April 30, 2010 — Belgium's lower house approve a proposal to ban the wearing of burqa-type dress in public places, a move that could make it the first country to enforce such a ban.
Belgium's Muslims lash out at ban on Islamic veil
Posted: 01 May 2010 1120 hrs
Posted: 01 May 2010 1120 hrs
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 Two veiled women walk down a street in Marseille, southern France. | ||||||
"I think they're trying to wind us up," Souad Barlabi, a young woman wearing a simple veil, said outside the Grand Mosque in Brussels around the time of Friday prayers.
"We feel under attack," she said, a day after Belgian lawmakers had voted for a nationwide ban on clothes or veils that do not allow the wearer to be fully identified, including the full-face niqab and burqa.
There were two abstentions, but significantly, no one voted against it in the House -- a rare sign of unity amid a power-sharing dispute between Belgium's linguistic communities which seems certain to lead to early elections.
"There are other problems that are more important," Barlabi noted.
In the crowd, one woman was wearing a niqab, another, accompanied by her husband, was covered by a burqa, and Barlabi could see no reason to make such a fuss over "so few people".
The law, which will not come into effect for at least a few weeks, will be imposed in streets, public gardens and sports grounds or buildings "meant for public use or to provide services" to the public.
People who ignore it could face a fine of 15-25 euros (20-34 US dollars) and/or a jail sentence of up to seven days.
All governing parties and the opposition agreed on the move -- most for security reasons linked to the fact that people cannot be recognised while wearing the clothing.
"It's just a pretext," said Samuel Bulte, a convert to Islam handing out flyers and religious objects in front of the mosque.
"How many robberies are committed wearing a burqa?
"I'm afraid that soon they're going to want to start putting crescents on the backs of Muslims," he said, in a reference to the yellow stars the Nazis forced Jews to wear.
Bruno Tuybens, a Flemish Socialist, was one of the two deputies who abstained from Thursday's vote.
"This law disturbs me," he said. "I believe in freedom of expression and I don't think it should be restricted unless it's in very exceptional circumstances.
"There is no link at all between crime and wearing the burqa or niqab."
Yet the vote, likely to be a landmark in Europe if it passes through the Upper House, comes amid controversy in the kingdom over the wearing of Muslim religious symbols in public places.
Last year, a Belgian lawmaker of Turkish origin was sworn in at the Brussels regional parliament wearing an Islamic headscarf in a first for the country.
In front of AFP's cameras Friday, an old bearded man railed: "The Virgin Mary also wore a veil. No one says anything about this."
Nearby, 25-year-old Said said he was stunned "that a secular country would get mixed up in religion".
Human rights group Amnesty International urged the Upper House of parliament to review the measures, as they raised concerns about whether Belgium was in breach of international rights laws.
"A complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty's expert on discrimination in Europe.
"The Belgian move to ban full face veils, the first in Europe, sets a dangerous precedent," he warned.
Human Rights Watch has also criticised the ban, arguing that it is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
"At a time when Muslims in Europe feel more vulnerable than ever, the last thing needed is a ban like this," Judith Sunderland, a senior researcher with the group, said.
"Treating pious Muslim women like criminals won't help integrate them."
