Trump Says Women Like Burqas because They Don’t Need to Wear Make-up

Austrian Town Produces Guide for Arab Tourists: 'Don't Haggle, and Don't Eat on the Floor'

The Austrian ski resort of Zell am See

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Austrian holiday town has produced a special guide for Middle Eastern visitors including advice to avoid haggling and not eat on the floor in hotel rooms

Austria's alpine towns of Zell am See and Kaprun have been criticised for producing an eight-page guide for Middle Eastern tourists, featuring "cultural advice" on how to behave.

The booklet, in English and Arabic, features tips such as the idea that Austrian shopkeepers do not expect haggling over prices, and that eating on the floor in hotel rooms is a "no-no". Drivers are informed that wearing seatbelts is compulsory, and they will be given guidance on understanding road signs, to reduce their risks while driving.

Visitors are also advised not to wear burkas, and to "adopt the Austrian mentality".

The guide states: "Austrian women are free to choose their own dress style, and this is visible in their choice of modern, colourful clothes. Here the colour black symbolises mourning, and is rarely worn in daily life.

"In our culture, we are accustomed to look into the smiling face of the person opposite us in order to gain a first impression and establish mutual trust. It would be a great pleasure for us if you could join us in celebrating the uniquely joyful Austrian mentality and show us your colourful scarves and dresses and, in this way, show us your smile." » | Harriet Alexander | Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Salzburg under fire for leaflet to Arab visitors telling them to stop haggling over prices, eating on hotel floors and wearing burkas »

Tory Councillor Who Shared Burka Joke on Facebook Expelled from Party

Tory councillor Chris Joannides has been expelled from his
party after comparing Muslim children wearing burkas
to bin[-]bags on Facebook

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chris Joannides, a Conservative councillor in Enfield, has been dropped as a candidate for May's local elections and banned from the party for a year

A Tory councillor has been expelled from his party after comparing Muslim children wearing burkas to bin[-]bags on Facebook.

Chris Joannides, a councillor for Enfield, in north London, also upset colleagues by complaining that his job as a local councillor was interfering with his social life.

Conservative Central Office has now dropped him as a candidate for the local elections in May and expelled him from the party for 12 months.

The decision comes after Mr Joannides posted a photograph showing a woman and child dressed in the traditional Muslim clothing standing next to two bin[-]bags.

A caption read: "I saw her standing there and I told her she had three beautiful children. She didn't have to get all ****** off and threaten me. It was an honest mistake!" » | Hayley Dixon | Tuesday, March 04, 2014

WA Parliament Passes New Burqa Law

Two women wearing niqab veils

WA TODAY: A new law requiring Muslim women to remove a burqa or niqab to prove their identity to West Australian police has been passed by the state's parliament.

The legislation was drafted in response to public outcry about the case of niqab-wearing mother-of-seven Carnita Matthews, who had a conviction of knowingly making a false statement quashed.

Ms Matthews was originally given a six-month jail sentence after being found guilty of falsely accusing a senior constable of forcibly trying to remove her niqab when she was pulled over while driving in Woodbine in Sydney's southwest in June 2010.

She was later acquitted on appeal after the prosecution could not prove she was the woman who signed the statement while wearing the garment. » | AAP | Friday, November 01, 2013

Beyond the Veil

What Sort of Schools Are UK Taxpayers Funding?

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: The school forces girls to sit at the back of classrooms; prohibits stringed instruments; and requires female pupils to cede their places in queues to the male students. Farah Ahmed, headmistress at one of these taxpayer-funded schools, has described the teaching of English as "one of the most damaging subjects."

In recent weeks, British media, political figures and commentators have been drawn into an angry and overwrought debate on the burqa (and its cousin, the niqab) -- the all-enveloping outer garment favoured by, or perhaps forced upon, a considerable number of British Muslim women.

The sudden spotlight was switched on as a result of two simultaneous challenges to the conflict between the burqa and a free society. First, the Birmingham Metropolitan College recently decided, after a well-publicized protest against university authorities, to un-ban the garment on campus after eight years of unopposed proscription. Second, during a recent fraud trial, Judge Peter Murphy ruled that the accused, a Muslim woman, must remove her niqab while giving evidence in court.

While ministers, political commentators, civil rights groups and tabloid papers hotly contest the ethics and practical details of a theoretical ban, little attention is being paid, aside from the occasional newspaper article, to a far more alarming problem: schools where girls as young as 11 are forced to wear the burqa or niqab. » | Samuel Westrop | Thursday, October 17, 2013