French MPs Back Burka Ban

[ladyDeWint]

French MPs today overwhelmingly voted to ban the burka after a senior minister described it as a ‘walking coffin’ and a ‘muzzle’.

Only one deputy opposed the bill in the National Assembly as 335 other politicians united to show their opposition to Islamic veils which cover a woman’s entire face.

The draft bill, proposed by President Nicholas Sarkozy’s government, will now pass to the Senate where it could be ratified as early as September.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0tbE4tNKp

[valk]

I wish they would do it here, it isn't a requirement of the religion and dehumanises those women.

[Barryoneoff]

They have more bottle than our MPs, but I wonder how they will manage to uphold the ban when the radical scum start protesting.

[ladyDeWint]

Britain faced growing calls to ban the burka today after French MPs voted overwhelmingly to outlaw full-face veils in public.

Politicians in France united yesterday to ban Islamic veils that cover a woman's face, which some described as 'walking coffins'.

Deputies in the country's 557-seat lower house, the National Assembly, voted in favour of the ban by 335 votes to one.
Support for a ban in Britain has come from Tory backbencher Philip Hollobone and the UK Independence Party.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0tekgeIYR

[Barryoneoff]

Unfortunately UKIP doesn't have that much support.

[ladyDeWint]

Mr Hollobone has tabled a private members' bill which would make it illegal for anyone to cover their face in public.

The Kettering MP, who has previously likened full face veils to 'going round with a paper bag over your head', said: 'It is unnatural for someone to cover their face and it not a religious requirement.

'We are never going to have a fully integrated society if an increasing proportion of the population cover their faces'.
His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill is the first of its kind in Britain, and is one of only 20 private members' bills drawn in a ballot for the chance to make it into the statute books.

The bill, which had its first reading in June, stands little chance of becoming law due to limited Parliamentary time and a lack of support from the main political parties.

[johnworc]

The practice of wearing a burkha should be banned. I recall that Jack Straw wanted to ban any from coming in to his office - until he was getting closer to the general election and then he relented!! Politicians get panic-stricken at the thought of losing any one vote - but that's their chief aim: getting re-elected seems more important than running the country. Perhaps I'm a bit cynical.

[Barryoneoff]

As I said:

The bill, which had its first reading in June, stands little chance of becoming law due to limited Parliamentary time and a lack of support from the main political parties.

[jo]

this wont only affect the burka , itll also affect the skull cap , and the cross and chain ,the burka isnt the issue really its the nijab(?spelling )which covers the face , i find that very unsettling , but the burka itself is not much different to what a nun wears ,and we have never had a problem with that.as long as the face is uncovered no problem with me .some of the sights i see with people dressed in a so called normal way are a sight to behold NOT ,live and let live ,show tolerance to one another i think .

[johnworc]

That's a good point, Jo. I hadn't realised there was that difference between the burka and nijab - hadn't heard of a nijab. It's the face covering we object to - as in those hooded balaclavas armed robbers seem to prefer. The parallel with a nun's dress with hood is a valid one. I remember having a nun in one of my university classes - she was good value and the dress was never a barrier. I remember I was sitting behind her in a Geography exam when a girl a few rows in front of us suddenly stood up, made comments against the tyranny of exams, removed her caftan and stood naked on top of her desk while eating her exam paper. The invigilators all raced up to remove her, one with a blanket, and we were all given an extra 10 minutes to compensate for this delightful incident. The nun really scored well here as she kept her head down right through the disturbance, writing away: I assume she got some minor advantage from the extra 10 minutes. It was all worth it!

[jo]

wonder what happenned to that girl

[ladyDeWint]

Syria has banned face-covering Islamic veils from the country’s universities.

The surprise move comes as similar moves in Europe – including controversial calls in Britain for a ban on burkas – have sparked cries of discrimination against Muslims.

The crackdown was ordered by the secular government in Damascus amid fears of increasing Islamic extremism among young Muslim students.

Syria is not a Muslim country. An official at the ministry says the ban affects public and private universities and aims to protect the country's secular identity.

Sunday’s ban includes women wearing niqabs, veils covering the head and mouth while leaving the eyes exposed, and the head-to-toe burkas, which also cover the eyes with a mesh mask.

It did not include the hijab, or headscarf, which many Syrian women wear.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0uJe8VQ6Q

[Barryoneoff]

It'll be hard to enforce over here due to the sheer numbers of Muslims.

[Dalston Boy]

it's not just the number of Muslims, Barry - it's our own blind, bleeding heart liberals. I was listening to "Broadcasting House", Sunday morning's news and current affairs show on Radio 4, and this very subject came up. All the BBC type intellectuals agreed to a man that any objections to the niqab (veil) could not be anything other than racist.

I think, as the track record undoubtedly shows, that the views of us ordinary folk who just want to see some common sense prevail, will be derided, insulted and roundly ignored. Perhaps we should all move to France?

Dave

[Barryoneoff]

I wonder how they would feel about groups of people wearing balacalavas everywhere they went!