Legalizing Discrimination in Europe
The European Court of Justice handed right-wing nationalists a victory on Tuesday that allows employers to ban Muslim women and others who wear signs of their faith. With rising anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe, and elections coming in several nations where the populist right is expected to do well, this decision sends exactly the wrong message.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/opin ... &te=1&_r=0
Hejab
Quebec, Islam and face-covering
Quebec’s ban on face-coverings risks inflaming inter-communal tensions
Don’t hide your face with a niqab—or anything else
HOW should a liberal democracy respond when a historically Christian majority makes room for cultures and philosophical ideas that range from indifference, even hostility, to all religion to devoutly practised Islam? There are lots of places which have that dilemma, but it seems especially sharp in Quebec. Over a few decades this Canadian province has gone from being religiously homogenous and piously Catholic to being quite a secular place with a robust, growing Muslim minority.
This week Quebec’s parliament gave an answer of sorts to that question, and it will alienate as least as many people as it satisfies. The most striking feature of a law passed on October 18th after a couple of years of debate is that it bans anyone whose face is covered from delivering or receiving a public service. Philippe Couillard, the province's Liberal premier, defended the measure with a catchy little formula: "I should see your face and you should see mine. It's as simple as that." But critics say that the consequences will be far from simple.
The ban applies to all provincial and municipal services, including hospitals, libraries and public transport. Although the legislation does not specifically mention niqabs or burqas, it is widely seen as singling out the estimated 250,000 Muslims in the majority-Christian province of 8m people.
The National Council for Canadian Muslims said it ushers in “ugly identity politics” ahead of the provincial election next October. It will also lead to confusion. The ban will take effect as soon as the bill receives royal assent, usually a matter of days. But the guidelines on how to enforce it will be drawn up by a committee and will not be available until July. Without guidelines, how are municipalities expected to enforce the law, asked Denis Coderre, the mayor of Montreal, whose city is home to a large Muslim population. The list of unanswered questions is long. Should a bus driver refuse to let a veiled woman board? Should a librarian refuse to lend a book? How should requests for concessions to religious diversity, which the bill promises, be handled in the workplace, for example?
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https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus ... lydispatch
Quebec’s ban on face-coverings risks inflaming inter-communal tensions
Don’t hide your face with a niqab—or anything else
HOW should a liberal democracy respond when a historically Christian majority makes room for cultures and philosophical ideas that range from indifference, even hostility, to all religion to devoutly practised Islam? There are lots of places which have that dilemma, but it seems especially sharp in Quebec. Over a few decades this Canadian province has gone from being religiously homogenous and piously Catholic to being quite a secular place with a robust, growing Muslim minority.
This week Quebec’s parliament gave an answer of sorts to that question, and it will alienate as least as many people as it satisfies. The most striking feature of a law passed on October 18th after a couple of years of debate is that it bans anyone whose face is covered from delivering or receiving a public service. Philippe Couillard, the province's Liberal premier, defended the measure with a catchy little formula: "I should see your face and you should see mine. It's as simple as that." But critics say that the consequences will be far from simple.
The ban applies to all provincial and municipal services, including hospitals, libraries and public transport. Although the legislation does not specifically mention niqabs or burqas, it is widely seen as singling out the estimated 250,000 Muslims in the majority-Christian province of 8m people.
The National Council for Canadian Muslims said it ushers in “ugly identity politics” ahead of the provincial election next October. It will also lead to confusion. The ban will take effect as soon as the bill receives royal assent, usually a matter of days. But the guidelines on how to enforce it will be drawn up by a committee and will not be available until July. Without guidelines, how are municipalities expected to enforce the law, asked Denis Coderre, the mayor of Montreal, whose city is home to a large Muslim population. The list of unanswered questions is long. Should a bus driver refuse to let a veiled woman board? Should a librarian refuse to lend a book? How should requests for concessions to religious diversity, which the bill promises, be handled in the workplace, for example?
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus ... lydispatch
'I felt really scared:' Toronto girl says man tried to cut off her hijab while she walked to school
An 11-year-old Toronto girl says a man approached her while she was walking to school on Friday morning and attempted twice to cut off her hijab with scissors.
"I felt really scared and confused," Khawlah Noman, a student at Pauline Johnson Junior Public School in Scarborough, Ont., said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Khawlah said she felt the man behind her while she was walking to school with her younger brother, Mohammad Zakariyya, and turned around and saw him holding scissors. She says she screamed and he ran away, but returned a few minutes later.
"He continued cutting my hijab again" before smiling and running away, said Khawlah.
Toronto police are now investigating.
"We don't know if this was a hate crime or not yet," said Const. David Hopkinson of the Toronto Police Service. "We don't know what motivated the attack."
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https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/crimeinc ... ailsignout
An 11-year-old Toronto girl says a man approached her while she was walking to school on Friday morning and attempted twice to cut off her hijab with scissors.
