Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Condemns French Parliamentary Report

LONDON, February 8 - The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat wishes to express its condemnation of the
recommendations of a recent French Parliamentary Report, which called for a
partial ban on Muslim women wearing veils.

According to the recommendations, any Muslim woman who attempted to flout
the ban would be denied the relevant public service. Therefore, if the
recommendations are adopted into law, then a country who wishes to represent
itself as secular and tolerant would in fact be willing, for example, to deny
health services to a woman in need of treatment because she chose to cover
her face; and it would be willing to deny education to a female on the same
grounds. These are but just two examples of the potential consequences of
such a ban. Islam has long been misrepresented as cruel and discriminatory,
yet it is in France where such acts are being seriously contemplated. Indeed,
many French politicians have openly stated that the proposed ban does not go
far enough and that if they had their way they would criminalise the covering
of the face and implement a full ban across society.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat believes that a person's choice of dress is a
personal matter. Islam teaches modesty for both men and women but underlying
all Islamic injunctions is the Qur'anic principle that 'There is no
compulsion in religion'. Thus if a woman, whether Muslim or non-Muslim,
chooses not to cover her head then that is her right, but on the other hand
if a woman, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, chooses to cover her head or face
then that too is her right and ought never to be interfered with.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat hereby wishes to make it clear that no woman
should ever be forced to adopt Purdah. The burka and niqab are items of dress
that many Muslim women choose to wear due to their pride in its decency and
modesty.

It is hoped that the French Parliament rejects the recommendations of the
Report and allows Muslim women to live in peace throughout the country. It is
also hoped that other countries do not follow a similar path of
discrimination, prejudice and intolerance. For freedom to reign, freedom must
be preserved.

Contact - Abid Khan, Tel: +44(0)7795490682, Email: press at ahmadiyya.org.uk