Jakarta. Indonesian Islamic leaders on Wednesday denounced France’s ban on full-face veils, calling it a violation of human rights.
“Middle-Eastern Muslim women wear full-face veils as part of their culture and religious belief. If the French Parliament wants to champion human rights, it should allow women to wear the veils in public,” Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) chairman Amidhan told Agence France-Presse.
“If it’s for security reasons, the question is: to what extent is there a threat posed by women wearing burqas?” Amidhan said.
However, the MUI leader also said the issue was of limited importance for Indonesia’s Muslims, with very few of them wearing full-face veils. “Middle-Eastern Muslim women wear full-face veils as part of their culture and religious belief. If the French Parliament wants to champion human rights, it should allow women to wear the veils in public,” Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) chairman Amidhan told Agence France-Presse.
“If it’s for security reasons, the question is: to what extent is there a threat posed by women wearing burqas?” Amidhan said.
“We disagree with the law but it’s not much of an issue for us here. We’re quite far away and Muslim women in Indonesia don’t wear full-face veils.”
The French Parliament passed a law on Tuesday prohibiting the use of full-face veils in public, meaning a ban will come into force early next year if it is not overturned in the courts.
The French Senate passed the bill by 246 to 1. Having already cleared the lower house in July, the bill will be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which has a month to confirm its legality.
Chamamah Soeratno, the chairwoman of Aisyiyah, the women’s organization of Muhammadiyah, told the Jakarta Globe she believed the law needed to be reviewed.
“Wearing clothes is a human right, and it becomes more important when it is related to religion,” Chamamah said, adding that a woman should be able to cover her body in the public sphere.
However, Said Aqil Siradj, chairman of Nadhlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim organization in the country, said it was a purely French matter. “We do not have to take up this issue as it is their own,” he said. “Every country has its own policy.”
Siradj added that the burqa was basically a garment for Muslim women who live in desert areas. “The burqa is not part of Islamic law, that needs to be highlighted,” he said.
The ban has also been denounced in other countries.
The opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) said the vote had angered Muslims and could trigger terrorist attacks, and urged France to engage rather than alienate.
India’s chief Muslim cleric, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, said he “vehemently condemned” the law and described it as anti-Islamic.
Source : http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/mui-and-aisyiyah-slam-ban-on-veils-in-france/396376 - Sept 15, 2010
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