Petition in support of Batley Grammar School teacher reaches 50,000 signatures

March 28, 2021 Article

A petition in support of a suspended teacher who showed students a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed has passed more than 50,000 signatures.

The Batley Grammar School teacher had apologised after showing the cartoon, widely reported as taken from the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, during a religious studies lesson earlier this week.

He was suspended on Thursday pending an investigation.

The school, in Batley, near Bradford, West Yorkshire, is facing calls to reinstate the teacher after a petition in support of him reached more than 50,000 signatures in two days, hitting the figure just after 2.00am on Sunday.

Protesters gathered outside the school gates on Thursday and Friday, claiming the school has not taken the issue seriously.

Speaking “on behalf of the Muslim community” on Friday, one protester said: “The teachers have breached the position of trust and failed their duty of safeguarding, and this issue must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said suggestions that the teacher was in hiding were “very disturbing”, and branded the protests as “not right”.

“It must be right that a teacher can appropriately show images of the Prophet Mohammed,” he said.

However, Dr Alyaa Ebbiary, a researcher in Islamic studies at the SOAS University of London, disagreed with Mr Jenrick’s comments.

“From the majority Muslim community perspective it’s safe to say that showing images of the Prophet Muhammad would not be considered a ‘right’, but at best disrespectful, and at worst a provocation,” she told the PA news agency.

“For some pious Muslims, it’s so hurtful to the point of going beyond the realm of common decency – I know that’s hard for a Western liberal mindset to understand.

“The matter of depicting a Prophet in images is very problematic in the Islamic tradition, and so creating images, in and of itself, is considered disrespectful to someone held to be sacred.”

West Yorkshire Police said a number of complaints have been made in relation to the incident.

Officers attended both protests after dozens of people stood outside the school, partially blocking the road.

A police spokesperson said: “As might be expected given the high public profile of what has happened, there have been a number of complaints about various matters relating to this issue.

“These are being reviewed in more detail but this is an ongoing situation.”

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Categories: 000 signatures, 50, Batley Grammar School, Cartoon, Muhammad, News, Protestors, Robert Jenrick

20 injured in suicide attack targeting Palm Sunday Mass in Indonesia

March 28, 2021 Article

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, wounding at least 20 people, police said.

A video obtained by the Associated Press showed a burning motorbike at the gates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.

The attack came as Indonesia was on high alert following the arrest of Aris Sumarsono, known as Zulkarnaen, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, in December.

Wilhelmus Tulak, a Catholic priest who had been leading the Mass when the bomb exploded at about 10.30am, told reporters that a loud bang shocked his congregation, who had just finished the Sunday service marking the beginning of the Holy Week before Easter.

The first batch of churchgoers were walking out of the church while another group was coming in when the blast happened, he said.

He said security guards had suspected two motorists who wanted to enter the church and confronted them.

One then detonated his explosives and died near the gate. The injured included four guards and several churchgoers.

National Police spokesman Argo Yuwono told a news conference in the capital, Jakarta, that police are still trying to identify two attackers on a motorbike who used powerful explosives.

He said officers are investigating whether they were linked to a local affiliate of the banned Jemaah Islamiyah network or were acting independently.

Around 64 suspects had been detained by Indonesia’s counter-terrorism squad, known as Densus 88, in several provinces, including 19 last month in Makassar. The arrests followed a tip-off about possible attacks against police and places of worship.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, has been battling militants since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Attacks aimed at foreigners have been largely replaced in recent years by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, police and anti-terrorism forces and people militants consider as infidels.

A court banned Jemaah Islamiyah in 2008, and the group was weakened by a sustained crackdown. A new threat has emerged in recent years inspired by the Islamic State group’s attacks abroad.

The country’s last major attack was in May 2018, when two families carried out suicide bombings in the second-largest city of Surabaya, killing a dozen people including two young girls whose parents had involved them in one of the attacks.

Police said the father was the leader of a local affiliate of the Islamic State group known as Jemaah Anshorut Daulah.

