Mirroring moves in Belgium and Spain, lawmakers in France begin debate on 13 July 2010 on a bill aimed at banning the full-face Islamic veil in the country with Europe’s biggest Muslim minority. The legislation would make it illegal to wear the face-covering veil anywhere in public and impose fines of 150 euros (US$190) to…
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called for a moratorium on the Swiss minaret ban during a debate on Islam, Islamism, and Islamophobia in Europe. The recommendation was passed with the unanimous support of the entire assembly, including that of all the Swiss representatives, even André Bugnon, who had earlier supported the…
The debate about banning the burqa and the niqab in public spaces will continue at the national level after weeks of public debate in some municipalities (like Huesca and Reus). Partido Popular’s (PP, the main opposition party) proposal for an open debate on the banning of the burqa and the niqab was supported by the…
Alicia Sánchez Camacho, the Popular Party’s Catalonian leader, said that she will submit a proposal to both the Catalonian Parliament and the Spanish Senate for the banning of the burqa and niqab in public spaces.
The banning of the burqa and niqab in Lleida (Catalonia) has led to similar initiatives in other Catalonian towns. In El Vendrell and in Reus (both in the province of Tarragona), the Catalonian nationalist party Convergència I Unió (CIU) has called for the banning of the burqa and the niqab, following the steps taken by…
