Belgium's lower house voted to ban Muslim women from wearing veils, on April 30.

A Tory MP introduced a Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill, which would make it illegal for anyone to cover their face in public, on June 30. And on July 6, the French Parliament began debating the legislation that would outlaw the wearing of burqas and niqabs in public places.

According to a Pew Forum survey released yesterday, support for a ban on veils is widespread across Europe, with strong majorities in Spain (59 percent), Britain (62 percent), Germany (71 percent) and France (82 percent), all supporting the legislation that is banning such veils in schools, hospitals, and Government offices.

Prohibiting a citizen from wearing religious attire such as a yarmulke, a clerical collar or a Hare Krishna robe would seem to be a violation of religious freedom according to the Americans. Hence, only 28 % approve of a ban on full veils, with 65 percent disapproving.

Professor Kecia Ali, the Author of Sexual Ethics and Islam, sees this "current European fixation on Muslim women's clothing" not as "a systematic push for gender equality", but as "a symbolic statement" that "plays into an us-versus-them mentality with brutal real-world consequences".

The current ruckus distracts from real issues of class injustice, racial oppression, and continued discrimination and violence against women, both Muslim and non-Muslim, she added.