Should Britain ban the burqa?

ON APRIL 1st 2011, France enforced a new law called “the bill to forbid concealing one’s face in public”. Although the title might not mention Islam or indeed veils its intention is clear: to ban the burqa. For France, a country that prides itself on its secular values, ostentatious displays of religion such as the face and body covering burqa are an unavoidable and unwanted symbol. But for the many French Muslims who wear the burqa it will be seen as an infringement of their fundamental ...