Thanks to Miss France
They’ve done it folks! After years of deliberation, the French government has finally banned the public use of the Burka,a traditional muslim veil, effective Monday April 11.
Anyone wearing the burka or niqab in public will be “fined up to $216 and a citizenship course.” And to enforce this law, men who are caught forcing women to wear a veil will face a much steeper punishment of up to $43,400 in fines and prosecution.
To complicate matters, immigration minister and architect of the ban, Eric Besson (who once described a burqua as a “walking coffin”) is reported to have a Muslim Tunisian girlfriend who is more than half his age. Besson is allegedly considering suing a news website that speculated about his possible conversion to Islam.
Muslims in France are less than certain about the the burqa ban …. ok, they are outraged!
If the protests on Saturday and the peaceful demonstrations on Monday are any indication, this is going to be a long difficult battle.
On Saturday, 61 people were arrested in Paris, 19 of which were women. And attempting to join the party was Anjem Choudary, a member of the outlawed Islam4UK. He was arrested along with two other Muslim radicals.
On the first day of the ban, two women wore their burqas in defiance of the new law and were arrested NOT for veiling their face BUT for an unauthorized protest! It seems the French government is still confused about its own law.
“I’m not here to provoke, but to defend my civil liberties as a French citizen,” said Drider, one of the veiled protesters on Monday.
Taking creativity to a new level, some Muslim women in France are planning on wearing medical masks in order to get around the law. Others have simply left France, which is the 1st country to “bring a ban on face-covering veils.” Although nearly a year ago Belgium passed a similar ban, it has failed to enforce it.
Even more alarming are Al-Qaeda’s massive threats to attack France following the introduction of the ban. Like many Muslim communities abroad, they are not buying Sarkozy’s fight against the “debasement of women” so passionately stated in his state of the nation address last year.
It is curious, odd, and some would say a little incriminating that Sarkozy would support this ban just a year before a national election. 60% do not support Mr Sarkozy according to a recent Paris-based poll. But France’s current political atmosphere seems to be anti-immigration. So it appears Sarkozy may be using the ban as a good political opportunity to boost his popularity.
Just something to think about. Could the ban spread to the UK, Italy, and even the US?
