Australian MPs call for hijab ban

A year after the French hijab ban in schools came into force, the same measures are being pushed by two Australian politicians. Sophie Panopoulos and Bronwyn Bishop, MPs from the ruling right-wing Liberal party, called for a ban to curb what they claim is a rise in ‘Muslim extremism’. Bishop called the hijab ‘an iconic symbol of the clash of cultures’ before going on to equate the wearing of the headscarf with Nazism: ‘Now, this morning on a debate with a Muslim lady, she said she felt free being a Muslim, and I would simply say that in Nazi Germany, Nazis felt free and comfortable. That is not the sort of definition of freedom that I want for my country.’ The comments were condemned by Muslim and human rights groups. ‘We are appalled and offended that Ms Bishop would compare Muslim Women to slaves or our religion to Nazism. We demand an unequivocal apology,’ said Ms Maha Abdo of the Muslim Women’s Association. Agnes Chong, co-convenor of the Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network (AMCRAN), added: ‘The argument is tainted with racist overtones, and assumes Muslim women are weak and not fully intellectually developed.’