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Categories: Indonesia, Jemaah Islamiyah, News, Roman Catholic Cathedral, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Suicide Bomber, Sulawesi

Teacher suspended after students shown ‘offensive’ image of Prophet Mohammed

March 25, 2021 Article

A West Yorkshire teacher has been suspended after reportedly showing an “offensive” caricature of the Prophet Mohammed during a religious studies lesson, sparking a protest outside the school.

Protesters had gathered outside Batley Grammar School, near Bradford, on Thursday, following claims a member of staff had shown students a cartoon deemed offensive to the Islamic faith.

Pictures circulating on social media earlier in the day showed dozens of people stood outside the school gates, partially blocking the road.

The school has “unequivocally” apologised for showing “totally inappropriate” material to children and said a member of staff has been suspended pending an investigation.

Dr Abdul Shaikh, a local academic in Batley and Muslim activist, said he had heard about the incident on social media on Wednesday night.

Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: “I was shocked like many Muslims in the town that Muslim school children’s religious sensitivities were completely ignored by the school teacher who decided to show an offensive image that lampooned the noble Prophet Mohammed.

“Every Muslim around the world holds the Prophet in the highest esteem.

“I feel that the school should be allowed to complete their investigation in due course and find a fair and adequate solution that satisfies first and foremost Muslim pupils, their parents and the wider Muslim community in Batley.

“This situation should not be allowed to happen again for the sake of community cohesion in the area.”

West Yorkshire Police said they were called to the protest at around 7.30am on Thursday.

A police spokesman said the school road had been closed for a short time, no arrests were made and no fines were issued.

In a statement, Batley Grammar School head teacher Gary Kibble said: “The school unequivocally apologises for using a totally inappropriate resource in a recent religious studies lesson.

“The member of staff has also given their most sincere apologies.

“We have immediately withdrawn teaching on this part of the course and we are reviewing how we go forward with the support of all the communities represented in our school.

“It is important for children to learn about faiths and beliefs, but this must be done in a sensitive way.

“The member of staff has been suspended pending an independent formal investigation.”

In a letter addressed to Mr Kibble and shared online, founder of Batley-based charity Purpose Of Life, Mohammad Sajad Hussain, said he was “deeply hurt” by the “insulting caricatures of our beloved Prophet Mohammed”.

He said the charity is unwilling to work with or promote the school until the teacher is “permanently removed”.

However, the National Secular Society branded the protest as an “attempt to impose an Islamic blasphemy taboo on a school”.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society, said: “Teachers must have a reasonable degree of freedom to explore sensitive subjects and enable students to think critically about them.

“And the school’s weak response will fuel a climate of censorship, which is brought on by attempts to force society as a whole to accommodate unreasonable and reactionary religious views.”

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Categories: Batley Grammar School, Blasphemy, Cartoons, News, Prophet Muhammad, teacher, West Yorksire

Turkey pulls out of European treaty protecting women

March 20, 2021 Article

Turkey has withdrawn from a European treaty protecting women from violence that it was the first to sign 10 years ago and that bears the name of its largest city.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decree annulling Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women’s rights advocates, who say the agreement is crucial to combating domestic violence.

The Council of Europe’s secretary general, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, called the decision “devastating”.

“This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond,” she said.

The Istanbul Convention states that men and women have equal rights and obliges state authorities to take steps to prevent gender-based violence against women, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.

Some officials from Mr Erdogan’s Islam-oriented party have advocated a review of the agreement, arguing it encourages divorce and undermines the traditional family, which they say are contrary to the country’s conservative values.

Critics also claim the treaty promotes homosexuality through the use of categories like gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. They see that as a threat to Turkish families.

Hate speech has been on the rise in Turkey, including the interior minister who described LGBT people as “perverts” in a tweet. Mr Erdogan has rejected their existence altogether.

