Austria's ruling coalition has become the latest governmental body in Europe to ban Muslim full-face veils in public places. The measure is part of a larger deal struck by the center-left Democratic party (SPÖ) and the center-right Austrian People's party (ÖVP) to avert the disintegration of the ruling coalition.

Similar bans to the one proposed in Austria have popped up in countries across Europe, propelled by the rise of right-wing populist parties and anti-immigration sentiments across the continent. The ban will apply to courts, schools, and other public areas.

As an explanation for the ban, the 35-page agreement penned by the coalition said that Austria should be an "open society that requires open communication."

"Full-face veils in public places are the opposite of that and will be banned," the agreement added.

The population of women who actually wear full-face veils in Austria is very small, though tourism groups have expressed concerns that the new ban will dissuade visitors from coming to Austria from areas where the veil is common. The BBC estimates that only 150 women in Austria wear the full niqab, which conceals most of the face, but leaves the eyes clear. The ban will also apply to the burka, the most concealing Islamic veil.

"It is saddening. This is a setback for Austria, for our democracy and for our understanding of diversity," Amani Abu Zahra, of the Islamic religion department at the University for Teacher Education of Christian Churches, told CNN.

Many experts are interpreting the banning of the veil in Austria as a symbolic gesture, meant to partially appease the anti-immigration Freedom party (FPÖ), which is currently leading in the polls. If the centrist SPÖ and ÖVP parties had been unable to reach the agreement last week, the government would have collapsed, triggering a snap election in the country that could have put the FPÖ on top.

Like Austria, Germany's ruling centrist party has also made recent concessions in order to stave off right-wing populism, with Chancellor Angela Merkel calling for a ban on the full veil "wherever it's legally possible." As The Christian Science Monitor reported in December:

Calling for a veil ban in Germany seems to come out of left field for Merkel, whose administration has long been seen as the greatest bulwark of liberal thought in a rightward-shifting Europe. ... Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading in the polls, but their supporters may be wary of Merkel and her more liberal policies. A number of voters who might otherwise have voted for the CDU have been put off by Germany’s recent course on immigration, and are now instead voting for anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany.

Similar bans against Islamic facial coverings have taken hold in recent years the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. Some French seaside towns even imposed bans on so-called burkinis – swimsuits that feature a full-body and head covering – over the past summer. Supporters of these bans across Europe often cite the need to preserve secular ideals through religiously neutral clothing. Others have said that banning face-concealing veils is a matter of public safety.

"The law is not directed against religious communities and is not repressive. We made a very good law for the safety of our children," said Bulgarian parliament member Kasimir Velchev, after Bulgaria approved a ban similar to Austria's in September of last year.

Tarafa Baghajati, chair of the Austrian Muslim Initiative, told CNN that he did not necessarily agree with the full-face veil, but that imposing a ban against it is "counterproductive."

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"This is state-run discrimination against Muslim women that violates the constitution and anti-discrimination laws," he said.

This article contains material from Reuters.</s>Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Several European countries have imposed a full-face veil ban and others are considering it

Austria's ruling coalition has agreed to prohibit full-face veils in public spaces such as courts and schools.

It is also considering a more general ban on state employees wearing the headscarf and other religious symbols.

The measures are seen as an attempt to counter the rise of the far-right Freedom Party, whose candidate narrowly lost last month's presidential vote.

The centrist coalition nearly collapsed last week amid crisis negotiations over the government's future direction.

'Symbolic' step

Detailing the package of reforms, the coalition devoted just two lines to the planned ban on the Islamic niqab and burqa.

"We are committed to an open society, which also presupposes open communication. A full-face veil in public places stands in its way and will therefore be banned," it said.

An estimated 150 women wear the full niqab in Austria but tourism officials have expressed fears that the measures will also deter visitors from the Gulf.

One government spokesman told an Austrian newspaper that the ban would apply for ski resorts such as Zell am See as much as the centre of Vienna.

Several European countries have imposed similar bans but the Austrian move is, according to the vice chancellor a "symbolic" step.

Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz said it was important to be seen to be neutral, especially for anyone dealing with the public in the police or schools.

France and Belgium introduced a burqa ban in 2011 and a similar measure is currently going through the Dutch parliament.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said last month that the full-face veil should be prohibited in Germany "wherever it is legally possible". The UK does not ban the niqab or burqa.

Further measures agreed by Austria's Social Democrats and their conservative People's party partners include electronic tagging of former jihadists and a proposed curb on foreign workers.

