French Muslim leader says full-body veil is a door to radical Islam but any ban carries risks.
The head of France’s Muslim council said Wednesday that the full-body veil worn by a minority of Muslims in France is an “entry way” to radical Islam, but that a national debate over whether to ban the garment in public is stigmatizing the entire Muslim community.
Mohammed Moussaoui told a panel of lawmakers that any decision to outlaw the veils that cover the body and face risks feeding a sense of discrimination.
The debate “has taken on unexpected proportions” and “Muslims are increasingly finding themselves confronted with stereotypes whose consequence is the stigmatization of an entire religion,” Moussaoui said, referring to what many Muslims say is a tendency to group them into a single unit be they moderate or radical.
….The Muslim grouping said it preferred to try to dissuade women from wearing the veil through dialogue, saying any law could prove counterproductive, raising sympathy for those who wear the garment and feeding radical agendas.