Women’s groups and their allies who have been protesting to keep the convention intact immediately called for demonstrations across the country under the slogan “Withdraw the decision, implement the treaty”. They said their years-long struggle would not be erased in one night.

Rights groups say violence against and killing of women is on the rise in Turkey but the interior minister called that a “complete lie”.

A total of 77 women have been killed since the start of the year, according to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform. Some 409 women were killed in 2020, with dozens found dead under suspicious circumstances, according to the group.

Advocacy group Women’s Coalition Turkey said the withdrawal from a human rights agreement was a first in Turkey. “It is clear that this decision will further encourage the murderers of women, harassers, rapists,” their statement said.

Turkey’s minister for family, labour and social policies tweeted that women’s rights are still protected by Turkish laws and the judicial system is “dynamic and strong enough” to enact new regulations. Zehra Zumrut Selcuk also tweeted the government would continue to have “zero tolerance” for violence against women.

Mr Erdogan has repeatedly stressed the “holiness” of the family and called on women to have three children. His communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said the government’s motto was “Powerful Families, Powerful Society”.

Many women suffer physical or sexual violence at the hands of their husbands or partners, but up-to-date official statistics are unavailable. The Istanbul Convention requires states to collect data.

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Categories: News

New Zealand marks two years since Christchurch mosque killings

March 14, 2021 Article

New Zealand on Saturday marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman.

Several hundred people gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also live-streamed.

A similar service planned for last year was cancelled at short notice due to the sudden spread of the coronavirus.

Kiran Munir, whose husband Haroon Mahmood was killed in the attacks, told the crowd she had lost the love of her life and her soulmate.

She said her husband was a loving father of their two children. He had just finished a doctoral degree and was looking forward to his graduation ceremony when she last saw his smiling face.

“Little did I know that the next time I would see him the body and soul would not be together,” she said.

“Little did I know that the darkest day in New Zealand’s history had dawned. That day my heart broke into a thousand pieces, just like the hearts of the 50 other families.”

Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, said the slaughter was caused by racism and ignorance.

“They were attacks on all of humanity,” he said.

He said the survivors would never be able to erase the pain in their hearts and would never be the same.

“However, the future is in our hands,” he said. “We will go on and we will be positive together.”

In the March 15, 2019, attacks, Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 44 people at the Al Noor mosque during Friday prayers before driving to the Linwood mosque, where he killed seven more.

Last year Tarrant, 30, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism, He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.

During the service, the names of each of the 51 people who were killed were read out. The efforts of first responders, including police and medics, were also acknowledged.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the crowd that when preparing her speech, she had been at a loss for what to say because words would never change what happened.

“But while words cannot perform miracles, they do have the power to heal,” she said.

The Muslim community had experienced hatred and racism even before the attacks, she said, and words should be used for change.

“There will be an unquestionable legacy from March 15,” Ms Ardern said.

“Much of it will be heartbreaking. But it is never too early or too late for the legacy to be a more inclusive nation.”

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Categories: Anniversary, Brenton Tarrant, Christchurch, New Zealand, News

Sri Lanka announces plan to ban burka and close Islamic schools

March 13, 2021 Article

Sri Lanka announced plans to ban the wearing of burkas and said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas, citing national security.

The country’s minister of public security Sarath Weerasekara said he signed a paper on Friday seeking the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to ban burkas — outer garments that cover the body and face worn by some Muslim women.

“The burka has a direct impact on national security,” Mr Weerasekara told a ceremony at a Buddhist temple on Saturday, without elaborating.

“In our early days, we had a lot of Muslim friends, but Muslim women and girls never wore the burka,” Mr Weerasekara said, according to video footage sent by his ministry.

“It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently.

“We will definitely ban it.”

The wearing of burkas was temporarily banned in 2019 after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed more than 260 people.

Two local Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group have been blamed for the attacks at six locations — two Roman Catholic churches, one Protestant church and three top hotels.

Mr Weerasekara also said the government will ban more than 1,000 madrassas, saying they are not registered with the authorities and do not follow the national education policy.

