A French parliamentary commission’s recommendation to ban the burqa, or full veil, from public places such as buses, banks and hospitals, is the most recent skirmish in an ongoing culture war between Islam and the West.
But the importance of the potential ban – and the firestorm of debate that the parliamentary proposal has generated – goes far beyond setting sartorial boundaries for those traveling on the Paris Metro. It also highlights competing views on how best to fight back against radical Islam, the interpretation of the faith that seeks to bend life in the 21st century to accommodate the medieval norms enshrined in Muslim law, or Sharia. [Daily Star] Read more