"I felt really scared and confused," Khawlah Noman, a student at Pauline Johnson Junior Public School in Scarborough, Ont., said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Khawlah said she felt the man behind her while she was walking to school with her younger brother, Mohammad Zakariyya, and turned around and saw him holding scissors. She says she screamed and he ran away, but returned a few minutes later.
"He continued cutting my hijab again" before smiling and running away, said Khawlah.
Toronto police are now investigating.
"We don't know if this was a hate crime or not yet," said Const. David Hopkinson of the Toronto Police Service. "We don't know what motivated the attack."
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/crimeinc ... ailsignout
Tired of Their Veils, Some Iranian Women Stage Rare Protests
TEHRAN — Climbing atop a five-foot-tall utility box in one of Tehran’s busiest squares on Monday, an Iranian woman removed her head scarf, tied it to a stick and waved it for all to see.
It was no small feat in Iran, where women can be arrested for publicly flouting the Islamic requirement that they cover their hair.
But there she stood, her curly hair blowing in the breeze. No one protested. In fact, she was applauded by many people. Taxi drivers and older women took her picture. The police, who maintain a booth in the square, either did not see her or decided not to intervene.
“My hands were trembling,” the 28-year-old said, asking not to be named out of fear of arrest. “I was anxious and feeling powerful at the same time. And proud, I felt proud.”
She was not alone. On Monday several other women, a total of six, according to social media accounts, made the same symbolic gesture: taking off their head scarves in public and waving them on a stick, emulating a young woman who climbed on the same sort of utility box on Dec. 27 and was subsequently arrested. Activists say she has since been released, but she still has not resurfaced in public.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/worl ... d=45305309
TEHRAN — Climbing atop a five-foot-tall utility box in one of Tehran’s busiest squares on Monday, an Iranian woman removed her head scarf, tied it to a stick and waved it for all to see.
It was no small feat in Iran, where women can be arrested for publicly flouting the Islamic requirement that they cover their hair.
But there she stood, her curly hair blowing in the breeze. No one protested. In fact, she was applauded by many people. Taxi drivers and older women took her picture. The police, who maintain a booth in the square, either did not see her or decided not to intervene.
“My hands were trembling,” the 28-year-old said, asking not to be named out of fear of arrest. “I was anxious and feeling powerful at the same time. And proud, I felt proud.”
She was not alone. On Monday several other women, a total of six, according to social media accounts, made the same symbolic gesture: taking off their head scarves in public and waving them on a stick, emulating a young woman who climbed on the same sort of utility box on Dec. 27 and was subsequently arrested. Activists say she has since been released, but she still has not resurfaced in public.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/worl ... d=45305309
The Economist explains
Why Iranian women are taking off their veils
Protests against the compulsory wearing of hijab are symbolic of a broader unease
POLICE in Tehran arrested 29 women in February for protesting against a law that makes the wearing of hijab compulsory. The arrests came as women across Iran have been posting pictures of themselves bare-headed and waving their veils aloft on sticks. Police said that the campaign had been instigated from outside Iran through illegal satellite channels. But Soheila Jolodarzadeh, a female member of the Iranian parliament, said the protests had been brewing for a while. “They’re happening because of our wrong approach,” she said. “We imposed restrictions on women and put them under unnecessary restraints.” How likely are women to win the battle of the headscarf? And what do these protests tell us about the state of Iranian politics?
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... rm=2018038
Why Iranian women are taking off their veils
Protests against the compulsory wearing of hijab are symbolic of a broader unease
POLICE in Tehran arrested 29 women in February for protesting against a law that makes the wearing of hijab compulsory. The arrests came as women across Iran have been posting pictures of themselves bare-headed and waving their veils aloft on sticks. Police said that the campaign had been instigated from outside Iran through illegal satellite channels. But Soheila Jolodarzadeh, a female member of the Iranian parliament, said the protests had been brewing for a while. “They’re happening because of our wrong approach,” she said. “We imposed restrictions on women and put them under unnecessary restraints.” How likely are women to win the battle of the headscarf? And what do these protests tell us about the state of Iranian politics?
More..
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... rm=2018038
She Wears a Head Scarf. Is Quebec Derailing Her Career?
MONTREAL — Maha Kassef, 35, an ambitious elementary schoolteacher, aspires to become a principal. But since she wears a Muslim head scarf, she may have to derail her dreams: A proposed bill in Quebec would bar public school principals, and other public employees, from wearing religious symbols.
“How am I supposed to teach about respect, tolerance and diversity to my students, many of whom are immigrant kids, when the government is asking me to give up who I am?” asked Ms. Kassef, the child of Kuwaiti immigrant parents who worked tirelessly to send her and her four siblings to college.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/worl ... 3053090403
MONTREAL — Maha Kassef, 35, an ambitious elementary schoolteacher, aspires to become a principal. But since she wears a Muslim head scarf, she may have to derail her dreams: A proposed bill in Quebec would bar public school principals, and other public employees, from wearing religious symbols.
