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**Niobaralegra** · 08-12-2011, 01:07 PM

New Zealand, August 07: A muslim scholar and jurist has waded into New Zealand's burqas-on-buses debate – saying the women should be made to removed their face veils. The debate erupted in May when two Muslim women were refused entry to Auckland buses because they were wearing face veils or niqabs.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, who hit the headlines when he issued a fatwa against terrorism and suicide bombing, told the Sunday Star-Times "covering the face, according to the Koran, is not mandatory".

Tahir-ul-Qadri, who is visiting New Zealand to give lectures on anti-extremism and tolerance, said strictures around covering the body applied to the head and body "except the hands, face and feet".

"For women living here, it's not a Koranic obligation. They should follow the law of the land."

At a meeting of Muslim women convened after the controversy arose, a spokeswoman, Regina Rasheed, said it was a personal choice whether a woman chose to wear a burqa, and that should be respected.

But Tahir-ul-Qadri said citizenship was a "covenant".

Face-veils were used in the Muslim world where women were harassed and felt uneasy. "Women [in New Zealand] do not feel uneasy."

The professor of Islamic law said New Zealand and Australia were safe from extremism and his message while here would be about "peace and integration".

08-12-2011, 01:07 PM	#22
Niobaralegra Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 453 Senior Member	New Zealand, August 07: A muslim scholar and jurist has waded into New Zealand's burqas-on-buses debate – saying the women should be made to removed their face veils. The debate erupted in May when two Muslim women were refused entry to Auckland buses because they were wearing face veils or niqabs. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, who hit the headlines when he issued a fatwa against terrorism and suicide bombing, told the Sunday Star-Times "covering the face, according to the Koran, is not mandatory". Tahir-ul-Qadri, who is visiting New Zealand to give lectures on anti-extremism and tolerance, said strictures around covering the body applied to the head and body "except the hands, face and feet". "For women living here, it's not a Koranic obligation. They should follow the law of the land." At a meeting of Muslim women convened after the controversy arose, a spokeswoman, Regina Rasheed, said it was a personal choice whether a woman chose to wear a burqa, and that should be respected. But Tahir-ul-Qadri said citizenship was a "covenant". Face-veils were used in the Muslim world where women were harassed and felt uneasy. "Women [in New Zealand] do not feel uneasy." The professor of Islamic law said New Zealand and Australia were safe from extremism and his message while here would be about "peace and integration".
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