Morocco bans sale and production of full-face Muslim veils

RABAT: Morocco has banned the production and sale of burqa full-face Muslim veils, due to reports which say the garment is used to carry out the crimes.

 

The authorities did not announce it officially in the North African nation. The reports said the interior ministry order would take effect this week.

 

According to the media report a high-ranking interior ministry official said.“We have taken the step of completely banning the import, manufacture, and marketing of this garment in all the cities and towns of the kingdom.”
It said the measure appeared to be motivated by security concerns, “since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crimes.”
A large number of women in Morocco prefer the hijab headscarf that does not cover the face.

 

The interior ministry officials on Monday conducted “awareness-raising campaigns with traders to inform them of this new decision,” , in some of the commercial districts of Casablanca.

 

According to the reports Taroudant in southern Morocco, authorities ordered traders to stop making and selling burqas and to liquidate their stock within 48 hours.
The Salafists expressed concern that the measure could be expanded to include the niqab.Salafist sheikh Hassan Kettani wrote on Facebook that.
“Is Morocco moving toward banning the niqab that Muslim women have worn for five centuries?”

He added.“If true it would be a disaster.”
Hammad Kabbaj, a preacher said the ban as “unacceptable.”He commented on Facebook, that.“Morocco of freedom and human rights” which “considers the wearing of the Western swimsuit on the beaches an untouchable right.”
Oussama Boutaher, a coordinator that defends Islamist prisoners, said the burqa ban amounted to “discrimination.”
He said.“This shows that we are considered second-class citizens. It attacks individual freedoms even though Morocco has signed a number of international protocols on human rights.”
Adding.“Our example isn’t Afghanistan, but the prophet and his followers.”

 
Nouzha Skalli a lawmaker and a former family and social development minister welcomed the ban as “an important step in the fight against religious extremism.”
Still, the High Council of Ulemas, the country’s top religious authority, has to comment on the issue of banning full-face veils.