Free Republic

It was an honest mistake- she didn't have to get all mad like that

“It’s a textile prison for the women who have to live under it,” he said. Last week, protesters hurled bins and metal barriers at a police station after Stéphanie Djato, 24, was arrested for refusing to remove her face veil. “They tried to enter by force, but they were not able to,” a spokesman for Brussels police told broadcaster RTL.... Ms. Djato, who was waiting at a streetcar stop, scuffled with officers after she refused to show them any ID. During the mêlée, a policewoman was injured. “Finally, the woman’s veil was removed and she was taken to hospital with...

SNIPPET - quote: Mohammed Abu Hasnath, 19,  of Blair Street E14, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for 14 months after he admitted being in possession of Al Qaeda’s on-line terrorist magazine “Inspire.” The young perfume salesman was arrested by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command on October 13 last year as he was cycling along the East India Dock Road. Hasnath pleaded guilty to four charges of having copies of the magazine on his computer memory USB stick. The Central Criminal Court heard that he had also painted burqas on scantily clad women featured on advertising posters in the local area. As...

Comments and questions have poured forth after a woman was removed, said to be in a burqa, from President Obama campaign rally on Saturday. Isti Arief , a PhD student at Virginia Commonwealth University, told CBS 6 she was elated to see another Muslim woman sitting a few rows in front of her at President Obama’s re-election rally on Saturday. However, Arief says when she looked much closer , she knew something was wrong, starting with the woman’s burqa. “It looked like more of a makeshift one. It wasn’t even an official one” said Arief. Arief goes on to say...

A strange happening at the Obama campaign event at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond today. The media pool reports mentioned a woman wearing a black burka who was removed from the event. To make things more interesting, the pool reporter says the person was wearing U.S. military insignia.From the AP:VCU police reported that a heckler was removed from the arena, taken outside and released. A police dispatcher didn't know what the woman had yelled. According to a White House pool report, photographers observed a woman wearing a black burka being escorted out of the gym by Richmond police and other...

Maria Sharapova and Sasha Vujacic Will Wed In Turkey, Despite Being ‘Saddened’ By All The Stray Dogs Rick Chandler Mar 23, 2012 Scientists can confirm that we are now closer than ever to a Maria Sharapova-Sasha Vujacic Super Baby, after the couple on Thursday officially set a wedding date. Following a whirlwind 18-month engagement, the tennis diva and former NBA (and current Anadolu Efes Basketball Club) star have set Nov. 10 in Istanbul, Turkey, for the nuptials. That’s where Vujacic is currently employed. But I have a feeling that, given a choice, Sharapova would have picked a different wedding locale....

Face must be visible on ID pic... Common sense dictates there's no better form of positive identification as actually showing your face. Signing official documents, obtaining a driver's license, or for those who require a Military ID Card... The reason for the photograph on the identification card need not be explained, per basic common sense. As reported by Australia's The Daily Telegraph, the Aussie state of New South Wales has been forced to legalize common sense. The Burqa Conundrum... The Carnita Matthews Case in Australia hit the headlines last year when the 50-ish Australian convert-to-Islam was stopped by a policeman...

Belgian politician risks Muslim backlash after using teenage daughter dressed in burka and bikini for campaign against Islam Cover up: Politician's daughter An-Sofie Dewinter poses in a burka and bikini in a campaign against Islamic extremists A Belgian politician has risked causing uproar among Muslims after starting a 'Women Against Islamization' campaign featuring his 19-year-old daughter wearing a burka and a bikini. Filip Dewinter, leader of the far-right Vlaams Belang party, uses a shot of his daughter An-Sofie Dewinter in the dark blue bikini for the political campaign. The glamorous teenager dons a burka that covers her head and face,...

I keep pinching myself, but it’s no mere nightmare. I am living with the traumatizing truth that, for the moment, I am on the same side as ultra-Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney and the rightest of right-wing columnists. Following Immigration Minister Kenney’s announcement that veiled faces will be banned at citizenship ceremonies, pundits have been weighing in all over the place. And, with a few sporadic exceptions, the response has been neatly divided: the ban is an outrage (the left), and the ban is good (the right). Personally, I’m all for it. There is not a single positive thing to...

Nassim Mimoune, 24, had already been expelled from the delivery room for branding the midwife a 'rapist' as she carried out an intimate examination of his wife. Then through a window he spotted the nurse taking off his wife's burqa as she prepared to give birth. He smashed open the locked door and hit the woman in the face, demanding she replace the full Islamic face veil. As his wife delivered a baby boy, Mimoune was ejected from the building by security men from the hospital in Marseille and arrested for assault. A judge in the southern French port jailed...