The decision to ban burkas and madrassas is the latest move affecting the Indian Ocean island nation’s minority Muslims.

Muslims make up about 9% of the 22 million people in Sri Lanka, where Buddhists account for more than 70% of the population.

Ethnic minority Tamils, who are mainly Hindus, comprise about 15% of the population.

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Categories: ban, Burka, Madrassas, national security, News, Sri Lanka

Wannabe rapper who plotted terror attack ‘a very dangerous individual’

March 12, 2021 Article

A man who planned to wreak terror during the pandemic was no clownish buffoon but a “very dangerous individual”, according to a senior counter-terrorism police officer.

Commander Richard Smith rejected Sahayb Abu’s wannabe rapper persona, as the 27-year-old was found guilty of preparing a terror act.

During the trial, jobless convicted burglar Sahayb Abu described his rap alter ego, the Masked Menace, and his dreams to make a fortune selling healthy drinks and set up an African charity.

In reality, he spent virtually all his £400 monthly benefits on a large sword, camouflage kit and bulletproof vest as he spread his pro-Islamic State views, the Old Bailey heard.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Smith said: “I have no doubt whatsoever that Sahayb had absolutely committed murderous intent in his preparations to carry out a terrorist act.”

Mr Smith, who is head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said there are currently 800 live investigations with no let-up despite Covid-19.

“What this case illustrates is the fact that, despite the pandemic and lockdown, the threat from terrorism has not gone away.

“We still face a substantial threat in this country which means an attack is likely.

“In the same way, the pandemic has not stopped people planning and preparing attacks like this, neither has it stopped our capability of detecting them and prosecuting, and we and our partners at MI5 will do all we can to keep people in this country safe from terrorism.”

Mr Smith described Somalia-born Sahayb Abu as a “very dangerous individual”.

”During the course of the investigation we saw him seeking to acquire a sword, getting hold of a knife, camouflage clothing and a ballistic vest, all with the intent of carrying out a terrorist attack in this country.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Sahayb had murderous intent – some of that was evidenced from the kind the things that he was posting online.”

Jurors heard some extended family members had been linked to extremism, including two half-brothers who are believed to have been killed in Syria.

Sahayb Abu also mingled with convicted terrorists while in jail and went on to join an Islamic State supporters’ chat group on Telegram.

On how he was radicalised, Mr Smith said: “I will not comment on the cause but I will say that nobody is born with hatred and intolerance within them.

“There needs to be some malign influence to spark that, and, once that’s happened, being surrounded by others with extremist views, whether that’s online or face to face, would certainly act to reinforce some of those hate-filled and abhorrent mindsets.”

Sahayb Abu had searched for various London embassies online and singled out a prominent Shia Muslim cleric, yet neither the police nor prosecution identified a specific target for the attack.

Mr Smith praised the courage of the undercover police officer, known as Rachid, who engaged with Sahayb Abu in encrypted chat and then met him twice.

The case underlined the “huge value” of covert officers as they came up against some “very dangerous, very volatile individuals”.

Mr Smith added: “It demands huge courage and incredible technical and professional skill from those officers and I absolutely applaud their bravery when they support this type of investigation.”

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Categories: Islamic State, News, Richard Smith, Sahayb Abu, Wannabe Rapper

Vaccine disinformation ‘forensically targeted ‘ at specific groups – minister

March 11, 2021 Article

Vaccine disinformation is being “forensically targeted” at specific groups, MPs have heard.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said that information is “very, very cleverly, hyper super-forensically targeted at different communities”.

Mr Zahawi told the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee that disinformation about vaccines and fertility were “proving to be sadly quite potent”.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had raised no concerns about any of the vaccines and fertility, he added.

And Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch told MPs that people needed to take a “personal responsibility” in tackling vaccine disinformation.

She also told MPs that misinformation around fertility and coronavirus vaccines was coming from “the aunty” rather than social media.