Many of the plans must be hammered out in detail and receive parliamentary approval before they can come into force, BBC Vienna correspondent Bethany Bell reports.

What is a niqab and a burka?

The niqab is a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear. However, it may be worn with a separate eye veil. It is worn with an accompanying headscarf.

The burka is the most concealing of all Islamic veils. It is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.</s>Austria is the latest European country to move to ban the full-face veil in public spaces.

The country’s ruling coalition this week agreed to prohibit full-face veils such as the burqa and the niqab in courts and schools, while further investigating the possibility of banning headscarves for women employed in public services.

The ban is part of a package of changes hammered out by the ruling Social Democratic party (SPÖ) and the centre-right Austrian People’s party (ÖVP) to avert the collapse of their coalition government, which would have triggered snap elections.

Other new policy goals they have agreed include expanding Austria’s CCTV network and a compulsory “integration year” for asylum seekers, during which they would have to commit themselves to learning German and working for a charitable organisation.

The ban on the full-face veil is seen above all as a symbolic measure designed to avert pressure from the anti-immigration Freedom party (FPÖ), which is currently leading in the polls. Only between 100 and 150 women are estimated to wear the full-face veil in Austria. A spokesperson emphasised the ban would apply for tourist destinations such as the Zell am See ski resort as well as the urban centre of Vienna.

A similar ban has been place in France and Belgium since 2011, the Netherlands introduced a partial ban in 2015, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, endorsed her party’s call to ban the full-face veil “wherever it is legally possible” last year.

While the government’s working paper also said civil servants in executive positions, such as judges and state prosecutors, should be forced to wear “religiously neutral” clothing, the Austrian justice ministry has distanced itself from the proposals, stating that guidelines already prescribe specific clothing in court.

According to Der Standard newspaper, there are no women with headscarves working for Austria’s police force or the country’s courts.



The president of Austria’s Islamic Faith Community, Ibrahim Olgun, criticised the proposed ban, saying that it would “pull the rug” from under efforts to create a good working relationship between the government and the Muslim community.</s>Austria plans to institute a ban on wearing full face veils in public as part of a series of reforms to shore up support for the country’s coalition government. The ruling Social Democratic Party, along with the Austrian People’s Party, worked on the 35-page package of proposals that Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern announced with his vice chancellor on Monday. “We are committed to an open society, which also presupposes open communication. A full-face veil in public places stands in its way and will therefore be banned,” the document states. Austria’s ban represents an attempt to cater to supporters of the populist right-wing Freedom Party, which saw its candidate lose in last month’s presidential election but still has significant support in the polls. It also makes Austria the latest country to embrace policies closely associated with Europe’s rising anti-immigrant, anti-Islam parties. In addition to banning full-face veils, the reforms will restrict foreign workers and add new requirements for people to receive asylum in Austria. Leonhard Foeger/Reuters Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern and Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner at a news conference in Vienna on Jan. 30, 2017. Critics of the face veil ban, like Ibrahim Olgun, president of Austria’s Islamic Faith Community, said it would undermine the relationship between the Austrian government and Muslims. However, a number of other European countries ― especially where anti-immigrant or anti-Islam parties are gaining support ― are considering similar face veil bans. The Netherlands is currently considering legislation for a partial ban on full face coverings that its lower house of Parliament approved last November. The niqab and burqa would be banned in certain public institutions, including schools, hospitals and government buildings, as well as on public transport. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party backed the ban. Earlier this month, Rutte wrote an open letter telling people in the Netherlands to “act normal or leave.” Observers saw the letter as a fairly transparent attempt to court populist right-wing voters ahead of parliamentary elections in March. Dutch polls show that anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders’ party is expected to gain a significant portion of the vote, although the Netherlands’ multi-party system makes it very unlikely it will actually govern. Wilders, who is sometimes compared to U.S. President Donald Trump, praised Trump’s Muslim ban on Tuesday. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last December that she would back a face veil ban “wherever legally possible.” Merkel is aiming to secure a fourth term as chancellor later this year, as the far-right Alternative for Germany party gains support on an anti-immigration platform. Some areas of Switzerland have also banned face coverings, and Belgium has had a full face veil ban in place since 2011. France instituted a full face veil ban for public places the same year, and last year, some French mayors passed bans on full-body swimsuits. These so-called “burkini bans” were overturned in France’s highest court after lawyers argued they were unconstitutional and discriminatory. Meanwhile, Austria’s plan to partially ban full face veils could go even further. The country’s minister of foreign affairs and integration, Sebastian Kurz, stated earlier this month that he favored a ban on headscarves for public servants. An estimated 100 to 150 women in Austria wear full face veils out of a population of around 8.5 million people.</s>(CNN) The Austrian government has announced plans to ban the full-face Islamic veil in public, part of a raft of measures to contain the rise of the far-right Freedom Party.