It was as inevitable as it was expected. Following Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s decision to ban niqabs and burkas during the swearing of the oath of citizenship for new Canadians, it was only a matter of time before cries of unfair treatment were heard from the Muslim community. Right on cue, Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, filled the role of number one whiner. In what can only be described as unbelievable, the Imam compared what he perceives as the poor treatment of Muslims in Canada to that of Jews under Nazi rule before the move...

Via Menzies House: A clear majority of Austrians support an anti-burka law, according to new poll results. The Austrian Independent reports: “Viennese public opinion agency Karmasin spoke with 500 Austrians to find that 71 per cent of them were in favour of such a law prohibiting wearing burkas in public places. Such veils cover women’s bodies expect a small gap for their eyes. Only 23 per cent spoke out against the introduction of such a bylaw, Karmasin found in its survey conducted for weekly magazine profil.” The seven in ten result isn’t surprising. Across right-leaning Europe, there is growing support...

A MUSLIM woman sentenced to six months' jail for making a deliberately false statement that a racist policeman tried to forcibly remove her burka has been freed on appeal. Judge Clive Jeffreys said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt it was Carnita Matthews, a 47-year-old Muslim woman from Woodbine, NSW, who accused the police of racism because the person who handed in the complaint to police was wearing a burka at the time.

The establishment media faked crocodile tears when one Prince Harry wore a Nazi uniform. Apparently, only Hollywood actors can dress up as fascists for fun. Islamist-inspired fascism is another matter: a peaceful religious expression. Here in the real world, of course, appeasement policies are eroding our security – not fancy dress parties. Plus, there’s no free-market without security.Therefore, I say: Give us the right to ban burkas and (where reasonable) veils. There are clear cases of burka-wearing women smuggling in bombs to slaughter ladies, gentleman, and children. There are clear cases of cross-dressing men using burkas as escape costumes. A...

Okay, so France wasn’t the first nation to ban burkas. In Turkey, a Muslim-majority nation, we’ve seen similar bans before. Of late: Citizens of canton Ticino may be the first in Switzerland to vote on a proposal to ban women from wearing burkas in public. A committee there has gathered the 10,000 petition signatures required to launch an initiative that could forbid the wearing of burkas and other veils that hide the face. For the record, I support the separation of mosque and state and therefore burka bans for numerous reasons. To support safety efforts is hardly Islamophobic either: The...

Too many creative types these days conduct themselves like toddlers without the diaper, unless wearing one is the new thing in fashion. Hey did I write that to segue into how fashion designers are starting to fetishize burkas? Why yes I did! How quaint is that, Europe starts moving to ban them and that turns it into the forbidden fruit of high fashion. Anyone who has even seen a glimpse of a fashion show knows modesty at any level is not exactly the goal of the runway. So this will present an interesting conundrum because making burkas sexy is...

France's controversial burka ban became law today, sparking a protest in Paris during which two women wearing full-face veils were arrested. But the demonstrations were on a relatively small scale, with the handful of protesters being outnumbered by police, reporters and tourists. Ironically, the biggest protest was in London, where a group of women in full black burkas gathered outside the French Embassy.

British Muslim radicals were among at least 61 people arrested in Paris today in connection with an illegal rally against France’s burka ban. They included Anjem Choudary, the radical cleric who advocates sharia law for the UK and who calls British soldiers murderers. Omar Bakri and Abu Izzadeen, who are also controversial figures, tried to get to the event but were stopped by police. Nineteen veiled women were arrested. A police spokesman said: ‘Muslim leaders from Britain and Belgium were among those detained as they travelled to the event. ‘The fear was that they would inflame the situation. This was...

France was today attacked by religious leaders for organising a ‘poisonous’ national debate about the growing number of Muslims living in the country. They accused President Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to attract racist voters by holding the all-party political discussion next Tuesday. It will see people complaining about numerous aspects of Islamic life, from its links with terrorist groups to the wearing of burkas. But French Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Buddhists today joined Muslim leaders in published a joint statement saying the debate would cause ‘confusion in the troubled period we are going through.

Excerpted website: A German state yesterday became the first region in the country to ban Muslim women from wearing burkas. The country has been gripped for several months by an angry debate on multiculturalism with many Germans voicing their concerns over immigration. Hesse, a state run by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, has now became the first German region to ban Muslim face veils for public sector workers. Hesse Interior Minister Boris Rheinsaid it was 'not acceptable' for a teacher in Frankfurt to wear a face veil because 'public sector workers are obligated to have neutral religious and political views'.

Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear co-stars have sparked religious outrage after dressing up in burkas on the Boxing Day special. Clarkson and Richard Hammond decided to dress in niqabs, a form of the burka where everything but the eyes are covered, in order to disguise themselves on the road. They also got James May in on the act when they greeted him from hospital after he fell and hit his head on rocks in the Syrian desert.

THE daughter-in-law of hate cleric Abu Hamza was arrested at his jail for allegedly trying to smuggle in a sim card under her burka. Guards rumbled Chayme, 26, in a routine search as she went to visit the hate preacher. Hamza's eldest son Mohamed Kamel Mostafa was also nicked over the contraband the next day. The find raised fears that hook-handed Hamza has access to a mobile in prison where he is awaiting a US bid to ext-radite him for allegedly running terrorist training camps. The tiny microchip was found in a pocket in clothing under her flowing black robes...

After September 11th, airline passengers were more closely screened for what they had on their person – sharp objects were of particular concern. After the shoe-bomber, Richard Reid, failed to blow another airplane out of the sky, passengers had to take their shoes off during the screening process. Then came the underwear bomber last Christmas. A consequence of his failed attempt now includes intrusive 'pat downs' and revealing body scans for air travelers. Now it is learned that Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano is considering an exemption for Muslim women! This is what the Forum For Middle East Understanding (FFMU)...

She’s just left Australia. But not before creating a stir. From Dan Oakes of The Age, Melbourne: THE belief that burqas should be banned in order to stop suicide bombers disguising themselves is a legitimate one, according to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Mrs Clinton also described the status of women as ''one of the biggest pieces of unfinished business in this century'', and said their persecution was a common factor in repressed and impoverished nations.

Italy is set to become the next European country to ban the burka after a government report ruled in favour of the proposed legislation. MPs from the anti-immigration Northern League party, a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling right wing coalition, have presented the proposal in a bill.

<p>The French Senate has voted overwhelmingly for a bill banning the burqa-style Islamic veil everywhere from post offices to streets, in a final step toward a making it law.</p> <p>The Senate voted 246 to 1 Tuesday in favor of the bill, which has already passed in the lower chamber, the National Assembly.</p>

"Focus" -- poll shows that there are 61 percent of Germans for Burka-Ban Munich [kath.net/KAP] The Archbishop of Bamberg, Ludwig Schick, sees good grounds for a burka ban in Germany. The reason for this interview on "Focus" was related to the news magazine's recent published polls, which shows that 61 percent of Germans are for a burka ban. If it were legally punishable to wear a burka, this must be put in the balance "between the basic rights of religious freedom and other basic rights, like for example the equality of man and woman, the right for education or the...

TOP Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson’s burka outburst could see “rivers of blood” on Britain’s streets. The TV loudmouth caused outrage by claiming Muslim women wear G-strings under their burkas on last Sunday’s show. And hate preacher Anjem Choudary warned Islamic fanatics will “go to war” to protect the honour of their women.

An Islamist preacher barred from Britain for his radical views has warned France against passing a Muslim veil ban, or risk increasing support for al-Qaeda. "Look what happened in Belgium and in France," Omar Bakri said...The Syrian-born preacher, who settled in Britain in 1985, was banned from re-entering the country in 2005 ... Bakri had headed the radical al-Muhajiroun group, and praised the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States as the "magnificent 19".

A German man wearing a burka and carrying a pistol was arrested in northwest Pakistan Monday after travelling from an area known as a hub for Al-Qaeda-linked militants, police said. "A German man, wearing a burka, was intercepted at a checkpoint in Bannu while coming from Miranshah with a six-year-old girl," local police station chief Farid Khan told AFP. Two tribesmen travelling with him in the vehicle were also detained, he said. Miranshah is the main town of lawless North Waziristan tribal district, a known hotbed of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants. Most women in the area wear a burka,...

MEP Koch-Mehrin calls for Europe-wide burka ban Published: 1 May 10 10:49 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20100501-26911.html After Belgium's parliament voted to ban Islamic full-face veils, the German vice-president of the European Parliament has called for a ban of the burka throughout Europe. 'Die Fremde' takes top honours at Tribeca Film Festival - Society (30 Apr 10)Teen expelled from Catholic school for leaving Church - National (30 Apr 10)A Muslim Christian Democrat's crucifixion - Analysis & Opinion (27 Apr 10) Silvana Koch-Mehrin called the full-body veil an attack on the rights of women in a guest editorial in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper....

