How long until this issue in Canada becomes a voting issue in the United States? My guess is 2008. Muslim women wearing the niqab or burka - veils that hide the face entirely - will be allowed to vote in the Quebec elections, without showing their face. That's the directive from the Director general of elections, despite the fact it goes against the electoral law. Typically a voter is to present photo-I.D. But women wearing a full-face veil will have to either swear that they are who they say they are - or have an adult with them verifying their identity. But Sarah Elgazar, from the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations, says it's an interesting directive, but not necessary. She says very few women wear niqabs or burkas in Quebec, adding they're used to having to reveal their faces at banks, for example, provided it's in front of a woman.
Update: Ethel C. Fenig writes:
Quebec's chief returning officer now has two bodyguards as a result of a decision to allow Muslim women to vote in Monday's election without showing their faces.
A spokeswoman for returning officer Marcel Blanchet also says Elections Quebec has received threatening phone calls. The spokeswoman says Elections Quebec will have more to say on the issue later Friday.
While most people would rightly condemn threats of violence it must be remembered that allowing voting while totally covered violates Canadian law, the country in which these Moslem women live and whose laws they should obey. Shouldn't they?
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