‘Incompatible with Danish Values’: Denmark Plans Face Veil Ban with Hefty Fines for Offenders

© Fayaz Aziz / Reuters

Denmark’s government has announced it plans to fine people for covering their face in public, while the left-wing opposition wants a cap on ‘non-Western foreigners’ entering the country.

The center-right government announced on Tuesday that it plans to bring forth legislation making it illegal for people to cover their faces in public. The proposals include fines of up to 10,000 Danish kroner ($1,660) for repeat offenders, Reuters reports.

The move echoes other European nations, such as France, which restricts the wearing of Muslim garments like the burqa and the niqab. Opponents say the wearing of such clothing is oppressive to women and/or incompatible with so-called ‘Western values.’

“It is incompatible with the values ​​of the Danish society or the respect for the community to keep the face hidden when meeting each other in the public space,” Justice Minister, and Danish Conservative Party leader, Soren Pape Poulsen said.

“With a ban, we draw a line in the sand and establish that here in Denmark we show each other trust and respect by meeting each other face to face,” he added.

The proposed ban is backed by parties from across the political spectrum, including the far-right Danish People’s Party (DPP/Dansk Folkeparti), and the country’s largest opposition party, the centre-left Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet).

Wow! Even the biggest left-wing party is for it!

The latter has also announced plans designed to slash the number of “non-Western” foreigners entering Denmark. “We want to introduce a cap on the number of non-Western foreigners who can come to Denmark,” AFP quotes Social Democrats leader Mette Frederiksen as saying.

“We want to reform our asylum system, among other things, by setting up reception centres outside Europe, and in the future it will not be possible for refugees to obtain asylum in Denmark outside quotas set by the United Nations,” she added.

Two other leftist parties, the socialist Red-Green Alliance and the Danish Social Liberal party, rejected the proposals calling them “unrealistic.’

Responding to criticism the Social Democrats wrote on Twitter: “Several have called our proposals unrealistic. We do not claim it is easy. But it is certainly not impossible.”  

Morocco Bans Production, Sale of Burqas on Claim of Security Concerns

Wow! A Muslim country banning the burqa!

That's weird!

By Stephen Feller

The Moroccan government is moving to ban the burqa, though not the hijab which does not cover the face and niqab which allows the eyes to be seen. Burqas in Morocco are vaguely similar to those worn by women Afghanistan. Photo by Hossein Fatemi/UPI | License Photo

CASABLANCA, Morocco, (UPI) -- Businesses in some areas of Morocco this week started receiving notices that the burqa is going to be banned, and they have days to quit making and selling them.

Government agents are making the rounds in Morocco warning in writing that the burqa will be banned in the country and businesses have 48 hours to stop making burqas and get rid of any they have.

The government has confirmed, but not publicly spoken about, the policy, but are warning businesses the ban is coming.

Government officials say the ban is motivated by criminals who have used the religious clothing to disguise themselves during recent robberies. Some, however, say the ban is aimed at more religious members of the Muslim religion who live in the country.

"If it is true that there is a ban, to me, the ban is justified for security reasons," Farah Chérif D'Ouezzan, founder of the Center for Cross Cultural Learning in Rabat, told The New York Times. "But at the same time, there is not evidence for associating the burqa with security threats. I would like to know how many people they have arrested."

Burqa, hijab, niqab...

The burqa is one form of a head-to-toe garment worn among more religious women in the Muslim faith. For some sects, the burqa is required, though there is not a large population of Muslims who do so in Morocco. For many, either the hijab, which does not cover the face, or the niqab, which allow a woman's eyes to be visible, are worn by women in the country.

One pro-burqa preacher, Hammad Kabbaj, who has been barred from running for office because of his links to extremist Muslims, questioned why the burqa can be banned but the Western-style swimsuits are not.

"I am against the culture of banning in principle," said Moroccan journalist Ali Anouzla. "But just to be clear, the Interior Ministry didn't ban the hijab or niqab but banned the burqa, and the burqa isn't part of Morocco's culture."

Nor is it about to be, apparently. When a Muslim country finds burqas to be a security threat, western countries ought to feel justified in banning them as well. But also, niqabs and hijabs are not part of western culture, so maybe they should all be banned in civilized countries where women are not required to be invisible because men can't control themselves if they should see a little flesh.

Woman Fined $32,700 for Wearing Niqab in Italian Town Hall

    A woman wearing a niqab © Farid Alouache / Reuters

A Muslim woman was ordered to pay a hefty fine for refusing to lift her veil for an identity check after visiting a youth meeting at a town hall in north-east Italy. She was initially sentenced to four months in jail and a much smaller fine, but this was later changed by a higher judicial authority.

