The Netherlands Poised to Become Europe's Third Country to Ban Face Covering

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Netherlands said on Friday that it has completed a draft bill to ban the full-face covering, or niqab, in public worn by a handful of Muslim women in the country.

 Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured) said the legislation would now be sent to the government’s legal advisory body before lawmakers would be able to vote on it.

 The vote for the ban will take place in only a few months and the law is expected to go through.

 Prime Minister Mark Rutte also announced tougher rules for immigrants and asylum-seekers wanting Dutch nationality who, in future, must show they have earned income and have not received financial assistance or benefits for at least three years.

 The country's reputation as relatively easy on immigration has changed over the past decade, reflecting voter concerns over the large number of Muslim immigrants.

 "The government believes the wearing of clothing that completely or almost entirely covers the face is fundamentally at odds with public life, where people are recognized by their faces," the government said in a statement on Friday.

 "Face-covering clothing prevents this and goes against the principles of equality between men and women, especially women."

 The new measures reflect the influence wielded by populist politician Geert Wilders, whose anti-Islam, anti-immigration Freedom Party is the third-largest in parliament.

 The Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition government has already faced tough opposition from Wilders' Freedom Party over its support for euro zone bailouts, and needs to keep it on side in order to push ahead with crucial budget cuts.

 The government said it did not consider the ban on face-covering veils a restriction of religious freedom, but that even if it was, it was "necessary and justified in the interest of protecting the character and way of life in the Netherlands."

 The proposals will first be presented to the council of state, the administrative court, and then to parliament.

 The legislation provides exemptions for mosques, or other religious buildings and for foreign women travelling through the transit lounges of international Dutch airports.

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