“How am I supposed to teach about respect, tolerance and diversity to my students, many of whom are immigrant kids, when the government is asking me to give up who I am?” asked Ms. Kassef, the child of Kuwaiti immigrant parents who worked tirelessly to send her and her four siblings to college.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/worl ... 3053090403
In France, Debates About the Veil Hide a Long History
An exhibition steps back from the country’s obsession with Muslim women’s dress to consider the many uses of head coverings throughout history.
BOURG-EN-BRESSE, France — Almost 500 years ago, in 1518 or 1519, the Flemish artist Bernard van Orley sat down to paint a portrait of Margaret of Austria, one of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe. At age 3, she was queen of France. At 27, she became regent of the Netherlands, and Van Orley painted Margaret as a sturdy, composed politician in a portrait that would be copied across Europe.
Her lips are pursed. Her hands are poised, a rosary between two fingers. She squints, as if analyzing something. On her head, framing a face as burnished as porcelain, is a supple white wimple. It arches from the crown of her head and encloses her ears and neck; it expresses her fidelity to her late husband and, what’s more, her claim to his political authority. All the validity of her rule lies in that veil. It is piety, and it is power.
Margaret is buried in the Monastère de Brou, a palatial mausoleum she ordered built here in Bourg-en-Bresse, about 280 miles southeast of Paris. And her example serves as the trigger for a sparky and rangy exhibition there that takes a very wide-angle view on one of the most enduring and dispiriting controversies in contemporary French society.
The show, “Veiled and Unveiled,” steps back from France’s contemporary obsession with Muslim women’s dress to consider the many uses of head coverings in public and private life. With more than 100 works of art, from classical antiquity to the present, it reveals how the veil can serve contrasting and sometimes contradictory purposes, whether to mourn or to seduce, to protect one’s body or to signify one’s allegiances.
The veil can be religious or secular, a marker of patriarchal dominance or individual distinction. Above all, the show insists that the veil is not at all a “foreign” incursion into Europe, a mistake made by both serious writers like Michel Houellebecq and by a motley collection of populists, extremists and out-and-out racists. It’s omnipresent in the art and literature of Europe and the Mediterranean — and rediscovering its place in antiquity and in all three major Western religions might take a bit of the sulfur out of this country’s fixation on head scarves.
Images and more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/arts ... 3053090629
An exhibition steps back from the country’s obsession with Muslim women’s dress to consider the many uses of head coverings throughout history.
BOURG-EN-BRESSE, France — Almost 500 years ago, in 1518 or 1519, the Flemish artist Bernard van Orley sat down to paint a portrait of Margaret of Austria, one of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe. At age 3, she was queen of France. At 27, she became regent of the Netherlands, and Van Orley painted Margaret as a sturdy, composed politician in a portrait that would be copied across Europe.
Her lips are pursed. Her hands are poised, a rosary between two fingers. She squints, as if analyzing something. On her head, framing a face as burnished as porcelain, is a supple white wimple. It arches from the crown of her head and encloses her ears and neck; it expresses her fidelity to her late husband and, what’s more, her claim to his political authority. All the validity of her rule lies in that veil. It is piety, and it is power.
Margaret is buried in the Monastère de Brou, a palatial mausoleum she ordered built here in Bourg-en-Bresse, about 280 miles southeast of Paris. And her example serves as the trigger for a sparky and rangy exhibition there that takes a very wide-angle view on one of the most enduring and dispiriting controversies in contemporary French society.
The show, “Veiled and Unveiled,” steps back from France’s contemporary obsession with Muslim women’s dress to consider the many uses of head coverings in public and private life. With more than 100 works of art, from classical antiquity to the present, it reveals how the veil can serve contrasting and sometimes contradictory purposes, whether to mourn or to seduce, to protect one’s body or to signify one’s allegiances.
The veil can be religious or secular, a marker of patriarchal dominance or individual distinction. Above all, the show insists that the veil is not at all a “foreign” incursion into Europe, a mistake made by both serious writers like Michel Houellebecq and by a motley collection of populists, extremists and out-and-out racists. It’s omnipresent in the art and literature of Europe and the Mediterranean — and rediscovering its place in antiquity and in all three major Western religions might take a bit of the sulfur out of this country’s fixation on head scarves.
Images and more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/arts ... 3053090629
Quebec education minister says Malala can teach here if she removes headscarf
Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge said in a tweet Friday that if Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai wanted to teach in Quebec, it would be an honour, but like in other “open and tolerant countries, teachers can’t wear religious symbols while they exercise their functions.”
Roberge noted that’s the case in France, where the two were photographed together. They were taking part in planning meetings to discuss education during the G7 in France this coming August.
Roberge’s tweet was in response to a question by reporter Salim Nadim Valji over Twitter who asked, “Mr. Roberge, how would you respond if Mme Yousafzai wanted to become a teacher in Quebec?” The question came after Roberge posted a photo with Yousafzai to Twitter; in the caption, he said it was nice to meet her to discuss access to education.