The plan -- which would ban the burqa, niqab and other face-covering veils -- echoes calls that German Chancellor Angela Merkel made last month for a similar ban in Germany.

It also comes amid growing concerns of harassment against Muslims around the world following US President Donald Trump's temporary ban on citizens from some Muslim-majority countries entering the United States.

The Social Democratic and Austrian People's parties, which rule in a coalition, released a 35-page document outlining their vision for Austria as an "open society that requires open communication."

"Full-face veils in public places are the opposite of that and will be banned," the document said.

Any ban would need the Austrian Parliament's approval to be enforced.

The document says that Austria was introducing the reforms to ensure the "state presents itself in a world-open and religiously neutral manner," adding that civil servants in uniform as well as judges and prosecutors should show religious neutrality in the way they dress in public, effectively banning them from wearing Islamic headscarves.

The announcement was met with a backlash from Islamic groups and Austrian Muslims, who slammed the plan as discriminatory.

"It is saddening. This is a setback for Austria, for our democracy and for our understanding of diversity," said Amani Abu Zahra from the Islamic religion department at the University for Teacher Education of Christian Churches.

Tarafa Baghajati, chair of the Austrian Muslim Initiative, said that while he didn't necessarily agree with the full-face veil, he considered an outright ban "counterproductive."

Baghajati said he found the "de facto headscarf ban" on civil servants more problematic.

"This is state-run discrimination against Muslim women that violates the constitution and anti-discrimination laws," he said.

The government will also try to force asylum-seekers and some migrants to sign an "integration contract and a declaration of values" and agree to "strict sanctions" if the contract is violated. It will seek to reinforce border controls, increase police presence and tighten asylum procedures.

The document is an 18-month plan that will take the government, led by Chancellor Christian Kern, up to the next elections, likely to be held in 2018.

The ruling parties are facing a rapid rise in popularity of the far-right, Euroskeptic Freedom Party, which has campaigned against what it sees as the Islamization of the country, calling for "zero migration" and a boost to border security.

France became the first European country to ban the full-face veil officially in 2010. Bans are also in place in Belgium and some parts of Switzerland, while other European countries have debated the issue.</s>Austria's governing coalition has agreed to ban full-face veils in courts, schools and other "public places" as part of a reform programme aimed at countering the rise of the far-Right in the country.

The agreement was made between the ruling coalition of Social Democrats and the centrist People's party as Chancellor Christian Kern attempts to regain the political initiative from the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) ahead of next year's parliamentary election.

"The full-face veil will be banned in public spaces," Mr Kern said after the week-long negotiations concluded, adding that the ban will be implemented over the next 18 months.</s>The Austrian government has announced plans to ban the full-face Islamic veil in public, part of a raft of measures to contain the rise of the far-right Freedom Party.

The plan — which would ban the burqa, niqab and other face-covering veils — echoes calls made last month by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a similar ban in Germany.

It also comes amid growing concerns of harassment against Muslims around the world following US President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on citizens from some Muslim-majority countries entering the United States.

The Social Democratic Party and the Austrian People’s Party, which rule in a coalition, released a 35-page document outlining its vision for Austria as an “open society that requires open communication.”

“Full-face veils in public places are the opposite of that and will be banned,” the document said.

Any ban would need the parliament’s approval to be enforced.

The document says that Austria was introducing the reforms to ensure the “state presents itself in a world-open and religiously neutral manner,” adding that civil servants in uniform, as well as judges and prosecutors, should show religious neutrality in the way they dress in public.

The government will also try to force asylum-seekers and some migrants to sign an “integration contract and a declaration of values” and agree to “strict sanctions” if the contract is violated. It will seek to reinforce border controls, increase police presence and tighten asylum procedures.

The document is an 18-month plan that will take the government, led by Chancellor Christian Kern, up to the next elections, likely to be held in 2018.

The ruling parties are facing a rapid rise in popularity of the far-right euroskeptic Freedom Party, which has campaigned against what it sees as the Islamisation of the country, calling for “zero migration” and a boost to border security.

France became the first European country to officially ban the full-face veil in 2010. Bans are also in place in Belgium and some parts of Switzerland, while other European countries have debated the issue.</s>Austria's governing coalition has agreed to prohibit full-face veils in courts, schools and other "public places" as part of a package of reforms drawn up after more than a week of negotiations.

