Can Merkel Ban the Burka?

[Valin]

The Weekly Standard:

Europe's politics of conservative Islam, open society, and bathing suits.

Christopher Caldwell

Aug 20, 2016

 

How on earth does Angela Merkel think she is going to get re-elected?

 

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Merkel's reelection strategy began to emerge at a Friday morning Berlin press conference held by her party's interior ministers (our equivalent of state attorneys general). She will propose to ban Muslim veils. The national interior minister, Thomas De Maizière said: "We are opposed to the total cover—not just the burka but also other forms that allow only the eyes to be seen. They do not belong in our open society. Showing your face is a basic part of communication, of community, of social cohesion." It was coordinated with an interview in which Merkel herself promised her support to De Maizière, saying "A fully veiled woman in Germany has little chance to integrate."

 

By midday on Friday, the papers were full of handy charts showing which veils were okay and which not. The niqab would appear to be verboten, along with the burka. The hijab and the amira are fine. The Iranian chador is on the bubble. Clip 'n Save!

 

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The idea that modest dress is meant to declare the "impurity" of women rather than the opposite is, to put it mildly, debatable. Whatever the grounds of feminine modesty may be, if it is a threat to the republics of France and Germany, they are in greater peril than we had assumed.