Faith and common sense: No reason for banning burqa: Pope

In a series of interviews published in his native German, the 83-year-old Benedict also raised the possibility of a “sincere” dialogue with Islam, adding that a controversial speech he gave on the subject was an attempt at an academic discourse rather than a political lecture.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune
By AFP | November 22, 2010

BERLIN: Pope Benedict XVI, in a book due out on Tuesday, criticised a French law banning Muslim women from wearing full-face veils such as the burqa and the niqab in public.

“As for the burqa, I would see no reason for a general ban,” he said, adding “some women do not wear the burqa entirely voluntarily and it is correct to talk of a violation against that woman. Of course one cannot agree with that.”

“But if they want to wear it voluntarily, I don’t know why one must ban them.”

In a series of interviews published in his native German, the 83-year-old Benedict also raised the possibility of a “sincere” dialogue with Islam, adding that a controversial speech he gave on the subject was an attempt at an academic discourse rather than a political lecture.


In a September 2006 speech in Regensburg in his native Bavaria, the pope provoked outrage among sections of the Muslim community for appearing to question the rational basis of Islam and associating it with violence.

The book, titled “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times”, is based on 20 hours of interviews conducted by German journalist Peter Seewald.

The book, set to be translated into 18 languages, addresses many sensitive issues, including contraception, the paedophile priest scandals, celibacy and female ordination.

The new book is the first collection of interviews with the pontiff since the then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became pope in April 2005.

Seewald asked more than 90 questions on three major themes during conversations conducted July 26-31 at the pope’s summer residence in the Italian town of Castel Gandolfo.

The pontiff also discusses the case of the Holocaust-denying bishop Roger Williamson, the danger of a schism in the Church and the possibility of a Vatican III Council on Church reforms which has been put off for now.

A former communist, Seewald became Catholic after meeting Cardinal Ratzinger, with whom he produced two earlier volumes of interviews.


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