THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 89, May 31, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
HERE COME THE BURQA BANS
By Dr. David J. Rusin
THE LEGISLATIVE BACKLASH AGAINST THE BURQA, A UNIFORM OF RADICAL ISLAM: EFFORTS TO ENACT BURQA
BANS ADVANCING ACROSS THE WEST -- CANADA, BELGIUM, FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN, AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, NORWAY,
SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, & THE UNITED KINGDOM -- WHAT WILL AMERICA DO?
FULL STORY:
Call it the fashion trend of the year. Westerners are sick and tired of burqas and niqabs — the face-covering veils worn
by a minority of Muslim women — and they are not going to take it anymore. Most remarkable of all, many politicians
appear to be listening. The result: an unprecedented legislative backlash against this uniform of radical Islam.
Efforts to enact bans, whether on the local or national level, are advancing across the West:
Canada. On March 24, Quebec's provincial government introduced a bill that requires uncovered faces not
only for those who provide public services, but also for recipients. This includes everyone from students and hospital
patients to lottery winners looking to claim a payout. The bill arrived on the heels of authorities booting a niqab-clad
woman from a language class, after her demands for accommodation became disruptive.
Belgium. On April 29, the lower house of Parliament approved, 136-0, legislation that would make Belgium the
first in Europe to institute a nationwide prohibition on face-concealing attire in public, with fines of €15-25 and up to
seven days in jail for repeat offenders. If the upper house does not object, the law may be in force by July.
France. On May 11, lawmakers laid the groundwork for a similar ban by passing, 434-0, a nonbinding
resolution that describes such clothing as "contrary to the values of the Republic." Eight days later, the French
Cabinet finalized draft legislation proscribing face-covering attire in public spaces. The penalties are stiff: Female
violators are subject to a €150 fine; men convicted of forcing their wives to veil may be set back €15,000 and sentenced
to one year in prison. Parliament will debate the bill this Summer.
Italy. Citing a decades-old counterterrorism statute banning headgear that inhibits identification, several
towns in northern Italy have begun imposing fines on women who hide their faces. Novara, which enacted its law in
January, recently levied the first such fine (€500) after a woman refused to unveil herself for police.
Spain. On May 28, the Town Council of Lerida, in northeast Spain, became the first municipal authority in that
nation to bar face-concealing women from public buildings.
Australia, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are some of the other countries to witness
proposals and debates regarding burqa bans in 2010.
THREE COMMENTS:
First, as with the Swiss prohibiting construction of new minarets last year, Westerners are striking out at the most
visible — though not necessarily the most perilous — manifestations of Islam's growing influence.
Second, one will note, however, that the veil issue is far more substantive than the minaret issue, because burqas and
niqabs are both security risks and clear statements of radicalism and separatism.
Third, will Americans be content to sit on the sidelines as battles rage over these controversies?
------------------------------------------
© 2007 - 2010 The Middle East Forum
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Islamist Watch Blog, May 31, 2010
http://www.islamist-watch.org/blog/2010/05/here-come-the-burqa-bans
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
The Islamist Fifth Column -- Internal Enemies of America & the West:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Lawfare -- The Use of Law as a Weapon in War & Politics:
Islamist Lawfare & the "Legal" Jihad Against America & the West
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dr. David J. Rusin is a Philadelphia-based editor for Pajamas Media and a research associate at Islamist
Watch and the Middle East Forum. Dr. Rusin holds a Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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