New Australian law to make Muslims lift veils

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Muslim women have to remove the veils and show their faces to the police upon request or risk a prison sentence under the proposed new laws in the state's most populous Australia have drawn criticism as culturally insensitive.

Vigorous debate that the proposal has triggered clashes reflects cultural and spreads through the growing influx of Muslim immigrants and discomfort as the visible symbols of Islam are the cause of predominantly white Christian in Australia since 1973 when the government relaxed its immigration policy.

Under the proposed legislation by the Government of New South Wales, including Sydney, a woman who defies the police refusing to remove her veil her face could be sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 5,500 Australian dollars (5900 $).

The bill - to be passed by State Parliament in August - has been condemned by civil libertarians and many Muslims as an overreaction to a traffic offense case involving a Muslim woman driver in a "niqab", or a veil that reveals only the eyes.

The government says the law would require drivers and remove any suspicious headgear for the police to identify them.

Critics say the document hints of anti-Muslim bias, given the few women wear burqa in Australia. In a population of 23 million, only about 400 000 Australians are Muslims. Community advocates estimate that less than 2000 women wear the veil their faces, and it is likely that even a small percentage of readers.

"It does not seem to be very tough, and it does not seem to be a need," said Australian Council for Civil Liberties spokesman David Bernie. "This shows a certain cultural insensitivity."

The controversy over the veil is similar to the debate in other Western countries about whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear clothes that hide their faces in public. France and Belgium have banned veils covering their faces in public. Typical arguments are that there is a need to prevent women from being forced to wear the veil by their families or the public safety requires that people be identified.

Bernie noted that if a thief disguised in a veil and sunglasses robbed a convenience store in Sydney last year, there was no crime trends involving Australian clothing for Muslim women.

"It's a religious issue here," said Mouna Unnjinal, a mother of five who was taken to Sydney in a niqab for 18 years and has never been booked for a traffic offense.