During the committee session, Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy asked what efforts were being taken to stop disinformation being targeted at specific groups.

She said: “We have seen the type of disinformation varies depending on the group it’s being circulated to. For example, Hindu and Muslim communities were told there is this information about the vaccine containing meat and alcohol.

“In black communities, we saw historical injustices is being exploited by anti-vaxxer groups.

“And false reports about the vaccine leading to infertility increased fears amongst young women.”

Mr Zahawi replied: “Even if I look at my own background, and mine and my wife’s family, from the Middle East, much of this information is very, very cleverly, sort of hyper super-forensically targeted at different communities.”

On concerns raised about vaccines and fertility, he added: “Some of the anti-vax messages, which are clearly directed at both young men and women around fertility, are false, but proving to be sadly quite potent.

“Some of the focus groups and polling evidence suggests much of the hesitancy is around issues around fertility.”

Ms Badenoch said: “The fertility thing is more problematic as a type of misinformation, because of where it comes from.

“I had a roundtable with clinicians last week and one of them works in east London, and she said that the fertility thing, it’s not social media where we can speak to social media companies and ask them to take it down, it’s the aunty.

“Aunts who may be less well educated or come from a different environment

growing up, in a different country, advising younger people.

“We can’t go into people’s homes and interfere with the sort of communication that is taking place, that’s very personal.

“So that’s why we just must keep repeating the positive messages about safety and also ensuring that clinicians have the information to be able to provide comfort to those people who are seeing the doctors.

“It has to be from the people who are trusted as experts.”

Mr Zahawi told MPs what while there was no safety data on

pregnant women, there is currently no reason to suggest the vaccine would have an adverse effect.

Ms Badenoch said that people needed to take a “personal responsibility” in tackling vaccine disinformation.

She said: “People need to take personal responsibility. Everybody needs to take their own personal responsibility.

“They can’t wait for the minister to fix the vaccine disinformation that’s

happening within their WhatsApp group. We are never going to see it; neither is the social media company or the telephone platform.

“Reinforcing the message that everybody has their responsibility, whether you

are a family member, whether you are a journalist, a clinician, a teacher, a

local politician.

“We, as MPs, also have a responsibility to tackle some of this. I have given

repeated examples of how MPs (for) political purposes end up using vaccine

misinformation phrases that are unbelievably unhelpful.

“We need to be serious and lead by example as well.”

She said that she personally joined trials for the coronavirus vaccine following misinformation about jabs being tested on ethnic minorities.

“We could see the misinformation around the vaccine being tested on ethnic

minorities and things like that,” Ms Badenoch told the committee.

“That was one of the reasons why very early on I decided to go on vaccine

trials and encouraged others to do so. Nadhim (Zahawi) did the same thing.”

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Categories: communities, Hindu, Muslim, Nadhim Zahawi, News, Vaccine disinformation, Vaccine Minister

Jewish community ‘struggling for kosher meat due to NI Protocol’

March 8, 2021 Article

The Jewish community is struggling to get kosher meat in time for the Passover festival due to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the DUP has said.

The post-Brexit trade arrangements have also disrupted supplies of specialist cricket soil known as loam from Great Britain.

Extra paperwork has caused a series of bureaucratic obstacles since the end of the post-Brexit transition period.

Northern Ireland has a small Jewish community centred around north Belfast and a central part of the Passover meal is lamb.

First Minister Arlene Foster said: “This is something which is very concerning.

“We have a very small Jewish community here in Northern Ireland. The fact that they cannot access kosher meat is something that would cause me a great deal of concern.”

The Jewish Passover festival begins towards the end of this month and it is one of the most important dates in the faith’s calendar.

The UK Government has unilaterally extended some grace periods associated with the protocol in a bid to avoid a cliff-edge plunge into extra paperwork.

The protocol is a post-Brexit arrangement designed to keep the Irish border open by ensuring Northern Ireland continues to follow the EU’s trading rules.

The DUP has vowed to overthrow it over fears it damages the integrity of the UK internal market and Northern Ireland’s place in it.

