![]() In November 2006, European Commissioner Franco Frattini said that he did not favour a ban on the burqa. A more extreme related view is that freely chosen Islamic dress is a declaration of allegiance to radical Islamism.Īlthough the Balkans and Eastern Europe have Muslim populations dating back to the Ottoman occupation, most Muslims in western Europe are members of more recent immigrant communities the issue of Islamic dress is linked with issues of immigration and the position of Islam in western society. In their view, Western Enlightenment values require prohibition, regardless of whether a woman has freely chosen Islamic dress. For them, the burqa or chador are both a symbol of religious obscurantism and the oppression of women. They advocate the values of Enlightenment liberalism, including secularism and equality of women. These critics-prominent among them, Ayaan Hirsi Ali-see Islam as incompatible with Western values, at least in its present form. įor some critics, Islamic dress is an issue of value conflicts and the clash of civilizations. Other policies and proposals specifically target the hijab, burka and similar Islamic headdresses on the basis of them allegedly being oppressive to the women wearing them (a claim countered by many hijab- and burka-wearing women themselves, but supported by many liberal and former Muslim women who do not wear them), or because of their perceived "un-Europeanness" and other such territorial or nationalistic arguments. Some policies and proposals merely include Islamic headdresses into the entire spectrum of religious symbols, also including the crucifix, Christian head covering, the kippah, the mitpaḥat or tichel and other clothes and accessories, that some argue should be absent in certain places on the basis of secularism in order to establish religiously neutral spaces so that everyone receives the same treatment, and to prevent social conflicts. However, the public controversy is wider, and may be indicative of polarisation between Muslims and western European societies. Legal bans on face-covering clothing are often justified on security grounds, as an anti- terrorism measure. Headscarves for sale at Whitechapel market in London, E1 The issue has different names in different countries, and "the veil" or hijab may be used as general terms for the debate, representing more than just the veil itself, or the concept of modesty embodied in hijab. ![]() Some of them apply only to face-covering clothing such as the burqa, boushiya, or niqab some apply to any clothing with an Islamic religious symbolism such as the khimar, a type of headscarf. ![]() ![]() Other countries are debating similar legislation, or have more limited prohibitions. Some countries already have laws banning the wearing of masks in public, which can be applied to veils that conceal the face. In several countries, the adherence to hijab (an Arabic noun meaning "to cover") has led to political controversies and proposals for a legal partial or full ban in some or all circumstances. Hijab and burka controversies in Europe revolve around the variety of headdresses worn by Muslim women, which have become prominent symbols of the presence of Islam in especially Western Europe. ![]()
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