The coalition of Social Democrats and the centrist People's party also agreed Monday to ban police officers, judges and magistrates and public prosecutors from wearing head scarves in the interest of appearing "ideologically and religiously neutral" while serving the state.

The French parliament passed an act more than six years ago that made France the first European Union country to ban the niqab and burqa, the full-face or face-and-body coverings worn by some Muslim women, in public places. Others have followed.</s>When the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, proposed a ban on the burqa and niqab at a conference of her political party in December 2016, she was following the lead of a number of countries in Europe which already have such legislation in place. In France and Belgium a woman wearing a full-face veil can be jailed for up to seven days. In January 2017, there were also reports that Morocco had banned the production and sale of the burqa.

Merkel, who has faced criticism over her refugee policy, turned towards a ban on the Muslim veil as proof of her harder stance on integration in Germany.

The politicisation of the veil — whether it covers the full face (burqa), leaves the eyes open (niqab) or covers head and neck only (hijab, al-amira, khimar) — has a long history in European politics. And it often becomes a battleground for different ideologies at times of crisis.

Throughout the 19th century, the Muslim veil functioned as an object of fascination for European travellers to the Middle East, despite the fact that Christians and Druzes — a religious sect with origins in 11th-century Egypt — would also veil. European photographers in the region produced eroticised representations of women lifting their veils and exposing their naked bodies. Reproduced as postcards, these images circulated across the Mediterranean, constructing the image of a Muslim woman whose erotic powers could be unleashed once the veil was lifted.

But in the 1950s, the veil played an important role during the Algerian war of independence against French colonial rule. Frantz Fanon, a Martinique-born psychiatrist and anti-colonial intellectual, described the French colonial doctrine in Algeria as follows:

If we want to destroy the structure of Algerian society, its capacity for resistance, we must first of all conquer the women; we must go and find them behind the veil where they hide themselves and in the houses where the men keep them out of sight.

Fanon was a member of the Algerian National Liberation Front who considered women's ill-treatment by the French army to embody the whole country's situation. For him, it was impossible for the colonial power to conquer Algeria without winning over its women to European "norms".

In 1958, during the Algerian war of independence, mass "unveiling" ceremonies were staged across Algeria. The wives of French military officers unveiled some Algerian women to show that they were now siding with their French "sisters". These spectacles formed part of an emancipation campaign aimed at demonstrating how Muslim women had been won over to European values and away from the independence struggle. They were also staged at a moment of political turmoil in mainland France, which was struggling politically and financially to maintain its colony in North Africa.

The unveilings were publicised and presented to the government in Paris as spontaneous acts. But the French leader Charles de Gaulle remained sceptical of the French settlers' claims, and historians would later find that some of the women who participated in these ceremonies never even wore the veil before. Others were pressured by the army to participate.

Following the staged unveilings, many Algerian women began wearing the veil. They wanted to make clear that they would define the terms of their emancipation – rather than being forcefully liberated by the French colonisers.

The unveilings had come a year after the end of the Battle of Algiers during which female freedom fighters began to carry explosives underneath the traditional white haik, a form of dress which dates back to Ottoman Algeria. But once this technique was detected by the army, the female fighters unveiled and chose European dress instead. This meant they could pass through French checkpoints unnoticed, allowing them to smuggle bombs – a scene depicted in Gillo Pontecorvo's celebrated 1966 film Battle of Algiers. Almost 40 years later, the film was shown at the Pentagon following the invasion of Iraq, in order to scrutinise "terrorist" strategies.

After the collapse of French Algeria in 1962, many Algerian women in urban areas stopped wearing the veil, but with the rise of Islamic radicalism in the country which led to a civil war in the 1990s, veiling became mandatory.

Mobilisation of the veil against Western systems of thought and values also occurred in the 1970s in Egypt when college-educated women returned to wearing the veil. Among the reasons cited for their choice was a rejection of Western consumerism and materialism, in favour of modesty and minimalism.

A screen on which to project anxiety

The veil offers a visible, public marker that can be mobilised to emphasise various political and social agendas. Under colonial rule, the veil became a sign that demarcated those who did not belong to the European system of thought. It continues to do so, and has become mobilised within political debates at times of crisis — for example in Germany by Merkel facing the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

According to Gabriele Boos-Niazy, the co-chair of Germany's Association for Muslim Women, there are no more than a hundred women in Germany who wear the full-face veil. In a country of 80m citizens, this forms 0.000125%. The focus on banning the full-face veil is not rational but ideological, with Muslim women's dress now embodying a range of wider fears around terrorism, Islam and immigration. The Muslim veil has become a screen onto which Europe's anxieties and political struggles are being projected.

