Sweeping support to ban full Islamic veil in Western Europe as France votes on Burka ban, survey shows

Get the burka, the head-to-toe Muslim veil, off the streets. That's the message from large majorities in numerous Western European countries as French parliamentarians gear up to vote on Tuesday on a controversial proposed bill that would make it illegal for Muslim women to wear the burka in public places, a new report suggests.
 
According to a survey conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center in April and May this year, support for banning the burka is especially high in France, where a whopping 82% are in favor of outlawing it in public places such as schools, hospitals and government offices, while just 17% are opposed to such measures. But the study also indicates that the garment, which has been the subject of much heated debate and controversy in Europe, is becoming increasingly unpopular in Germany, Britain, and Spain, where 71%, 62% and 59%, respectively, of those surveyed endorsed burka bans similar to the proposed French law in their own countries.

Americans, on the other hand, remain strongly opposed to such a law. Only 28% of those surveyed in the U.S. were in support of a burka ban while 65% disapproved.

For more: MUSLIM WORLD: Sweeping support to ban full Islamic veil in Western Europe as France votes on Burka ban, survey shows | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times