Photo and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics ... ailsignout
Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge said in a tweet Friday that if Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai wanted to teach in Quebec, it would be an honour, but like in other “open and tolerant countries, teachers can’t wear religious symbols while they exercise their functions.”
Roberge noted that’s the case in France, where the two were photographed together. They were taking part in planning meetings to discuss education during the G7 in France this coming August.
Roberge’s tweet was in response to a question by reporter Salim Nadim Valji over Twitter who asked, “Mr. Roberge, how would you respond if Mme Yousafzai wanted to become a teacher in Quebec?” The question came after Roberge posted a photo with Yousafzai to Twitter; in the caption, he said it was nice to meet her to discuss access to education.
Photo and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics ... ailsignout
Western governments are telling Muslim women not to cover up
State secularism and personal freedom clash over the hijab and the burkini
IN THE diverse democracies of the early 21st century, there are certain political and cultural issues that never go away. A political or judicial decision may settle things for a while, but so strong are the conflicting emotions that the flames can quickly flare up. One such issue is the attire of Muslim women, and how and if it should be limited by the state.
Take France, which regulates religious apparel, and religion generally, in a stricter way than any other democracy. The summer of 2016 was a torrid one for that country’s beaches, as many local authorities decreed bans on the burkini, a full-body swimsuit favoured by some Muslim women. After weeks of nasty seaside scenes, the country’s highest administrative court ruled that the bans were an unacceptable curb on liberty.
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https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/ ... a/269526/n
State secularism and personal freedom clash over the hijab and the burkini
IN THE diverse democracies of the early 21st century, there are certain political and cultural issues that never go away. A political or judicial decision may settle things for a while, but so strong are the conflicting emotions that the flames can quickly flare up. One such issue is the attire of Muslim women, and how and if it should be limited by the state.
Take France, which regulates religious apparel, and religion generally, in a stricter way than any other democracy. The summer of 2016 was a torrid one for that country’s beaches, as many local authorities decreed bans on the burkini, a full-body swimsuit favoured by some Muslim women. After weeks of nasty seaside scenes, the country’s highest administrative court ruled that the bans were an unacceptable curb on liberty.
More...
https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/ ... a/269526/n
Meghan Markle Wears a Headscarf for Poignant Visit to Mosque in South Africa with Prince Harry
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are learning how South Africa’s legislative capital is bringing people together.
After a busy Tuesday morning that saw the couple visit a mental wellness group at Monwabisi Beach and Harry take a solo trip to Seal Island to learn about combating the poaching of abalone, Meghan and Harry visited the Auwal Mosque. It is the oldest mosque in South Africa, built in 1794 during British occupation of the Cape of Good Hope.
Meghan changed from a casual outfit (including a denim jacket) into an olive green maxi dress, which she wore with a cream-colored headscarf for the mosque visit.
During the outing, the royal couple viewed the first known manuscript of the Qu’ran in South Africa, drafted by Tuan Guru (first Imam) from memory while he was imprisoned on Robben Island. They then met members of different faith groups to learn about the work the mosque does to promote interfaith dialogue in Cape Town. The Auwul Mosque welcomes visitors of all denominations and hosts inter-faith dialogues to develop inter-communal and inter-faith understanding between South Africa’s varied communities.
Islam was first introduced in South Africa by exiled Muslim leaders and Cape Malay slaves in the late 1600-1700s. Prior to British occupation, slaves were not allowed to worship Islam. Today, for the Muslim community, the mosque symbolizes the freedom of former slaves to worship.
Photos, video and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/roy ... AHM1N6_1|1
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are learning how South Africa’s legislative capital is bringing people together.
After a busy Tuesday morning that saw the couple visit a mental wellness group at Monwabisi Beach and Harry take a solo trip to Seal Island to learn about combating the poaching of abalone, Meghan and Harry visited the Auwal Mosque. It is the oldest mosque in South Africa, built in 1794 during British occupation of the Cape of Good Hope.
Meghan changed from a casual outfit (including a denim jacket) into an olive green maxi dress, which she wore with a cream-colored headscarf for the mosque visit.
During the outing, the royal couple viewed the first known manuscript of the Qu’ran in South Africa, drafted by Tuan Guru (first Imam) from memory while he was imprisoned on Robben Island. They then met members of different faith groups to learn about the work the mosque does to promote interfaith dialogue in Cape Town. The Auwul Mosque welcomes visitors of all denominations and hosts inter-faith dialogues to develop inter-communal and inter-faith understanding between South Africa’s varied communities.
Islam was first introduced in South Africa by exiled Muslim leaders and Cape Malay slaves in the late 1600-1700s. Prior to British occupation, slaves were not allowed to worship Islam. Today, for the Muslim community, the mosque symbolizes the freedom of former slaves to worship.
