Tory MP moves private bill to outlaw ‘burqa’

By Venkata Vemuri, IANS
Thursday, July 1, 2010

LONDON - Conservative MP Philip Hollobone has introduced a private member’s bill in the British Parliament to regulate the wearing of “certain facial coverings” that would include the ‘burqa’.

The MP from Kettering said his bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public “which would obviously have a big impact for those who wear full-face Islamic veils”.

The Telegraph Thursday quoted him as saying: “I think it’s inappropriate to cover your face in public, whether it’s a burqa, a balaclava or anything else. We are never going to get along with having a fully integrated society if a substantial minority insist on concealing their identity from everyone else.”

Hollobone has previously described the burqa as “offensive” and “against the British way of life”.

The MP, a backbencher in the House of Commons, was one of 20 MPs drawn in a ballot for the chance to get a Private Member’s Bill on the statute book Wednesday.

His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill had its first reading in the Commons, a formality which allows the legislation to be printed.

Shaista Gohir, of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, told the Daily Mail: “I agree that wearing a face veil has a negative affect on community cohesion and the majority of Muslims do not believe it is a religious obligation. But a ban would be a completely disproportionate response. There are a million Muslim women in Britain, and only a few thousand are estimated to wear a veil.”

Because Hollobone was only drawn 17th in the ballot, his bill stands little chance of progress, the newspaper said. But there are fears it may reignite the fierce debate about the banning of the Islamic garments at a time when a number of European countries are trying to outlaw them.

In April, Belgium’s parliament unanimously voted on a bill to ban the full Islamic face veil in public. The bill is expected to become law shortly. In France, parliament is due to vote on a similar bill this month.

(Venkata Vemuri can be contacted at venkata.v@ians.in)

Filed under: Religion

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