Is Morocco joining the trend toward restricting the burqa?
Several European countries have already banned devout conservative Muslim women from wearing the burqa, a head to toe covering, as have several West African nations. Now one more African country appears close to joining the list.听
In a notice to local retailers and producers on Monday, Morocco appears to have banned the production, sale, and import of burqas听, Al Jazeera reports. The order apparently takes effect this week, despite no official announcement.听
Copies of the letter sent by Morocco鈥檚 Ministry of Interior circulated on social networks, and a high-ranking ministry official to the local Moroccan news website Le360, saying "bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crime."听
In an interview with Le360 Tuesday, Morocco鈥檚 former Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family, and Social Development Nouzha Skalli said, "The burka is听."听
Yet, it is still unclear if the North African country intends to ban the wearing of the burqa, a long garment that covers the entire face and body and worn by many conservative Muslim women in public.听The garment is not widely worn in the country, with most Muslim Moroccan women preferring the hijab, and Morocco's King Mohammed VI .
The burqa听is already unwelcome in many European countries, as well as some听, citing security concerns.听
In 2011, France, with its large Muslim population, was the first nation to ban women from wearing听face-covering veils in public, followed by Belgium three months later. More recently, Bulgaria and the Netherlands have also banned the garment, in addition to some towns and cities across听Italy and Spain. In Germany,听Chancellor Angela Merkel听has embraced听a proposal to ban the burqa, 海角大神 reported last month:
鈥淚n interpersonal communication, which plays a fundamental role here,听,鈥� [Merkel] said in reference to the Islamic full-body covering that, while rarely worn in Germany, retains symbolic resonance for much of the public, and has emerged as a touchstone for the far right.听鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why a full veil is inappropriate in our country. It should be banned wherever legally possible. It does not belong in our country.鈥�
Other articles of clothing associated with conservative Islam have also come under recent scrutiny in Europe. Calling it "the symbol of Islamic extremism," some French cities temporarily banned the wearing of burkinis 鈥� full coverage swimsuits that cover the head 鈥� last summer, until the nation鈥檚 highest administration court ruled the ban unconstitutional.
These bans have ignited heated debates on freedom of religious expression, multiculturalism, and fears of extremism in听nations facing what they perceive as Islamic terrorist threats.
"[The ban is an] arbitrary decision that is an indirect violation of women's freedom of expression and wearing what reflects their identities or their religious, political or social beliefs," the Northern Moroccan National Observatory for Human Development said in a statement, according to the BBC.
Hammad Kabbadj, a preacher whose candidacy for parliamentary election was rejected because of his alleged extremist views, also .听
"It is unacceptable to forbid citizens from wearing the oriental niqab or to interfere in its marketing," he said, according to Al Bawaba, a Jordanian news site.
