UK: ‘It’s time to ban the burka’ says new Dorset MP

“If a person chooses to cover themselves completely, that is their interpretation and it should not be banned,” [Mrs. Rubina Nasser, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim faith]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source & Credit: Daily Echo | Bournemouth
By Timothy John | 26th July 2010


A DORSET MP is calling for the burka to be banned.

Richard Drax, newly-elected Conservative MP for South Dorset, has spoken out against the veil, worn by some Muslim women.

“Let’s face up to it, burkas should now be banned,” Mr Drax said in a column for the Daily Echo’s sister title, the Dorset Echo.

“Asking a woman to uncover her face is not shaming her, especially when she has chosen to live in a western democracy like ours. By following our customs, integration is far more likely, as is social cohesion.


“My view is that a healthy democracy relies upon a spirit of openness. To interact freely and without fear, we must all show our faces and be identifiable.

His comments come after Kettering MP Philip Hollobone provoked a storm by saying he would refuse to meet constituents wearing the burka. He is pursuing a private member’s bill to ban the garment.

Campaign group Liberty has written to Mr Hollobone, warning him he could face legal action under the Equalities Act by refusing to meet constituents wearing the burka.

Rubina Nasser, a Muslim woman living in Bournemouth, said the state should not ban garments worn to express religious faith.

“The Islamic concept of burka is that every woman is asked to conceal her beauty when she is out in public among men who are not related to her,” she said.

“I do not think it is up to governments to ban things that are following a religion.

“It is up to an individual how each person interprets that law.

“If a person chooses to cover themselves completely, that is their interpretation and it should not be banned,” said Mrs Nasser, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim faith.

“A person who is completely covered and her identity is not known, I think that in this day and age with concerns about security, that is far too strong, and going beyond being modest.”




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