Photos, video and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/roy ... AHM1N6_1|1
Muslim teen ‘humiliated’ after being disqualified from Ohio race for wearing hijab
Noor Alexandria Abukaram was elated when she ran a personal best time during a 5K in eastern Ohio last weekend.
When she made it to the finish line in 22 minutes and 22 seconds, she found out that she'd been disqualified.
Abukaram told the Huffington Post that officials said her hijab violated the uniform policy and her run wouldn't count.
"At first it was just so humiliating and then was huge disbelief," she said. "This has never happened to me."
The 16-year-old Sylvania Northview High School athlete told the publication that she'd competed in previous cross-country meets without any issue.
Now, she was being told she needed a signed waiver to approve religious headwear, something she'd never been asked for in all her years competing.
Photo and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/mu ... ailsignout
Noor Alexandria Abukaram was elated when she ran a personal best time during a 5K in eastern Ohio last weekend.
When she made it to the finish line in 22 minutes and 22 seconds, she found out that she'd been disqualified.
Abukaram told the Huffington Post that officials said her hijab violated the uniform policy and her run wouldn't count.
"At first it was just so humiliating and then was huge disbelief," she said. "This has never happened to me."
The 16-year-old Sylvania Northview High School athlete told the publication that she'd competed in previous cross-country meets without any issue.
Now, she was being told she needed a signed waiver to approve religious headwear, something she'd never been asked for in all her years competing.
Photo and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/mu ... ailsignout
'We will keep on fighting': Hijabi women devastated by Appeal Court decision to uphold Bill 21
Amal Sassi was counting on Quebec's highest court to suspend the province's controversial secularism law, so she kept her head buried in her books Thursday and focused on studying for her final exams.
When she stepped out and heard the news that the Court of Appeal had upheld Bill 21, Sassi was crushed to find out the justices had voted two to one against its suspension.
All three judges had serious criticisms of Bill 21, or the Laicity Act, acknowledging it causes "irreparable harm" to those affected, but the majority ruled the law should be allowed to stand until the constitutional challenges are heard in Quebec Superior Court.
That came as a huge disappointment to those those advocating against Bill 21, who say it's already having serious repercussions on the daily lives of people it affects.
"Some of us have all our future and life at stake for this," said Sassi, 32, who is in her second year studies to become an elementary school teacher. She moved to Quebec from Tunisia in 2017 to do just that.
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https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/w ... ailsignout
Amal Sassi was counting on Quebec's highest court to suspend the province's controversial secularism law, so she kept her head buried in her books Thursday and focused on studying for her final exams.
When she stepped out and heard the news that the Court of Appeal had upheld Bill 21, Sassi was crushed to find out the justices had voted two to one against its suspension.
All three judges had serious criticisms of Bill 21, or the Laicity Act, acknowledging it causes "irreparable harm" to those affected, but the majority ruled the law should be allowed to stand until the constitutional challenges are heard in Quebec Superior Court.
That came as a huge disappointment to those those advocating against Bill 21, who say it's already having serious repercussions on the daily lives of people it affects.
"Some of us have all our future and life at stake for this," said Sassi, 32, who is in her second year studies to become an elementary school teacher. She moved to Quebec from Tunisia in 2017 to do just that.
More...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/w ... ailsignout
A Quebec Ban on Religious Symbols Upends Lives and Careers
Four women recount how Quebec’s new secularism law has changed their lives.
MONTREAL — A Muslim lawyer who wears a head scarf has put aside her aspiration to become a public prosecutor.
A Sikh teacher with a turban moved about 2,800 miles from Quebec to Vancouver, calling herself a “refugee in her own country.”
And an Orthodox Jewish teacher who wears a head kerchief is worried that she could be blocked from a promotion.
Since the Quebec government in June banned schoolteachers, police officers, prosecutors and other public sector employees from wearing religious symbols while at work, people like these three women have been grappling with the consequences.
François Legault, the right-leaning Quebec premier, says the law — which applies to Muslim head scarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps, Catholic crosses and other religious symbols — upholds the separation between religion and state, and maintains the neutrality of public sector workers. The government has stressed that the vast majority of Quebecers support the ban.
“I would not feel comfortable being faced with a judge or lawyer in court wearing a head scarf here, because I would worry about their neutrality,” said Radhia Ben Amor, a research coordinator at the University of Montreal, who is Muslim and said she moved from Tunisia to live in a more secular country.
But the law has prompted vocal protests and legal challenges, as well as condemnation by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Critics say it flouts freedom of religion, breaches constitutional protections and excludes minorities who choose to wear symbols of faith from vital professions. They also say implementing the law will be fraught because it can be hard to discern a religious symbol from a fashion accessory or nonreligious garb.
Photos and more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/worl ... 778d3e6de3
Four women recount how Quebec’s new secularism law has changed their lives.
MONTREAL — A Muslim lawyer who wears a head scarf has put aside her aspiration to become a public prosecutor.
A Sikh teacher with a turban moved about 2,800 miles from Quebec to Vancouver, calling herself a “refugee in her own country.”