Graffiti with the word “Traitors” has been sprayed on DUP offices in the port town of Larne shared by East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson and the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera), Gordon Lyons.

Mr Wilson has been a vociferous critic of the protocol while Mr Lyons has suspended construction on permanent border posts required as part of the UK’s withdrawal deal from the EU.

Other graffiti in the unionist town of Larne said “DUP Out” and “RIP GFA”, a reference to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement peace deal.

A number of anti-protocol signs have also been erected around the town.

Mrs Foster told the Stormont Assembly the protocol was affecting trade and identity for those who view themselves as unionists.

“There is a need not just to tinker at the edges, there is a need to have a replacement of the protocol.

“There is a need to deal with that urgently because there is damage happening to the economy in Northern Ireland.”

The EU has threatened legal action and described the decision to extend the grace periods as a potential breach of international law.

Mrs Foster said the variation had to happen otherwise some product lines would have quickly dried up.

“I listened very clearly to what the business community want and they do not want the continuation of what we have seen in this protocol.”

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist Assembly member and keen weekend cricketer John Stewart has said confirmation that bringing in specialist cricket pitch soil – “loam” – from England is banned because of the protocol is farcical.

He added: “Here we have another example of the EU using a sledgehammer to crack a non-existent nut.

“There is no threat to the European single market or EU plant health standards by continuing the age-old tradition of bringing in ‘loam’ to create, build and maintain cricket pitches throughout Northern Ireland, and the Republic for that matter.

“Groundsmen across the country have been told that it is currently prohibited and it is not an exaggeration to say that this prohibition could threaten the future of cricket here.”

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Categories: DUP, Jewish communities, News, NI Protocol, Northern Ireland Protocol, Post Brexit trade

Swiss narrowly back proposal to ban face coverings in public

March 8, 2021 Article

Swiss voters have narrowly approved a proposal to ban face coverings, both niqabs and burkas worn by a few Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters.

The measure will outlaw covering one’s face in public places such as restaurants, sports stadiums, public transport or simply walking in the street.

It foresees exceptions at religious sites and for security or health reasons, such as face masks people are wearing now to protect against Covid-19, as well as for traditional carnival celebrations. Authorities have two years to draw up detailed legislation.

Two Swiss cantons, or states, Ticino and St Gallen, already have similar legislation that foresees fines for transgressions. National legislation will put Switzerland in line with countries such as Belgium and France that have already enacted similar measures.

The Swiss government had opposed the measure as excessive, arguing that full-face coverings are a “marginal phenomenon”. It argued that the ban could harm tourism – most Muslim women who wear such veils in Switzerland are visitors from Persian Gulf states, who are often drawn to Swiss lakeside cities.

Experts estimate that at most a few dozen Muslim women wear full-face coverings in the country of 8.5 million people.

Supporters of the proposal, which came to a vote five years after it was launched, argued that the full-face coverings symbolise the repression of women and said the measure is needed to uphold a basic principle that faces should be shown in a free society such as Switzerland’s.

In the end, 51.2% of voters supported the plan. There were majorities against it in six of Switzerland’s 26 cantons – among them those that include the country’s three biggest cities, Zurich, Geneva and Basel, and the capital, Bern. SRF public television reported that voters in several popular tourist destinations including Interlaken, Lucerne and Zermatt rejected it.

Backers included the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, which is the strongest in parliament. The committee that launched the proposal is led by a politician from the party, Walter Wobmann, and also initiated a ban on the construction of new minarets that voters approved in 2009.

A coalition of left-leaning parties that opposes the proposal put up signs ahead of the referendum that read: “Absurd. Useless. Islamophobic.”

Mr Wobmann told SRF that the initiative addressed both “a symbol of a completely different system of values… extremely radical Islam” and security against “hooligans”. He said that “this has nothing to do with symbolic politics”.

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Categories: Hijab, Muslim women, News, Niqab, Swiss