The Netherlands may become the first European country to ban Muslim face veils after its government pledged yesterday to outlaw the wearing in public spaces of the niqab, or veil, and the burka, or full-length cloak covering the head.
The right-leaning coalition said last night that it would look for a way to outlaw the wearing of all Muslim face veils. The grounds for a ban were laid last December when parliament voted in favour of a proposal to criminalise face coverings, as part of a security measure proposed by a far-right politician, Geert Wilders.
Rita Verdonk, the immigration minister, signalled that the government would now push for a total ban, even though the legislation would be likely to contravene Dutch religious freedom laws.
source
I have mixed feelings about this ban. I don't see why anyone should go around with a face covering-- that's usually associated with criminal activity.
On the other hand, this may be the beginning of a slippery slope against religious freedom, and the Muslims happen to be a convenient scapegoat. In France, they banned all display of religious items in French schools, but the real target was the Muslims.
Why not just ban face coverings in general and keep it at that? I suppose that wouldn't be very congenial in winter though-- a ski mask does come in handy.
There's just something about this I don't like.