And an Orthodox Jewish teacher who wears a head kerchief is worried that she could be blocked from a promotion.
Since the Quebec government in June banned schoolteachers, police officers, prosecutors and other public sector employees from wearing religious symbols while at work, people like these three women have been grappling with the consequences.
François Legault, the right-leaning Quebec premier, says the law — which applies to Muslim head scarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps, Catholic crosses and other religious symbols — upholds the separation between religion and state, and maintains the neutrality of public sector workers. The government has stressed that the vast majority of Quebecers support the ban.
“I would not feel comfortable being faced with a judge or lawyer in court wearing a head scarf here, because I would worry about their neutrality,” said Radhia Ben Amor, a research coordinator at the University of Montreal, who is Muslim and said she moved from Tunisia to live in a more secular country.
But the law has prompted vocal protests and legal challenges, as well as condemnation by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Critics say it flouts freedom of religion, breaches constitutional protections and excludes minorities who choose to wear symbols of faith from vital professions. They also say implementing the law will be fraught because it can be hard to discern a religious symbol from a fashion accessory or nonreligious garb.
Photos and more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/worl ... 778d3e6de3
Swiss Voters Narrowly Approve a Ban on Face Coverings
The referendum forbids veils worn by Muslim women in public places, as well as ski masks donned by protesters.
GENEVA — Switzerland on Sunday became the latest European country to ban the wearing of face coverings in public places, prohibiting the veils worn by Muslim women.
Official results of the nationwide referendum showed 51.2 percent of voters supported the ban on full facial coverings, which was proposed by the populist, anti-immigrant Swiss People’s Party (S.V.P.), compared with 48.8 percent opposing it, a much narrower margin of victory than pollsters had initially predicted.
The initiative, started long before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, makes exceptions for facial coverings worn at religious sites and for security or health purposes, but also bans coverings like the ski masks worn by protesters. Officials have two years to write legislation to put the ban into effect.
The federal government had urged voters to reject the ban as tackling a problem that didn’t exist and arguing that it would damage tourism.
Critics of the ban cited a study showing only some 30 women in Switzerland wear the veils and most of them were born in Switzerland and had converted to Islam. The only people seen wearing the burqa, a full head-to-toe covering, are visitors from the Middle East, mostly wealthy tourists from the Persian Gulf bringing welcome revenue to the country’s hospitality industry.
France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria ban face coverings, and opinion polls at the start of the year showed the Swiss initiative garnering the backing of around 65 percent of voters, but the gap narrowed quickly as liberals and women’s groups pushed back against a ban they condemned as racist, Islamophobic and sexist.
The Swiss People’s Party has “always profited from campaigning against minorities, and feel they have to keep doing it,” said Elena Michel, a manager of a campaign against the ban for Operation Libero, an activist group supporting liberal causes. “In the end all our freedoms are at stake. If we open that door, it shows a tendency that it’s OK to take away the fundamental rights of minorities.”
Switzerland’s Central Council of Muslims called the result of the vote “a dark day” for Muslims and issued a statement saying, “Today’s decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality, and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority.”
The proposal put forward by the Swiss People’s Party, the country’s largest, did not mention Islam or niqabs and burqas — veils traditionally worn by Muslim women — calling instead for a ban on “full facial covering.” But the party left no doubt as to whom it was targeting.
Menacing campaign posters depicting a black-garbed woman scowling from behind her veil carried the slogan “Stop Extremism!”
The initiative evoked memories of a successful 2009 campaign by the S.V.P. to ban the construction of minarets, the towers from which mosques traditionally broadcast the call to prayers. Switzerland had three minarets at the time but the party challenged such architecture as alien to the Alpine nation’s culture and landscape, and hammered home the message with posters depicting minarets as missiles.
The S.V.P. framed its campaign leading up to Sunday’s vote as part of a “war of civilizations” in which it was defending Switzerland against “the Islamization of Europe and our country.”
To win support from other parts of the political spectrum, the party also framed the initiative as liberating women from religious oppression and said it would help the police deal with hooligans in street protests and at sporting events.
Some liberal-leaning Muslims supported the ban.
“What the full veil represents is unacceptable; it is the cancellation of women from public space,” Saïda Keller-Messahli, president of the Forum for a Progressive Islam, told Swiss media.
Social commentators say Switzerland’s 400,000 Muslims, who make up around 5.5 percent of the population, are better integrated than those in France or Germany.
Some who campaigned against the ban called the outcome better than expected.
“We lost the battle but not the war,” said Ines el-Shikh, a Muslim and co-founder of the Violet Scarves, a feminist group, who celebrated the sharp drop in support for the ban. “This is huge. It shows the power that feminism as an organized movement can bring to public debate.”
Others said they feared the outcome would merely stoke the politics of division and fuel anti-Muslim sentiment.
“Things are going in a bad direction and this is going to make them worse,” Sanija Ameti, a political activist and member of the Green Liberals Party, said. “That frightens me.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/worl ... iversified
The referendum forbids veils worn by Muslim women in public places, as well as ski masks donned by protesters.