The lawyer for a French Muslim woman fined for driving while wearing a full-face veil has accused police of abusing her human rights, as the government pushes to ban the garment. Police stopped the 31-one-year-old in the western city of Nantes and fined her 22 euros ($31.80) on the grounds that her niqab - an Islamic veil with a slit for the eyes - restricted her view so she could not drive safely. "This fine is not justified on road safety grounds and constitutes a breach of human and women's rights," said the woman's lawyer, Jean-Michel Pollono. He insists his...

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France told his cabinet on Wednesday that he would put forward a bill in May to ban the wearing of the full veil in public places in France, despite a warning from senior legal authorities that the bill may be unconstitutional. Mr. Sarkozy wants a bill that goes farther than initial proposals, including a ban on wearing the full veil — the niqab, which leaves only the eyes uncovered, and the burqa, which is almost unknown in France — from streets, markets and shops, according to his spokesman, Luc Chatel. The full veil “hurts the dignity...

Picture me on the Eurostar, in Brussels, Belgium. The year is 2004. There’s a veil-wearing lady sitting behind me with her friend. Like most women of a certain age, they’re chattering their heads off. Later, however, the loud conversation takes a sharp turn, when the Muslim lady pontificates about the superiority of Islam and the evils of paganism. But, if I had been sharing my Protestant beliefs? From a theological perspective, there’s nothing wrong with Muslims or Christians peacefully evangelizing. I am a friend of free speech. But the subject of clothing politics (for want of a better term) is...

March 31, 2010 Belgium moves to ban the burqa If the ban is passed Belgium will become the first country in Europe to make the wearing of Muslim clothing illegal David Charter, Brussels The face-covering veil is set to be banned within weeks in Belgium, making it the first country in Europe to make the wearing of Muslim clothing illegal. Women who flout the ban will face from one to seven days in jail or a fine of 15 to 25 euros. While President Sarkozy is encountering obstacles to his plans to outlaw the face-covering niqab in France, Belgium's main...

A Belgian parliamentary committee has voted to ban face-covering Islamic veils from being worn in public. The home affairs committee voted unanimously to endorse the move, which must be approved by parliament for it to become law. Such a vote could be held within weeks, correspondents say, meaning that Belgium could become the first European country to implement a ban. France is also considering restricting face-covering veils. There are several types of headscarves and veils for Muslim women - those that cover the face being the niqab and the burka. 'Dangerous precedent' The BBC's Dominic Hughes reports from Brussels that...

MONTREAL -- In recent years, the few fully veiled Muslim women who had dealings with Quebec's health-insurance board could choose to be served by a woman to avoid exposing their faces to a man outside their family. But in the latest example of the province's growing resistance to the accommodation of minority religious practices, the insurance board on Tuesday announced the end of the policy after the provincial human rights commission said it has no duty to acquiesce. "From now on, for a woman who is veiled with a niqab or a burka and comes to our office asking to...

More than half of voters in four other major European states back a push by France's Nicolas Sarkozy to ban women from wearing the burka, according to an opinion poll for the Financial Times. As Mr Sarkozy presses ahead with plans to ban the wearing of the burka in public places, the FT latest Harris poll shows the move is not just strongly supported in France, but wins enthusiastic backing in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany. The poll shows 70 per cent of respondents in France said they supported plans to forbid the wearing of the garment which covers...

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that burqa-clad women cannot be issued voter identity cards, rejecting the argument that religion prohibits them from lifting their veils. Counsel for petitioner M Ajam Khan had contended that asking `purdah-nashin' women to lift their veil for being photographed would amount to sacrilege as their photographs would be seen by many men working as polling agents and electoral officials. "It will hurt their religious sentiments and the Election Commission must not insist on `purdah-nashin' women to be photographed for inclusion of their name in the electoral rolls," said the counsel arguing before a...

MPs will vote on the proposal this month after a long impassioned debate over the merits of outlawing the burka and niqab. Jean-François Copé, parliamentary leader of President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP group, said the 750 euro fine would apply to anyone whose face is "fully covered in public". Wearing either would be tolerated only in exceptional circumstances, such as "cultural events or carnivals," he added. The bill proposes introducing an even heavier penalty for anyone who forces a woman to wear the full veil, Mr Copé said in an interview with the Le Figaro magazine. The burka is a full-body...

