The collapse of the government in Belgium has put a hold on attempts by local authorities there to ban from public the face veil or niqab and the burqa, or full-body covering, until a new government can be assembled. The standard proposed in Belgian legislation was sensible: nobody could wear a garment that obscures their identity. The law would allow wearing of such items with police permission, but violations would be punished by a fine of $20-$35 or a jail sentence up to seven days.

These events played out as French president Nicolas Sarkozy pressed for introduction of a similar law, also prohibiting the face veil and full body covering. France’s moderate Muslim leader, Dalil Boubakeur of the Grand Mosque of Paris, declared that French Muslims should accept the law: They number about six million, or up to 10 percent of the population, and mostly come from North Africa. But, Boubakeur said, the law should be adequately explained, emphasizing the masking of identity and public security as the main problems. But Sarkozy and others have assailed the face veil and body covering as much or more as a symbol of the subjection of women and the segregation of Muslims from French society.