Islamic veil

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Sri Lanka Bans Face Coverings, Including Veils

Law bans garments that 'hinder identification'

(Newser) - Muslim women in Sri Lanka will no longer be able to veil their faces under an emergency law ordered by President Maithripala Sirisena that bans all kinds of face coverings that may conceal people's identities. The law takes effect Monday, eight days after the Easter bombings of churches and...

Austria Cracks Down on Full-Face Veils

Refugees, some immigrants may also be made to sign 'integration contracts'

(Newser) - Face-covering veils are set to be banned in public places in Austria, per the country's ruling coalition, with a more widespread ban of all headscarves and religious symbols worn by state employees possible down the road, the BBC reports. The ban on niqabs (veils that cover all of the...

3 Veiled Women Barred From Entering France

Saudis sent back to Doha after refusing to lift niqabs for border control

(Newser) - Three Saudi women who refused to removed their face veils when they arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport were barred entry into France and sent back home. Border police asked the women to lift their niqabs so they could ascertain their identity when they arrived from Doha, Qatar, reports Al...

Canada Bans Veils at Citizenship Ceremonies

Oath 'must be taken freely and openly,' minister says

(Newser) - Authorities in Canada have decided that anybody taking the country's citizenship oath must show their face to do so. A rule introduced yesterday requires women wearing a burka or other face-covering veil to remove it during the ceremony, reports the Toronto Star . "The citizenship oath is a quintessentially...

First French Women Fined for Wearing Veils

Veiled woman running for president of France

(Newser) - Two French women have received the country's first fines for wearing a full-face veil—and they hope the fines will be the first nail in the coffin of the ban. The Muslim women, who were fined more than $100 each after wearing the veils while trying to deliver a...

Teens Busted for Spraying Burka on Busty Angel

Lynx ad is a 'sin,' argue London pair

(Newser) - Two Muslim teenagers have been busted for spraying black burkas on images of hot women in ads. They told a judge in their recent London court appearance that it's a "sin" for women to dress provocatively, and that they were "just trying to do good," reports...

Burka Ban Begins Today in France
 2 Arrested Under 
 France's Burka Ban 
UPDATED
Apr 11, 2011 8:35 AM CDT

2 Arrested Under France's Burka Ban

Meanwhile, some women stay home

(Newser) - Hours after France enacted its new burka ban today, two women wearing the full face veils were arrested. Several others who were protesting the new law in front of Paris's Notre Dame cathedral were also arrested after police attempted to break up the unauthorized protest, the Telegraph reports. Women face...

France Launching Veil Ban
 France Launching Veil Ban 
Mar 4, 2011 3:21 AM CST

France Launching Veil Ban

Women who refuse to remove face coverings will be fined

(Newser) - France's veil ban is taking effect next month, making it illegal for women to wear the full-face Islamic veil in any public area, including the street. Offenders can be ordered to the nearest police station to remove the veil or pay a $200 fine. Veil-wearers can also be ordered to...

French Senate Bans Islamic Veils in Public

Measure still faces review by nation's constitutional judges

(Newser) - The French Senate voted near-unanimously to ban wearing burka-style Islamic veils in public today, the BBC reports. The measure must still past muster with the country's Constitutional Council, but unless those judges raise objections, it will become law in 6 months. The Senate confirmed the measure by a vote of...

Muslim Woman Fined $650 for Wearing Veil

Penalty believed first in Italy

(Newser) - A Tunisian immigrant has become the first woman in Italy fined for wearing a veil. The 26-year-old woman was stopped by police at a post office in the city of Norova—a stronghold of the anti-immigration Northern League party—and told she was in violation of a local bylaw barring...

Ambassador to Dubai Annuls Marriage to Bearded Wife

Diplomat says he was duped throughout courtship

(Newser) - An Arab country's ambassador to Dubai had his marriage annulled after discovering he'd accidentally married a bearded, cross-eyed woman. The ambassador says his bride-to-be's face had been covered by a niqab throughout their courtship and he only discovered the beard when he went to kiss her at their wedding. He...

France Denies Citizenship Over Full Islamic Veil

(Newser) - The French government has denied citizenship to a foreign national on the grounds that he forces his wife, a French citizen, to wear the full Islamic veil. The man, whose current nationality was not disclosed, needed citizenship to settle in the country. The French immigration minister said the man's request...

France Blinks in Burka Ban
 France Blinks in Burka Ban 
Jan 26, 2010 2:12 AM CST

France Blinks in Burka Ban

Panel urges full veils barred in public facilities

(Newser) - The French government appears to be backing down a tad in the great burka ban controversy. While President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a total ban on full Muslim veils, which he considers a sign of "debasement," a French government committee is recommending that burkas or nijabs be...

France Moves to Ban Burkas
 France Moves 
 to Ban Burkas 
Dec 24, 2009 3:03 AM CST

France Moves to Ban Burkas

Sarkozy's party introduces bill to bar face-covering veils

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling party has introduced a bill to outlaw the wearing of full-length Islamic veils in public places. Burkas and all-covering niqabs will be banned under the bill, which would fine women who fully cover their face in public, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Veiled Women Nabbed in $12.5M Jakarta Drug Bust

Iranians arrested in record airport drug haul

(Newser) - Eight veiled women were among a group of 10 Iranians arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling at Indonesia's main airport today. The $12.5 million haul of methamphetamines found in their hand baggage is the biggest drug bust in the airport's history, authorities say. Indonesian authorities have never seen veiled...

French Muslims Find Freedom in Catholic Schools

Students get better education, and allowed to wear headscarf

(Newser) - France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, but its strict separation of church and state means that Muslim girls are forbidden from wearing the headscarves in public schools. In response, many Muslims have turned to an unlikely solution: the nation's large network of Catholic schools. "There is respect for...

In Israel, Some Jewish Women Take Up the Veil

Say God favors Muslims' modest dress; rabbis disagree

(Newser) - As she walks through Jerusalem, the veiled figure draws stares and curses. “They shout things at me because they think I am Arab,” she says. In reality, the woman is part of a small movement of Israeli women who are taking up the sal, a veil resembling the...

Juror Arrested for Listening to MP3 Player Under Headscarf

Muslim woman unplugs during trial

(Newser) - A young Muslim juror may face jail time for contempt of court after allegedly listening to her MP3 player beneath her hijab during a murder trial in Britain. The judge thought he heard "tinny music" in the courtroom, but chalked it up to his own imagination, reports the Times....

Face It: Court Approves Full Veil at Cairo U

Panel lifts ban imposed for security

(Newser) - Women at the American University in Cairo cannot be barred from wearing the traditional Islamic veil covering the entire face, or niqab, a court has ruled after a lengthy battle, reports the BBC. While some hailed the ruling as a blow for religious freedom, others blasted it as a dangerous...

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