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| Europe |
| French parliament unanimously bans burka |
| 2010-05-12 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] The French parliament on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the full-face Islamic veil as an affront to the nation's values, setting the stage for a law banning it. The vote in the National Assembly put France on course to become the second European country after Belgium to declare the wearing of the burka or the niqab illegal in public places. President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party and the opposition Socialists made a rare show of unity in backing the non-binding resolution that declared the veil "contrary to the values of the republic." "The full veil challenges the values that we share and the very principles according to which we live together," Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told the assembly ahead of the vote. "The government is determined to take all means to combat these practices which are contrary to the values of the republic," she said. The non-binding measure was approved by a vote of 434 to 0 in the 577-seat National Assembly, although about 30 Communist deputies had earlier walked out of the chamber in protest. Next week, Sarkozy's cabinet will examine a draft bill that could impose fines on women who wear the full veil and threaten with imprisonment men who force their wives or daughters to cover themselves. That bill will then go before parliament in July where it will face some resistance over proposals to make it illegal for reasons of security to wear face-covering veils anywhere in public. The Socialist opposition is calling on the government to restrict the ban to state institutions to avoid a court challenge that would derail the legislation. "We fear that you will go too far," Socialist Jean Glavany told the justice minister. "We must defend the republic with wisdom and perspicacity." Debate on the burka ban has prompted warnings that it could stoke tension in a country that is home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority, estimated at between five and six million, and where Islam is the number two religion. Police carried out a full security sweep of parliament ahead of the vote, using sniffer dogs to search the chamber and adjoining corridors, and also securing rooftops. After declaring the burka "unwelcome" in officially secular France, Sarkozy last month moved to support a total ban despite warnings from the State Council, a top administrative body, that such a move may be unconstitutional. Before joining his fellow communists, deputy Alain Bocquet denounced the measure as a ploy to woo the far-right and warned that a ban will lead France to "division." In the resolution, lawmakers declared that "radical practices which violate the dignity and equality between men and women, such as the wearing of the full veil, are contrary to the values of the republic." Parliament "deems it necessary that all useful means be put in place to ensure the protection of women who are subjected to violence and pressure and in particular are forced to wear the full veil," it said. Fewer than 2,000 women wear the head-to-toe veil, according to the interior ministry. The head of France's Council of the Muslim Faith, a government body created to promote inter-faith relations, warned that the veil ban risks leaving many Muslims feeling like outcasts. "Rather than enacting a law barring women from expressing their malaise, we should think about what prompted them to want to cover themselves," said Mohamed Moussaoui, who met lawmakers ahead of the vote. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 Thats what the ION means. It is, however, relevant considering (what JoeM was pointing out) they got one guy caught confessing a building-storming training camp, and the full security sweeps before this vote. I would find it interesting if 1/5 of a car-b-q crowd suddenly rushed the building, no? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-05-12 22:00 |
| #8 hell - Joeseph's commentary is great... and usually informative - keep it up! |
| Posted by: linker 2010-05-12 21:01 |
| #7 Make him read Muck. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-05-12 20:47 |
| #6 "SickTransit" - you poor, poor thing - forced at gunpoint to read Joe's comments (instead of just skipping over them). Tell us who's doing such a dastardly thing to you, and we'll issue a strongly worded letter to him/her. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-05-12 19:26 |
| #5 Full-face Islamic veil = ski-masks in the U.S. with a religious twist. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-12 19:04 |
| #4 American state legislatures should follow suit. |
| Posted by: American Delight 2010-05-12 15:13 |
| #3 France is getting tough on terror. |
| Posted by: Keeney 2010-05-12 15:07 |
| #2 Nothing to do with the topic JM, not a thing. Then again, your posts never are, are they? It is tiresome to need to filter out the yelling of posts that are apropos of nothing in the item. If you won't use your indoor voice, then at least try to limit your ramblings to the item posted. Yeesh. |
| Posted by: SicTransit 2010-05-12 10:03 |
| #1 ION COUNTERRRORISM BLOG > [Canada]"TORONTO 18" LEADER PLEADS GUILTY IN TERROR TRIAL | HE ORGANIZED TRAINING CAMPS TO PREPARE RECRUITS TO STORM PARLIAMENT HILL + BEHEAD POLITICIANS. Take local Pols hostage + kill them unless troops were pulled out from Afghanistan. Also intended to dwarf the LONDON SUBWAY TERROPS IN SCALE, + HIs schema be such that CANADA would NOT, NEVER be able to fully recover from His planned attack. PARIS? LONDON? MOSCOW? EU? WASHINGTON DC? OTHER? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-05-12 02:32 |