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

Muslim Justice Minister Diddles British Taxpayer
Shahid Malik. Photo: Google Images
TIMESONLINE: Shahid Malik, the Justice Minister exposed as the biggest expenses claimant of all MPs, was forced to step down today to await the outcome of an inquiry into his living costs.

Downing Street said that Gordon Brown asked Sir Philip Mawer, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, to investigate whether Mr Malik’s alleged benefit of a subsidised rent breached the ministerial code.

The announcement by No 10 came minutes after the Labour MP for Dewsbury had refused to apologise, offering instead to donate the cost of his 40ins flat-screen television to a local charity.

He said that his second-home allowance of £66,827 over three years was “one million per cent by the book” and insisted that he would not return any of the money to the taxpayer[.] Shahid Malik Stands Down as Justice Minister after PM Orders Inquiry into His Expenses >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor and Nico Hines | Friday, May 15, 2009

Saudi Arabia to Regulate Young Girls' Marriages
GLOBEANDMAIL: RIYADH — Saudi Arabia plans to regulate the marriages of young girls, its justice minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday, after a court refused to nullify the marriage of an 8-year-old to a man 50 years her senior.

The Justice Ministry aims “to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls,” Justice Minister Mohamed al-Issa told al-Watan newspaper, partly owned by members of the royal family.

Saudi Arabia is a patriarchal society that applies an austere form of Sunni Islam that bans unrelated men and women from mixing and gives fathers the right to wed their sons and daughters to whoever they deem fit.

The minister's comments suggested the practice of marrying off young girls would not be abolished. The regulations will seek to “preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects of underage girls' marriage,” he said. >>> Reuters | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Radical Muslim Preacher Welcome in Rotterdam
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin rejects demands by two parties to bar a radical Islamic preacher from speaking in the Netherlands.

Mr Hirsch Ballin wrote to parliament on Thursday that the preacher, American citizen Khalid Yasin, is free to enter the country and address audiences. The justice minister adds that Mr Yasin will risk prosecution if it turns out that his speeches incite hatred. He emphasises that everyone in the Netherlands has freedom of speech, provided they respect the rule of law. >>> By Rob Kievit | Friday, January 23, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>