Ralf Jager, the minister of the interior for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, warned Germans that a ban on the burka would also make it illegal to “dress up as Santa Claus.”
A number of interior ministers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union proposed a ban on burkas in August, as part of a draft to counter terrorism. Jager, who represents the Social Democratic Party, opposes such a ban. Jager said it would have to include clothing from all religions, including Santa outfits. (RELATED: German Conservatives Want Burka Ban To Fight Terrorism)
“A burka ban doesn’t bring security and is only used for election campaigns in some states,” Jager said on the radio show Bayerischen Rundfunk, according to newspaper Zeit.
The Burka debate in Germany caught new winds after several French communities decided to ban “burkinis,” full-body swimwear sometimes worn by Muslim women. A German court further ruled Monday that a female student couldn’t wear a niqab to school. (RELATED: German Court BANS The Niqab For Muslim Women)
A report by the German parliament’s research services concludes a ban on facial veils would be an “encroachment on religious freedom,” according to Der Spiegel. The only places where a ban can be executed today is in the workplace and in street traffic situations where “open communication is obligatory.”
The interior ministers who first pushed for a ban on the burka said while religious freedom is essential, the “abuse of religious symbols” needs to be removed from society.
“Freedom of religion is a central, fundamental right,” a draft of the counter-terrorism proposal reads. “However, religious extremism and the abuse of religious symbols have no place in Germany.”
Countries with partial burka bans in place, such as France, has the law written in a way where it includes all face-covering headgear.
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