1st April 2010
Home Affairs Committee Unanimously Votes for a Ban on Face Coverings in Belgium
Mark Hanson
In a move that threatens to escalate tensions between the West and the Islamic world, Belgium has moved closer to a full ban on face coverings in public places as the home affairs committee of Belgium’s federal government voted unanimously to outlaw the burqa and niqab.
The ban would be targetted at all face coverings, whether full or partial, and is further sign of Europe’s desire to regulate on every decision and activity of its individual citizens. Other European countries have expressed support for the ban.
Although the burqa and niqab are the most visible form of what right-wingers have labelled the “Islamification” of Europe, the banning of legitimate expressions of faith is not helpful.
UK law has already shown that it will not protect the rights of Christians to wear an expression of their faith, as a case against British Airways was found in BA’s favour over their sacking of a member of staff for wearing a cross.
The Belgian ban would also cover Santa Claus and scarves wrapped around the face to protect the face from the cold.
It is a ludricous move and is part of an ongoing campaign in Europe to control the rights of faith groups. Some European countries already have proscriptions against evangelical Christianity, including the UK, in which the liberal wing of the Church has joined forces with the political proponents of licentatiousness and immorality to launch repeated onslaughts against conservative Biblical teaching in favour of protection for those leading wayward lifestyles.
The latest example is an American street preacher, who was fined £1000 for saying that homosexuality is a sinful practice. He was preaching in Scotland, and in response to a question from a member of the public asserted that homosexuals are in need of Jesus Christ as Saviour, as is everyone.
Shawn Holes was preaching on other subjects and the question on homosexuality was asked by the crowd and he gave the Christian view, yet police arrested and charged him with using “homophobic remarks that were religiously aggravated”. He pleaded guilty as he was required to return to the US before there was sufficient time to plead his innocence.
