By IRNA,
Berlin : German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Tuesday dismissed calls for a Belgian-style burqa ban, labeling them “inappropriate and unnecessary.”
In a video interview with the Leipzig-based daily Leipziger Volkszeitung, the minister rejected such plans by Belgium and France which have also been supported by the German deputy head of the European Parliament, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, labeling them “inappropriate and unnecessary.”
A debate on the burqa is “not necessary,” the German official reiterated.
Last week, a German Muslim leader voiced strong opposition to outlawing burqas in his country.
“This is a completely senseless debate. It would only further widen the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims,” the Chairman of Germany’s Central
Council of Muslims Aiman Mazyek was quoted saying in the press.
On Thursday, Belgium’s lower house of parliament voted for a law that would ban women from wearing the full Islamic face veil in public.
The law would ban any clothing that obscures the identity of the wearer in places like parks and on the street.
Mazyek stressed prohibiting the burqa was merely aimed at “instrumentalizing fears.”
International human rights have slammed Belgium’s outright ban on female Islamic face veils, saying it violated the freedom of expression and religion.
“The Belgian move to ban full face veils, the first in Europe, sets a dangerous precedent. Restrictions on human rights must always be proportionate to a legitimate goal. A total ban on full face veils would not be,” said Amnesty International’s expert on discrimination in Europe, John Dalhuisen.
The Belgian law still has to be approved by the upper house of parliament, the Senate.