GENEVA — Switzerland on Sunday became the latest European country to ban the wearing of face coverings in public places, prohibiting the veils worn by Muslim women.
Official results of the nationwide referendum showed 51.2 percent of voters supported the ban on full facial coverings, which was proposed by the populist, anti-immigrant Swiss People’s Party (S.V.P.), compared with 48.8 percent opposing it, a much narrower margin of victory than pollsters had initially predicted.
The initiative, started long before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, makes exceptions for facial coverings worn at religious sites and for security or health purposes, but also bans coverings like the ski masks worn by protesters. Officials have two years to write legislation to put the ban into effect.
The federal government had urged voters to reject the ban as tackling a problem that didn’t exist and arguing that it would damage tourism.
Critics of the ban cited a study showing only some 30 women in Switzerland wear the veils and most of them were born in Switzerland and had converted to Islam. The only people seen wearing the burqa, a full head-to-toe covering, are visitors from the Middle East, mostly wealthy tourists from the Persian Gulf bringing welcome revenue to the country’s hospitality industry.
France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria ban face coverings, and opinion polls at the start of the year showed the Swiss initiative garnering the backing of around 65 percent of voters, but the gap narrowed quickly as liberals and women’s groups pushed back against a ban they condemned as racist, Islamophobic and sexist.
The Swiss People’s Party has “always profited from campaigning against minorities, and feel they have to keep doing it,” said Elena Michel, a manager of a campaign against the ban for Operation Libero, an activist group supporting liberal causes. “In the end all our freedoms are at stake. If we open that door, it shows a tendency that it’s OK to take away the fundamental rights of minorities.”
Switzerland’s Central Council of Muslims called the result of the vote “a dark day” for Muslims and issued a statement saying, “Today’s decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality, and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority.”
The proposal put forward by the Swiss People’s Party, the country’s largest, did not mention Islam or niqabs and burqas — veils traditionally worn by Muslim women — calling instead for a ban on “full facial covering.” But the party left no doubt as to whom it was targeting.
Menacing campaign posters depicting a black-garbed woman scowling from behind her veil carried the slogan “Stop Extremism!”
The initiative evoked memories of a successful 2009 campaign by the S.V.P. to ban the construction of minarets, the towers from which mosques traditionally broadcast the call to prayers. Switzerland had three minarets at the time but the party challenged such architecture as alien to the Alpine nation’s culture and landscape, and hammered home the message with posters depicting minarets as missiles.
The S.V.P. framed its campaign leading up to Sunday’s vote as part of a “war of civilizations” in which it was defending Switzerland against “the Islamization of Europe and our country.”
To win support from other parts of the political spectrum, the party also framed the initiative as liberating women from religious oppression and said it would help the police deal with hooligans in street protests and at sporting events.
Some liberal-leaning Muslims supported the ban.
“What the full veil represents is unacceptable; it is the cancellation of women from public space,” Saïda Keller-Messahli, president of the Forum for a Progressive Islam, told Swiss media.
Social commentators say Switzerland’s 400,000 Muslims, who make up around 5.5 percent of the population, are better integrated than those in France or Germany.
Some who campaigned against the ban called the outcome better than expected.
“We lost the battle but not the war,” said Ines el-Shikh, a Muslim and co-founder of the Violet Scarves, a feminist group, who celebrated the sharp drop in support for the ban. “This is huge. It shows the power that feminism as an organized movement can bring to public debate.”
Others said they feared the outcome would merely stoke the politics of division and fuel anti-Muslim sentiment.
“Things are going in a bad direction and this is going to make them worse,” Sanija Ameti, a political activist and member of the Green Liberals Party, said. “That frightens me.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/07/worl ... iversified
Sri Lanka to ban burqa, shut many Islamic schools, minister says
Waruna Karunatilake
Reuters Sat, March 13, 2021, 3:44 AM
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country's minority Muslim population.
Minister for public security Sarath Weerasekera told a news conference he had signed a paper on Friday for cabinet approval to ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women on "national security" grounds.
"In our early days Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa," he said. "It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We are definitely going to ban it."
The wearing of the burqa in the majority-Buddhist nation was temporarily banned in 2019 after the bombing of churches and hotels by Islamic militants that killed more than 250.
Later that year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, best known for crushing a decades-long insurgency in the north of the country as defence secretary, was elected president after promising a crackdown on extremism.
Rajapaksa is accused of widespread rights abuses during the war, charges he denies.
Weerasekera said the government plans to ban more than a thousand madrassa Islamic schools that he said were flouting national education policy.
"Nobody can open a school and teach whatever you want to the children," he said.
The government's moves on burqas and schools follow an order last year mandating the cremation of COVID-19 victims - against the wishes of Muslims, who bury their dead.
This ban was lifted earlier this year after criticism from the United States and international rights groups.