The other day, George Jonas passed on to his readers a characteristically shrewd observation gleaned from the late poet George Faludy: “No one likes to think of himself as a coward,” wrote Jonas. “People prefer to think they end up yielding to what the terrorists demand, not because it’s safer or more convenient, but because it’s the right thing . . . Successful terrorism persuades the terrorized that if they do terror’s bidding, it’s not because they’re terrified but because they’re socially concerned.” This is true. Resisting terror is exhausting. It’s easier to appease it, but, for the sake of your self-esteem, you have...

Women forbidden by law from feeling sunlight—hey, that’s a positive message for young girls The other day, George Jonas passed on to his readers a characteristically shrewd observation gleaned from the late poet George Faludy: “No one likes to think of himself as a coward,” wrote Jonas. “People prefer to think they end up yielding to what the terrorists demand, not because it’s safer or more convenient, but because it’s the right thing . . . Successful terrorism persuades the terrorized that if they do terror’s bidding, it’s not because they’re terrified but because they’re socially concerned.”

A burka-wearing student has been banned from enrolling at a college after staff claimed the Muslim garment was a barrier to ‘safety and communication’. Shawana Bilqes, 18, was forced to abandon her learning plans after she refused to remove the head-to-toe gown which reveals only her eyes. She had been asked to show her face as a check to avoid identity fraud in case she was posing as someone else. But when she explained she could not due to her religious belief she was forced off her Access course for an HE Diploma at Burnley College, Lancashire. Today Miss Bilqes...

A SPANISH judge has expelled a Muslim woman wearing a burka from his court for refusing to show her face when testifying in the trial of a group of Islamic extremists. "Seeing your face, I can see if you are lying or not, if you are surprised by a question or not," Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez told the woman, the sister of an Islamic radical killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2005. The woman said that her religion forbade her from appearing in public without her burka... But after speaking to the judge later in his chambers, a...

As I always do around this time of year, I pushed aside the Arab-Israeli conflict for a moment to contemplate the more serious conflict between secular Muslims and Christian Arabs and the growing religious extremism in the Middle East. There are 22 Arab countries, yet only two had the courage (or pride in their women) to field entrants in this year's Miss Universe Pageant, which was held in the Bahamas, where string bikinis replace car bombs and women are truly free. The only two Arab countries that entered contestants, again, were Egypt and Lebanon. Now I know Egypt and its...

The Conservative Party Integration Spokesman Naser Khader is calling for a ban on the burka or niqab in the public space. The junior minority coalition Conservative Party wants to introduce a ban on Muslim burka or niqab dress codes which require women to completely cover their faces in the public space, according to Jyllands-Posten. “We don’t want to see burkas in Denmark. We simply can’t accept that some of our citizens walk around with their faces covered,” says MP Naser Khader, a Syrian-Palestinian of extraction and the Conservative Party’s recently-appointed integration spokesman. At home Khader says the burka is un-Danish...

A POLICE force in Yorkshire was yesterday accused of wasting time and public money after sending three officers out to spend a day dressed as Muslim women. Sgt Deb Leonard, Sgt Deb Pickering and Pc Helen Turner dressed in traditional Islamic costumes including burka, jilbab, hijab and niqab. They were accompanied by four Muslim women in Sheffield as part of a scheme called In Your Shoes Day, designed to help South Yorkshire Police learn about the Muslim faith. In return, the Muslim women had a tour of the police custody suite and closed circuit TV offices and were shown the...

Here is a video report on the efforts of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to ban the wearing of the Muslim "Burka" by women. He says it is not a religious symbol, but a sign of enslavement, and not welcome in France. The controversy is a result of growing tensions in France due to the huge Muslim population there - over 5 million. Muslims from the Middle East and North Africa have migrated to France in recent years. . . . . . (Watch Video)

FRENCH officials were on alert last night after a group linked to al-Qaeda threatened to retaliate over criticism of the burka. The Algeria-based group issued a statement on Islamic websites vowing to “seek vengeance”. It followed comments by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week in which he said the veils would not be welcome in France. Muslim robes may even be banned in public there. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said last night: “French authorities reaffirm their determination to fight terrorism.”

PARIS (AP) — A top Muslim group in Britain lashed out at Nicolas Sarkozy as "patronizing and offensive" on Tuesday, after the French president said body- and face-covering Islamic garments such as the burqa turn women into prisoners. In Paris, parliament formally created a commission Tuesday to study the wearing of body-cloaking Muslim robes in France, a day after Sarkozy told lawmakers that the burqa would not be welcome in the country. A top official with the Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella organization for British Muslim groups, accused Sarkozy of "divisive politics," and said his comments could fan an...