heart of the extremist ideology that preaches it.

We must not sacrifice women at the altar of political correctness or in the name of fighting a growingly powerful right wing that Muslims face in countries where they live as a minority.

As disagreeable as I often find French President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was right when he said recently, “The burqa is not a religious sign, it is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission of women. I want to say solemnly that it will not be welcome on our territory.” It should not be welcome anywhere, I would add.

Yet his words have inspired attempts to defend the indefensible — the erasure of women.

Some have argued that Sarkozy’s right-leaning, anti-Muslim bias was behind his opposition to the burqa. But I would remind them of comments in 2006 by the then-British House of Commons leader Jack Straw, who said the burqa prevents communication. He was right, and he was hardly a right-winger — and yet he too was attacked for daring to speak out against the burqa. >>> Mona Eltahawy | Thursday, July 02, 2009

Mona Eltahawy is an Egyptian-born commentator on Arab and Muslim issues.

Ban the Burqa!

Hat tip: The Anti-Jihadist >>>

TIMES ONLINE:
Why not read this ridiculous article by Daisy Goodwin while you’re at it? >>>

Why I, as a British Muslim Woman, Want the Burkha Banned from Our Streets
MAIL Online: Shopping in Harrods last week, I came across a group of women wearing black burkhas, browsing the latest designs in the fashion department.

The irony of the situation was almost laughable. Here was a group of affluent women window shopping for designs that they would never once be able to wear in public.

Yet it's a sight that's becoming more and more commonplace. In hardline Muslim communities right across Britain, the burkha and hijab - the Muslim headscarf - are becoming the norm.

In the predominantly Muslim enclaves of Derby near my childhood home, you now see women hidden behind the full-length robe, their faces completely shielded from view. In London, I see an increasing number of young girls, aged four and five, being made to wear the hijab to school.

Shockingly, the Dickensian bone disease rickets has reemerged in the British Muslim community because women are not getting enough vital vitamin D from sunlight because they are being consigned to life under a shroud.

Thanks to fundamentalist Muslims and 'hate' preachers working in Britain, the veiling of women is suddenly all-pervasive and promoted as a basic religious right. We are led to believe that we must live with this in the name of 'tolerance'.

And yet, as a British Muslim woman, I abhor the practice and am calling on the Government to follow the lead of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and ban the burkha in our country.

The veil is simply a tool of oppression which is being used to alienate and control women under the guise of religious freedom.

My parents moved here from Kashmir in the 1960s. They brought with them their faith and their traditions - but they also understood that they were starting a new life in a country where Islam was not the main religion.

My mother has always worn traditional Kashmiri clothes - the salwar kameez, a long tunic worn over trousers, and the chador, which is like a pashmina worn around the neck or over the hair.

When she found work in England, she adapted her dress without making a fuss. She is still very much a traditional Muslim woman, but she swims in a normal swimming costume and jogs in a tracksuit.

I was born in this country, and my parents' greatest desire for me was that I would integrate and take advantage of the British education system.

They wanted me to make friends at school, and be able to take part in PE lessons - not feel alienated and cut off from my peers. So at home, I wore the salwar kameez, while at school I wore a wore a typical English school uniform.

Now, to some fundamentalists, that made us not proper Muslims. Really?

I have read the Koran. Nowhere in the Koran does it state that a woman's face and body must be covered in a layer of heavy black cloth. Instead, Muslim women should dress modestly, covering their arms and legs.

Many of my adult British Muslim friends cover their heads with a headscarf - and I have no problem with that.

The burkha is an entirely different matter. It is an imported Saudi Arabian tradition, and the growing number of women veiling their faces in Britain is a sign of creeping radicalisation, which is not just regressive, it is oppressive and downright dangerous.

The burkha is an extreme practice. It is never right for a woman to hide behind a veil and shut herself off from people in the community. But it is particularly wrong in Britain, where it is alien to the mainstream culture for someone to walk around wearing a mask. >>> Saira Khan | Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Muslim Feathers Ruffled Over Sarkozy’s Sensible Burqa Ban Proposal
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim leaders in Britain have warned that President Nicolas Sarkozy's calls for the burqa to be banned in France risk fuelling hostility towards Islam.

Photo: The Guardian
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said Mr Sarkozy's claim that the head-to-toe garments worn by Islamic women signify subservience were "patronising and offensive".

Its criticism comes after Mr Sarkozy used a policy speech on Monday to declare the burqa was "not welcome" in France.

In a move which threatens to reignite the debate over religious clothing in the country, Mr Sarkozy said: "The burqa is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience.

"We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity."

The MCB reacted by calling on Mr Sarkozy to "desist from engaging in and promoting divisive politics" towards France's Muslim population.

Dr Reefat Drabu, assistant secretary general of the MCB, said in a statement: "It is patronising and offensive to suggest that those Muslim women who wear the burqa do so because of pressure or oppression by their male partners or guardians."

Speaking for the umbrella group of more than 500 Muslim organisations including mosques, charities and community groups, she added: "Such suggestions can legitimately be perceived as antagonistic towards Islam.

"Instead of taking a lead in promoting harmony and social cohesion amongst its people, the French President appears to be initiating a policy which is set to create fear and misunderstanding and may lead to Islamophobic reaction not just in France but in the rest of Europe too."

Mr Sarkozy's presidential address to a joint session of France's two houses of parliament stood in stark contrast to comments made by US President Barack Obama earlier this month. Muslim leaders condemn Sarkozy over burqa ban >>> Murray Wardrop | Wednesday, June 24, 2009