http://www.smh.com.au/world/denmark-looks-for-ways-to-restrict-wearing-of-veils-20100120-mltg.html Denmark looks for ways to restrict wearing of veils
January 21, 2010 COPENHAGEN: The face-covering burqa and niqab veils worn by some Muslim women have no place in Denmark, and the Government is considering restricting them, the Prime Minister has said. Lars Loekke Rasmussen stopped short of calling for a ban on the veils, noting ''legal and other limits''. ''The Government's position is clear: the burqa and the niqab have no place in Danish society. They symbolise a view of women and humanity that we totally oppose and that we want to combat in Danish society,'' Mr Rasmussen said. Denmark was ''an open, democratic society where we look at the person to whom we are talking, whether it's in a classroom or on the job. That is why we don't want to see this garment in Danish society.'' This month, a draft French bill proposed fining Muslim women who wore the full veil up to ?750 ($1165). Mr Rasmussen said his centre-right government was ''discussing ways of limiting the wearing'' of the veils without violating the constitution. His comments on Tuesday came a day after the publication of a report that found that the wearing of the burqa was ''extremely rare'' in Denmark, though no figures were given, and that the niqab was worn by ''between 100 and 200'' women. The report was commissioned by the Social Affairs Ministry and written by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. A heated debate on the burqa has divided the two-party coalition Government since the northern summer amid pressure from its key parliamentary ally the far-right Danish People's Party. About 100,000 Muslim women live in Denmark - 1.9 per cent of the population of 5.5 million. About 0.15 per cent of them wear the niqab, the report said. Denmark has had tense relations with the Muslim world since the publication of cartoons in 2005 depicting the prophet Muhammad was considered blasphemous and insulting by much of the Islamic world, triggering violent protests in Muslim countries. Agence France-Presse
