Updated On: 15 July, 2010 06:50 AM IST | | Khalid A-H Ansari
After France, now the English feel growing pressure to prohibit the wearing of the full Islamic veil
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After France, now the English feel growing pressure to prohibit the wearing of the full Islamic veilWith French lower house parliamentarians voting to ban the burqa by a margin of 335 votes to one, and Spain and the Netherlands likely to follow suit, pressure is mounting on the British parliament to emulate their example.
Rising demand
The rapid increase in the full-face veils on the streets of Britain is responsible for the demand to ban it.
Tory member of Parliament Philip Hollobone, who has launched a Private Member's Bill to ban facial coverings, said yesterday, "It is unnatural for someone to cover their face and it is not a religious requirement.
"We are never going to have a fully-integrated society if an increasing proportion of the population cover their faces."
The UK Independence Party is also calling for a ban, describing the burqa as a symbol of 'divided Britain'.
The leader of the UKIP Lord Pearson is quoted by the Daily Express as saying, "The French ban not only makes sense but finds legitimacy in the Quran, which only calls for women to dress modestly. Instead, it has become the symbol of the more radical forms of Islam."
Condemning veils
The paper says France has already banned religious clothing such as Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and Christian crosses from schools.
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| Veil to go: France became the second country, after Belgium in Europe to introduce the ban on burqas in public, as the French government sees the burqa as undermining women's right and constituting a threat to France's secular status. Pic/AFP Trending StoriesLatest Photos |
