The niqab - the face-covering veil worn by some Muslim women - puts a barrier between its wearer and the outside world. The Muslim Canadian Congress is calling for a ban on the veil and the burka, an even more troubling garment that covers the entire body, where even the eyes are hidden behind a mesh screen. It is a welcome call to debate arising out of a legitimate concern for women, but legislation is not the right answer.
The existing discussion has focused on religion and rights. In Egypt, Mohammed Tantawi, a prominent Sunni Muslim cleric, recently asked a visiting schoolgirl to remove her niqab because it "is a tradition, it has no connection with religion," and promised to issue a fatwa against its use in schools. French President Nicolas Sarkozy decried veils this summer and a parliamentary panel is now studying the matter. The MCC calls the veils "political symbols of Saudi-inspired Islamic extremism" while a coalition of other Canadian Muslim groups defends the veil option for women who choose it, saying, "the state has no business in the wardrobes of the nation."
The doctrinal debate about the role of the veil in Islam is less important than its role outside Islam. Complete veiling of the face or body can cause an alienation between cultures in a way almost no other religious symbol does. Non-veil-wearers feel they are unable to speak with or engage wearers on the subway or at the supermarket. The wearers appear exotic; as a result, public life is diminished and fears about the private repression of women increase.
But the critics must not harm the people they aim to protect. Sartorial legislation would require invasive enforcement practices. Communities that value the veil would feel legitimately aggrieved and would close ranks.
Rather than appealing to the law, communities need to engage each other. Veil defenders and wearers ought to step forward with broader public justifications beyond asserting rights or deferring to religious tradition. If, that is, wearing the veil is consistent with a discussion in the first place.