France votes to ban the burkha
DEMANDS to ban the burkha in Britain were growing last night after France voted to outlaw the wearing of Islamic full-face veils in public.
The Government was urged to follow Paris’s example and stand up against the face and body coverings which have been condemned for creating a divided Britain.
In France, where the burkha has been described as a “walking coffin”, the new law means women will be fined or jailed for hiding their faces in public.
And men who force their wives to wear a full Islamic veil will face tougher fines and up to a year behind bars.
Spain and the Netherlands are considering similar legislation and there are calls for Britain to follow suit as the veils become an increasingly common sight on our streets.
Tory MP Philip Hollobone, who has launched a Private Member’s Bill to ban “facial coverings”, said: “It is unnatural for someone to cover their face and it not a religious requirement.
“We are never going to have a fully integrated society if an increasing proportion of the population cover their faces.” The UK Independence Party is also calling for a ban, describing the burkha as a symbol of “divided Britain”.
UKIP leader Lord Pearson said: “The French ban not only makes sense but finds legitimacy in the Koran, which only calls for women to dress modestly. Instead, it has become the symbol of the more radical forms of Islam.”
France has already banned religious clothing such as Muslim headscarves, Jewish skull caps and Christian crosses from schools.
And yesterday it become the second country in Europe to introduce a ban on burkhas in public after Belgium voted earlier this year to outlaw Muslim headscarves that hide the face.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned full-face veils as a “sign of debasement” and during the debate over the law Andre Gerin, of the Communist opposition, called the burkha a “walking coffin”.
Under the French law women who hide behind veils face initial fines of £140 but repeat offenders will be jailed. And men who force their wives or other family members to cover up could be fined up to £28,000 and jailed for 12 months.
The law will also apply to foreigners, including the thousands of wealthy Middle Eastern tourists who visit the country every year. But penalties will not be imposed until the law has been in operation for six months, to allow burkha wearers to adapt to the ban.
The majority of France’s five million-strong Muslim population support the ban, with only 5,000 Muslim women in the country believed to wear the burkha. However, Muslim millionaire Rachid Nekkaz is setting up a fund to help fundamentalist women pay their “burkha fines”. The Paris property tycoon, who made a bid for the presidency in 2007, condemned the ban as unconstitutional.
A ban on burkhas is supported by 99 per cent of Britons, a Daily Express poll found last month.
And last night the French ban was welcomed in one of Britain’s most multicultural cities, Birmingham. Teaching assistant Diana Phillips, 42, said: “I see it as a good thing because it is important to have eye contact with people. The government in France is not anti-Muslim.”
Phil Bathurst added: “A ban over here would benefit everyone. Burkhas create a barrier between people.”
The French ban, passed by 335 votes to one, is due to become law next spring. But it faces threats from the Council of Europe on human rights grounds, which could lead to costly legal battles.
And terror group Al Qaeda has vowed to “seek dreadful revenge on France” if the ban is introduced.