(Reporting by Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by William Mallard)
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/sr ... 02783.html
Waruna Karunatilake
Reuters Sat, March 13, 2021, 3:44 AM
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will ban the wearing of the burqa and shut more than a thousand Islamic schools, a government minister said on Saturday, the latest actions affecting the country's minority Muslim population.
Minister for public security Sarath Weerasekera told a news conference he had signed a paper on Friday for cabinet approval to ban the full face covering worn by some Muslim women on "national security" grounds.
"In our early days Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa," he said. "It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We are definitely going to ban it."
The wearing of the burqa in the majority-Buddhist nation was temporarily banned in 2019 after the bombing of churches and hotels by Islamic militants that killed more than 250.
Later that year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, best known for crushing a decades-long insurgency in the north of the country as defence secretary, was elected president after promising a crackdown on extremism.
Rajapaksa is accused of widespread rights abuses during the war, charges he denies.
Weerasekera said the government plans to ban more than a thousand madrassa Islamic schools that he said were flouting national education policy.
"Nobody can open a school and teach whatever you want to the children," he said.
The government's moves on burqas and schools follow an order last year mandating the cremation of COVID-19 victims - against the wishes of Muslims, who bury their dead.
This ban was lifted earlier this year after criticism from the United States and international rights groups.
(Reporting by Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by William Mallard)
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/sr ... 02783.html
Re: Hejab
Muslim country bans women from wearing niqabs saying they could be 'attackers in disguise'
A niqab is a garment that covers a woman's body except her eyes (Image: Getty)
Women in Kyrgyzstan are banned from wearing niqabs as the country claims they could be “attackers in disguise”. The Muslim country’s government has backed plans to fine anyone wearing the garment under new safety plans.
Officials in Central Asia are attempting to tackle the growing influence of Islamism as the region has seen an increase in radicalisation in recent years. As part of this, Kyrgyzstan introduced a nationwide ban of the niqab - a garment that covers a woman's body except her eyes. Anyone found to be wearing the item will be fined 20,000 Som (£179), which is more than half of the average monthly salary.
Kyrgyzstan officials say there's a risk of "attackers in disguise" (Image: Getty)
On Tuesday, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan stated that “the niqab is alien to our society”.
"It is possible that our niqab-wearing sisters are attackers in disguise, which threatens public safety,” it added. “So it is important to openly show your face to be recognisable.”
Approximately 90% of the population identifies itself as Muslim, the vast majority of whom are Sunni - the country’s population currently stands at 7 million.
Muslim-majority countries in Central Asia have seen a rise in Islamism which governments have tried to combat. Many citizens in these countries joined jihadist groups in the Middle East during the rise of the Islamic State between 2013 and 2015.
The president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, approved the ban as part of the law earlier this year. During an interview on Saturday, he explained that women in his country had traditionally "never worn a burqa”, highlighting that the ban was crucial for “ensuring public safety”.
The hijab, a headscarf that covers the hair, leaving the face visible, remains permissible under Kyrgyz law. When parliament speaker Nurlanbek Shakiev presented the bill last year, he said: “There will be no restrictions on the head scarf. Our mothers and sisters have always worn head scarves as part of our traditions and religion.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/20 ... en-wearing
A niqab is a garment that covers a woman's body except her eyes (Image: Getty)
Women in Kyrgyzstan are banned from wearing niqabs as the country claims they could be “attackers in disguise”. The Muslim country’s government has backed plans to fine anyone wearing the garment under new safety plans.
Officials in Central Asia are attempting to tackle the growing influence of Islamism as the region has seen an increase in radicalisation in recent years. As part of this, Kyrgyzstan introduced a nationwide ban of the niqab - a garment that covers a woman's body except her eyes. Anyone found to be wearing the item will be fined 20,000 Som (£179), which is more than half of the average monthly salary.
Kyrgyzstan officials say there's a risk of "attackers in disguise" (Image: Getty)
On Tuesday, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan stated that “the niqab is alien to our society”.
"It is possible that our niqab-wearing sisters are attackers in disguise, which threatens public safety,” it added. “So it is important to openly show your face to be recognisable.”
Approximately 90% of the population identifies itself as Muslim, the vast majority of whom are Sunni - the country’s population currently stands at 7 million.
Muslim-majority countries in Central Asia have seen a rise in Islamism which governments have tried to combat. Many citizens in these countries joined jihadist groups in the Middle East during the rise of the Islamic State between 2013 and 2015.
The president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, approved the ban as part of the law earlier this year. During an interview on Saturday, he explained that women in his country had traditionally "never worn a burqa”, highlighting that the ban was crucial for “ensuring public safety”.
The hijab, a headscarf that covers the hair, leaving the face visible, remains permissible under Kyrgyz law. When parliament speaker Nurlanbek Shakiev presented the bill last year, he said: “There will be no restrictions on the head scarf. Our mothers and sisters have always worn head scarves as part of our traditions and religion.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/20 ... en-wearing