The 40-year-old Albanian who wears a niqab – an Islamic full-face veil leaving only a small opening for the eyes – attended local youth parliament meeting in the town of Pordenone in late October. The woman’s son was participating in the event.

The woman lived in the neighboring town of San Vito al Tagliamento for 16 years and was granted Italian citizenship several years ago.

She consistently refused to remove her veil for identification purposes despite the town mayor, Antonio Di Bisceglie, repeatedly asking her to do it. Di Bisceglie, who is from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party, then called police officers, who took the woman away from the meeting.

However, she then returned, forcing Di Bisceglie to suspend the meeting so that the dispute did not degenerate into a verbal battle in the presence of minors, the local Messaggero Veneto news outlet reported.

The case was then brought to court, where a local prosecutor, Federico Facchin, charged the woman with concealing her identity. He sentenced her to four months in prison and a fine amounting to €600 ($650). The initial sentence was then changed by a higher judicial authority and the woman was ordered to pay a fine amounting to €30,000 ($32,700).

Law enforcement authorities stressed that the decision has nothing to do with religion and was based exclusively on security concerns.

According to the prosecutors, the woman violated a 1975 law that prohibits covering one’s face in public places in a way that prevents successful identification. The lawyer of the woman told Messaggero Veneto that he would appeal the decision as the law in question forbids facial coverings without “justification” and religions reasons could be considered sufficient justification in this case.

Meanwhile, wearing Muslim apparel becomes increasingly controversial issue in Europe. In summer 2016, several French towns and cities, including Cannes, banned burqinis, Muslim full-body swimsuits, on city beaches, sparking a nationwide debate on the issue.

A bill envisaging a ban on burqas was introduced on August 16 in Germany. The idea of banning burqas is also supported by the vast majority of Germans as an August poll conducted by the German ARD broadcaster demonstrated that 30 percent of German citizens advocate banning the burqa in public places and 50 percent of Germans want to forbid them completely.

In late September, the Swiss parliament approved a draft bill envisaging a nationwide burqa ban and, three days later, Bulgaria followed suit and banned burqas in public places.

Europe also witnessed several controversial incidents’ involving Muslim veils. In September, a restaurant owner in Germany expelled a Muslim woman for refusing to remove her niqab, sparking a social media storm.

In August, a German court backed a school authorities’ decision which banned a student from attending classes wearing a full face veil. The next day, the German Education and Science Workers’ Union, which is a teachers’ association, criticized the court decision, calling it counter-productive.

Muslims Want Cross Removed From Swiss Flag

An immigrant group based in Bern has called for the emblematic white cross to be removed from the Swiss national flag because as a Christian symbol it "no longer corresponds to today's multicultural Switzerland."



Ivica Petrusic, the vice president of Second@s Plus, a lobbying group that represents mostly Muslim second-generation foreigners in Switzerland (who colloquially are known as secondos) says the group will launch a nationwide campaign in October to ask Swiss citizens to consider adopting a flag that is less offensive to Muslim immigrants.

In a September 18 interview with the Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung, Petrusic said the cross has a Christian background and while the Christian roots of Switzerland should be respected, "it is necessary to separate church and state" because "Switzerland today has a great religious and cultural diversity. One has to ask if the State wants to continue building up a symbol in which many people no longer believe."

Would they object to a crescent moon and star?

In the interview, Petrusic said Switzerland needs new symbols with which everyone, including non-Christians, can identify. As an alternative to the current Swiss flag, Petrusic proposed the former flag of the Helvetic Republic which was officially introduced in 1799 and consisted of green, red and yellow colors. "Those colors are similar to the current flags of Bolivia and Ghana and would represent a more progressive and open-minded Switzerland," Petrusic said.

  or 

The proposal to change the Swiss flag has been met with outrage across the political spectrum and is sure to fuel anti-immigrant sentiments in Switzerland.

Sylvia Flückiger a councillor with the conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP) said the demands are: "Totally unacceptable. With our Swiss flag there is nothing to change. The next thing you know, they will demand even more, that we change our constitution."

Marianne Binder, spokeswoman for the center-right Christian Democrats (CVP) said: "This is just what was missing, that we need to change our flag. The Swiss flag is part of Swiss identity, precisely because it is inviting for all to want to be involved...even the immigrants."

Stefan Brupbacher, general secretary of the libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) said: "This is utter nonsense. The Swiss cross is an extremely successful and valuable global brand. It is a symbol of success and quality. We will tightly hold on to it, out of love for Switzerland."

The issue of Muslim immigration to Switzerland has been a hotly debated topic in recent years and the flag controversy is sure to add fuel to the fire.

The Muslim population in Switzerland has more than quintupled since 1980, and now numbers about 400,000, or roughly 5% of the population. Most Muslims living in Switzerland are of Turkish or Balkan origin, with a smaller minority from the Arab world. Many of them are second- and third-generation immigrants who are now firmly establishing themselves in Switzerland.

