Source: TimesOnline

From Anthony Browne in Brussels

dutch bans burka

The 'time of cosy tea-drinking' with Muslims is over, says the minister who would ban the burka (ROBERT VOS/EPA)

THE Netherlands is likely to become the first country in Europe to ban the burka, under government proposals that would bring in some of the toughest curbs on Muslim clothing in the world.

The country’s hardline Integration Minister, Rita Verdonk, known as the Iron Lady for her series of tough anti-immigration measures, told Parliament that she was going to investigate where and when the burka should be banned. The burka, traditional clothing in some Islamic societies, covers a woman’s face and body, leaving only a strip of gauze for the eyes.

Mrs Verdonk gave warning that the “time of cosy tea-drinking” with Muslim groups had passed and that natives and immigrants should have the courage to be critical of each other. She recently cancelled a meeting with Muslim leaders who refused to shake her hand because she was a woman.

The proposals are likely to win the support of Parliament because of the expected backing by right-wing parties. But they have caused outrage among Muslim and human rights groups, who say that the Government is pandering to the far Right.

Mrs Verdonk admitted that a complete ban on the garment would be legally tricky because of freedom of religion legislation. However, she said that she would prohibit the garments “in specific situations” on grounds of public safety. The ban is likely to be enforced in shops, public buildings, cinemas, train and bus stations and airports, as well as on trains and buses.

The Netherlands has become preoccupied by Islamic terrorism after the investigation into the murder of the film-maker Theo van Gogh uncovered a network of Muslim extremists dedicated to destroying the country. Attention has turned to the burka because police authorities have become concerned that a terrorist could use one for concealment.

A government spokesman said: “We want to investigate when, how, in which places the burka should be banned. It is a safety measure — you don’t see who is in it.” The Government cites as a precedent existing football legislation, which bans people from entering football grounds covering their faces in scarves.

Yassim Hertog, a vice-president of the Muslim School Boards Union, said: “Can you prohibit someone from wearing a certain type of dress? They are trying to test what a government can forbid, and how far you can go trampling on people’s rights. They want to show all these Dutch citizens who are sick and tired of all these ‘mutant’ citizens, this is where we draw the line — get normal.”

Muslim groups insist that only a few dozen women in the Netherlands wear the burka, and that the ban is a distraction. The Muslims and Government Contact Body said: “Only a handful of Muslims actually wear burkas. Let us focus our energy on what we have in common. This is not a big problem.”

Last year two Muslim women lost a court case against their college that had banned them from wearing burkas during their social work and childcare course. The judge backed the college in its claim that children had to be able to see who was caring for them, prompting the women to drop the course.

Famile Arslan, the women’s lawyer, told The Times:

“Women have a very strong opinion about the burka. If you ban it they won’t leave the house. It is not a good way to integrate and emancipate Muslim women. Everything Muslims do is criticised by Verdonk. She is doing it to get votes. She doesn’t care about Muslims and their problems.”

Mrs Verdonk made the proposals after Geert Wilders, the right-wing MP, requested the ban. Mr Wilders claimed that the garment was unfriendly towards women and a threat to security.

Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, on the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee, who has been active in opposing bans on the hijab, or scarf, said that there were no arguments for banning the burka. “If there is a genuine belief that someone under a burka is a terrorist, then you invoke stop-and-search laws on the grounds of reasonable suspicion.”

The Netherlands would become the first European country to ban the wearing of the burka in public situations, although there are already some local bans. Last year several Belgian towns, including Antwerp and Ghent, banned the wearing of the burka in public, and recently started issuing £100 spot fines for breaking the municipal ordinance. Several towns in Italy, including Como, have invoked legislation introduced by Mussolini that bans hiding one’s face in public to impose fines on burka-wearers. France and several regions of Germany have followed Turkey and Tunisia in banning the wearing of the hijab, which leaves the face visible, in public buildings, most controversially in schools.


The French ban applies only inside government-owned buildings and was imposed to preserve the secular nature of the state.

 

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so what do you guys think about it ?

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In my opinion

 Allah Ta’ala states, ‘And say to the believing women, they should lower their gazes and protect their chastity and not expose their beauty except for what normally shows.’ (24:31)

According to ibn Abbaas [radhiallaahu anhum] and the vast majority of scholars, ‘what normally shows’ refers only to the hands and face

Edited by rahma2r

clearly there is an agenda here. That woman sounds like a fanatic.

Glad the west is truly as 'open' as it proclaims to be.  

Growing up the west had 'communism' as the enemy to build upon fears and justify its policies. That ended now they need a new 'enemy' and has chosen Islam. Anyone who cannot see this is blind.

 

Bismillah,

Rita, Rita, Rita! She sounds like she's going to be running for office in the future!  Aren't most bombs found to have been in back packs and such, not under a Burka?

I don't much care what my Muslim sisters wear, Burka or jeans, as long as they don't pressure me to be like them.

Finally some sane post

Rami I am saying the reality is that is western society for identification purposes the face needs to be seen. I don't expect the government of holland or any other country to just give a passport, I.D. ect to someone if they can't see thier face. There would be no way any govenrment in the world would give Id and let a man who's face is cloaked and covered on a Plane so why should they let a woman. I am saying this is not a muslim country and they have thier own rights. Maybe people who want to wear thier niqab or burka all the time should seriously reconsider moving to a western country and stay somewhere where they can follow thier intrepretation of what is required, like Saudi Arabia.