Muslim veil

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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...

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...

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...

French Tycoon Vows $1M to Pay Burka Fines

Goal is to render the new law useless

(Newser) - A French tycoon enraged by his country's 'Burka ban ' plans to set up a $1 million fund to help Muslim women fined for wearing the burka or niqab on the street. Rachid Nekkaz, a real estate magnate of Algerian origin, considers the ban "anti-constitutional" and has personally pledged...

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...

Belgium Votes Today to Ban Muslim Veils

French may soon have similar law

(Newser) - Belgium is expected today to become the first nation to ban face-covering Muslim veils in public. Supporters of the bill say they're motivated by concerns about security as well as taking action to protect women's rights. "We think all people in public must show their face," Belgium lawmaker...

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