The new Muslim demographic reality is raising tensions across large parts of Swiss society, especially as Muslims become more assertive in their demands for greater recognition of their Islamic faith.

The ensuing controversies are fueling a debate over the role of Islam in Swiss society and how to reconcile Western values with a growing immigrant population determined to avoid assimilation.

Swiss courts have been jam-packed with Islam-related cases in recent years. In one case, Muslim parents won a lawsuit demanding that they be allowed to dress their children in full-body bathing suits, dubbed "burkinis," during co-ed swimming lessons. In another case, a group of Swiss supermarkets created a stir by banning Muslim employees from wearing headscarves.

Contentious Issues

In August 2009, the Swiss basketball association told a Muslim player she could not wear a headscarf during league games. In August 2010, five Muslim families in Basel were fined 350 Swiss Francs ($420) each for refusing to send their daughters to mixed-sex swimming lessons.

In September 2010, the secretary of the Muslim Community of Basel was acquitted of publicly inciting crime and violence. The charges were pressed after the 33-year-old made comments in a Swiss television documentary saying that Islamic Sharia law should be introduced in Switzerland and that unruly wives should be beaten. The judge said the defendant was protected by freedom of expression.

In November 2010, Swiss voters approved tough new regulations on the deportation of non-Swiss immigrants convicted of serious crimes. The measure calls for the automatic expulsion of non-Swiss offenders convicted of crimes ranging from murder to breaking and entry and social security fraud.

Also in November, Swiss Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the approval or extension of residency permits should be closely linked to the efforts immigrants make to integrate themselves. "Compulsory schooling must be respected. Children should attend all courses and exceptions made on religious or other grounds, for example in swimming classes, should no longer be possible," Sommaruga said.

In December 2010, the Federal Commission on Women's Issues called for Islamic burqas and niqabs to be banned in government offices and in public schools. The government-appointed committee said the move would prevent gender discrimination.

In January 2011, a 66-year-old Turkish woman living in Bern was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for encouraging the father and brothers of her daughter-in-law to carry out an "honor" crime against her for her "risqué lifestyle."

In May 2011, voters in canton Ticino, in Switzerland's Italian-speaking region, collected enough signatures to be able to launch a referendum that would ban burqas, niqabs and other Islamic head dresses. If the referendum goes ahead, it will be the first time in Switzerland that citizens have been asked to express an opinion on burqas.

Also in May, Swiss Defence Minister Ueli Maurer said increasing numbers of Swiss Muslims are training in Islamic militant camps in countries like Somalia and Yemen. In an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, Maurer also said that under current Swiss laws it is difficult to prevent Islamists from raising funds.

Meanwhile, an administrative court in Bern is expected to rule on the fate of a minaret in the town of Langenthal. Minarets are the tower-like structures on mosques from which Muslims are often called to prayer.

Muslims in Langenthal, a town with a population of about 15,000, had been given permission to build a minaret five months before a constitutional ban on minarets took effect in November 2009, but opponents of the project say the earlier approval is now null and void. The case is still working its way through the Swiss legal system.

In November 2009 Switzerland held a referendum in which citizens approved an initiative to ban the construction of minarets. The initiative was approved 57.5% to 42.5% by some 2.67 million voters. Only four of Switzerland's 26 cantons or states opposed the initiative, thereby granting the double approval that now makes the minaret ban part of the Swiss constitution.

In July 2011, the European Court of Human Rights rejected two cases brought by Muslims against Switzerland's constitutional ban on building minarets.

A seven-judge panel at the Strasbourg-based court said that it would not consider the cases as the plaintiffs failed to show how the ban harmed their human rights and they therefore "cannot claim to be 'victims' of a violation" of the European Convention on Human Rights, which the court enforces.

The minaret ban represented a turning point in the debate about Islam in Switzerland.

The initiative was sponsored by the conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP), which says the minarets symbolize the growing self-confidence and intolerance of Switzerland's Muslim community.

The SVP has described the minaret is a "symbol of a religious-political claim to power and dominance which threatens -- in the name of alleged freedom of religion -- the constitutional rights of others."

The SVP has backed its claim by citing a remark by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has implied that the construction of mosques and minarets is part of a strategy to Islamisize Europe. The pro-Islamist Erdogan has bragged: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers." Erdogan has also told Muslim immigrants in Europe that "assimilation is a crime against humanity."

Assimilation is a crime against humanity

Erdogan

In recent years the number of mosques in Switzerland has mushroomed; there now are over 200 mosques and up to 1,000 prayer rooms dotted across the country. Critics fear the mosques are facilitating the establishment of a parallel Muslim society -- one that is especially welcoming to Islamic fundamentalists.

Soeren Kern is Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group.