Europeans have a history of portraying the veil as foreign to the continent's mentality — and this shows no sign of abating. Yet, considering the way Muslim women have used the veil as a way of resistance in the past, they are likely to do it again in the future.</s>Austria’s decision to introduce a full-face veil ban in public spaces such as courts and schools comes as anti-Muslim bigotry across the US and Europe is reaching an all-time high. The terrorist attack on the Québec City mosque should act as a warning of what can happen. It is, to say the least, rather unwise timing for the Austrian centrist coalition to announce a policy that disproportionally targets Muslims.

With only about 150 women affected, the Austrian ban on the niqab and the burqa is considered a symbolic act rather than a policy aimed at responding to a security threat, or to provoke social change. It is a kneejerk reaction to the rising popularity of the far right and increasing public pressure on the coalition to take firm and visible action. In their desperate attempt to regain the public’s confidence, centrist politicians across Europe have been increasingly pandering to far-right voters. Policies that were initially suggested by parties such as the Austrian Freedom party (FPÖ), the German Alternative für Deutschland and the French Front National are now increasingly being adopted by mainstream politicians.

The veil ban is only one of the responses to the fears of large parts of the population that Austrian culture and traditions are being eroded. The mainstream media’s sensationalisation of jihadist attacks coupled with widening far-right echo chambers that spread fake news have shaped public perceptions about the links between the migration crisis and the terrorism threat. Rightwing populists have cunningly exploited the 2016 attacks in Bavaria to suit their political agenda, and the lines between Muslim refugees and potential terrorists have become increasingly blurred in the public perception.

The political pressure faced by the Austrian government is particularly high since the narrow victory of the left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen against the FPÖ’s far-right candidate, Norbert Hofer, in the presidential elections of December 2016. As the most recent opinion polls reveal, the FPÖ would win a general election if it were to take place tomorrow. Although the next elections are in 2018, the increasingly divided coalition, led by the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the People’s party (ÖVP), has been trying to prevent the collapse of the political status quo and avoid an early poll.

This has led parties to opt for politically favourable policies rather than those that might be strategically valuable. Nuanced, values-based approaches that emphasise human rights are increasingly replaced by draconian laws that cut down on civil liberties. But the full-face veil ban is not just illiberal, undermining the pluralistic values that our democracies are built on, it is also ineffective and even counter-productive.

Most important, it risks causing confusion about the extent and nature of any terrorist threat to Austria by conflating religious conservatism and religious extremism. A 2015 study showed that every second Austrian citizen was afraid of Islam, and perceived it as a threat to Austrian culture. Some 65% percent of the survey respondents said they found the clothing and behaviour of Muslims living in Austria disturbing.

France and Belgium were the first European countries to introduce the niqab and burqa ban in 2011. Women who wear full-face veils can face fines of up to €150, or be required to take citizenship courses. In France, both the full-face veil ban and last summer’s burkini ban have widened the rifts within society along religious and racial lines.

The policy ultimately risks normalising far-right rhetoric, validating populist party programmes and empowering Austrian identity movements by demonising Muslim communities. This has fed into the continuing identity wars between Muslim and non-Muslim, which both far-right extremists and jihadists have capitalised on. Several studies have shown that the resulting grievances have been a major contributor to France’s high radicalisation rates. Looking at the backlash the policy has provoked in France and Belgium, it is hard to imagine that any government would choose to imitate such a ban when it has so obviously failed to reach its declared goal of encouraging citizens to “live together”.

Ultimately, in any liberal democracy, clothing should remain a matter of choice rather than an obligation. The freedom to choose from a wide range of fashion, from corset and stockings to a full-face veil, is the fundamental right of all women. Neither their husbands nor their politicians should have the right to prescribe to them what they wear.

But even regardless of the questionable moral grounds of this policy, governments should ask themselves: aren’t there more effective ways of promoting a pluralistic, open society? Instead of criminalising clothing in public institutions they could promote an open dialogue about Islam and its traditions in such places. A culturally sensitive policy would emphasise education about the differences between true Islamic teachings and the doctrines of movements such as Islamic State.
agrees to ban the full-face veil (burqa and niqāb) in public spaces, part of a larger deal struck by the center-left Social Democratic Party and the center-right Austrian People's Party to avoid the collapse of the ruling coalition government.