Burka Is 'Not Welcome' in France: Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy today spoke out strongly against Islamic coverings for women, like the burka, the BBC reports. In a rare speech to parliament, which is considering a ban, the French president said, “we cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting. … The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.”

“That is not the idea that the French republic has of women’s dignity,” Sarkozy continued. The president stressed, however, that “the Muslim religion must be respected as much as other religions.” A leading French Muslim has called discussion of a ban “a way of stigmatizing Islam.” (More Nicolas Sarkozy stories.)