Reflecting the general distrust in Europe of followers of Islam, a Swiss canton passed a new law on Monday that banned the wearing of the burqa when in public.
Violators of the law, authored by Giorgio Ghiringhelli, would be fined $1,000 or 10,000 Swiss francs. The ban on use of the burqa, or the traditional cloth used by Muslim women to cover their head and face, applies only in the canton of Ticino, an Italian-speaking region in Switzerland, reports HNGN.
The author says the aim of the law is to send a message to Islamic fundamentalists that they are not welcome in the region, especially after the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris perpetrated by the Daesh, or members of the Islamic State.
Use of the burqa makes it difficult to identify possible terrorist caught by CCTV. Used together with the traditional Islamic attire, male terrorists could pass themselves as women. However, female are now also becoming notorious for serving as suicide bombers of the Daesh. Muslims comprise only 0.5 percent of Switzerland's population.
Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, criticized the Ticino law. On social media, some netizens also expressed their sentiments.
Tourists are not exempt from the law even if Ticino, a popular tourist destination, received 40,000 Middle Eastern foreign visitors in 2014. Other European nations such as France, Belgium and The Netherlands have similar bans on the burqa.
Breitbart reports that Slovenia is also considering imposing a burqa ban after a legislator filed a new bill to revise the current Protection of Public Order Act. Besides the proposed prohibition on the headgear, the bill also seeks to limit migration and to put in place tighter border controls.