Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Egypt Presses Government Employees To Stop Wearing Niqab
Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments has held the first in a series of seminars designed to convince Muslim women in government jobs to stop wearing the niqab-- the full face veil. Those attending the seminar were given a book titled "Face Veil is a Custom not a Religious Obligation." Al Arabiya reports today that this follows a ban earlier this month imposed by the Ministry of Health on nurses wearing the niqab in hospitals. The government campaign is aimed at convincing women that the headscarf is sufficient under Islamic law.