Canadian Muslim group calls for burka ban

Another article about challenging the wearing of the burka because it is not based in Islamic religious law.

TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian Muslim organization urged the Canadian government Thursday to ban traditional Muslim garments designed to cover a woman's face, saying they are medieval and misogynist symbols of extremism with no basis in Islam.

The Muslim Canadian Congress has called on the federal government to prohibit the burka and the niqab because it says that practice of covering one's face has no place in a society that supports gender equality.

"Muslims around the world know that this attire is misogynistic dress for women that is being promoted by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda," said Tarek Fatah, founder of the group. "It is a means of holding women back in society."

The burka is a head-to-toe gown with a mesh-like panel over the face that allows a woman to see and breathe. The niqab is a veil that leaves only the eyes exposed.

Fatah said the ban should not extend to the hijab, a traditional headscarf that does not cover the face.

Fatah said there is nothing in any of the primary Islamic religious texts, including the Quran, that requires women to cover their faces, not even in the ultraconservative tenets of Sharia law, which is Islamic religious law.

"We feel it is the duty of progressive Muslims to stand up for Muslim society and gender equality in our society," said Fatah.

Fatah said the issue of the Muslim attire is also a security issue, saying that banks have been robbed in the North Carolina, Toronto and the United Kingdom by men dressed in burkas posing as women.

The proposed ban comes on the same day Egypt's top Islamic cleric said that students and teachers will not be allowed to wear niqabs in classrooms and dormitories of Sunni Islam's premier institute of learning, al-Azhar.

The decision announced by Sheik of al-Azhar Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi came days after he said the niqab "has nothing to do with Islam."
He said the goal was to "spread trust, harmony ... and the correct understanding of religion among girls."

Mohamed Elmasry, former president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, agrees. Elmasry said the traditional garb has its roots in cultural customs rather than religious teachings, but he said he believes women should have the freedom to decide whether they wish to cover their faces, and that a ban would limit freedom of expression.

"People feel it's part of their identity, people feel it's part of their culture," Elmasry said. "It's not for you and me to decide."

Find this article at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-10-12-burka-canada_N.htm