Egypt To Ban Full-Face Veil

While the U.S. would be too PC to ever propose banning the niqab, Egypt is poised to do just that. The full-face veil will not be allowed in public places and government buildings.

MP Amna Nosseir, professor of comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, who has backed the ban, said that wearing the veil is not a requirement of Islam and in fact has non-Islamic origins. She has argued that it is a Jewish tradition which appeared in the Arabian Peninsula prior to Islam and that a variety of Quran passages contradict its use. Instead, she has advocated that the Quran calls for modest clothing and covered hair, but does not require facial covering.

Apparently, there is already a ban in the medical school and teaching hospitals affiliated with Cairo University, along with the academic staff on campus.

Good on them.

More here.

Veiled Woman Kicked Out Of Paris Opera After Cast Refuses To Perform

Full face coverings, like the burqa and niqab, have been banned by France in public places since 2011, and there is a fine for violating said ban. When it first passed, there was the usual outcry from conservative Muslims and liberals, saying these women should have the right to wear niqabs if they choose, but the ban prevailed.  We really haven't heard much regarding the issue until now.

Apparently, some cast members of the Paris Bastille Opera spotted a woman in full niqab regalia during a performance of La Traviata, and refused to continue performing.

'A singer spotted her in the front row during the second act,' said Jean-Philippe Thiellay, director of the Bastille Opera, which was opened by Socialist president Francois Mitterand in 1989.

'Some performers said they didn't want to sing."

The woman is thought to hail from one of the Gulf States, and was there with a friend. She was informed about the ban by a security guard, asked to remove the veil, and when she refused, she was kicked out. According to Thiellay, "It was unpleasant getting her to leave."

Naturally, the liberal arts community has condemned the decision.

'What possible harm could a woman sitting quietly in the audience with face covered do to anyone?' said Guy Laurent, a regular at the Bastille Opera.

'The woman would clearly have felt utterly humiliated by what happened – French culture should be more tolerant.

'It is not the job of theatres to enforce petty laws.'

The women did not receive a refund.

As a result of this latest brouhaha, the government plans on revisiting the law:

A spokesman for France's Ministry of Culture today said it was 'producing a new set of rules' to make sure the so-called 'burka ban' was better enforced in theatres, museums and other public institutions.

If Westerners are expected to adhere to the dress code in Muslim majority countries, then Muslims should do the same in western nations. The woman was sitting in a dark theatre, no-one would have seen her. Good on them for tossing her out.

More on the DailyMail.

KKK Hood Worn In Aussie Anti-Niqab Protest

In an anti-Niqab protest, three Australian men - Sergio Redegalli, Nick Folkes and Victor Waterson - donned a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) white robe and hood, a black niqab, and a motorcycle helmet and trekked on over to the parliament building to prove a point. And as expected, upon arrival, they were told that they could not enter wearing the KKK hood or motorcycle helmet.

The men are involved in a movement called "Faceless" - they want the Muslim burqa and niqab (which covers all but the eyes) to be banned nation-wide, in public, and called the decision to allow Muslim face-coverings but not helmets or KKK hoods hypocritical.

“It seems that you're allowed to wear a full-face covering into Parliament if you're a Muslim woman, but no other group is allowed to have that same privilege,” Redegalli said.

“We, as males, are not allowed to wear any face coverings in Parliament House."

Niqab and Burqa-clad women are allowed entrance into the Parliament House as long as they show their faces at the security checkpoint.

A bill to force women wearing a niqab to sit in a special area, was reversed after it was deemed discriminatory.