International research conducted by polling company YouGov suggests that a majority of people in Britain and Germany want full body and face veils to be banned – but only a minority of the American public feels the same way.
According to YouGov’s findings, Germans are the staunchest opponents of burqas, with 69% saying there should be a law against wearing a full body and face veil – a seven point increase since this question was asked last August. YouGov said 20% of respondents opposed this view – down seven points in six months.
By coincidence, YouGov’s research in Germany was completed on December 19 – the same date of the Berlin Christmas Market attack in which a truck driven by an ISIL supporter killed 12 people and injured 56 others. YouGov said it polled 7,101 people in Germany.
In Britain, 50% of those asked agreed that a burqa ban should be implemented while 38% opposed the move. YouGov said it polled 1,609 people in the UK.
In America, 25% of respondents wanted the garment to be banned but an overwhelming 60% disagreed with the measure. YouGov has so far been unable to say how many people it polled in the US.
YouGov’s report pointed out that age is a significant factor in attitude. It concluded:
One of the strongest indicators of support for a ban is a person’s age: in each of the three countries support for a burqa ban increases as people get older. In Britain, only 36% of 18-24 year olds would support a ban, rising to 72% of 65+ year olds. People aged 18-49 are more likely to oppose a ban than support one. By contrast, every single age group in Germany is more likely to support a ban than oppose one. In the United States, on the other hand, only those aged 65 or older are more likely to support a ban.
It added that gender does not appear to be decisive:
The research shows that men and women support the ban in roughly equal measure. In Germany 69% of both men and women support a ban, whilst in Britain these figures are 51% for women and 49% for men. In the US 27% of men and 24% of women support the ban, although women are more likely than men to oppose the ban, a gender distinction that does not occur in the European nations.
Last week it was reported that the Moroccan government had banned the sale, production and import of the burqa, giving retailers 48 hours to destroy their stocks. Although reports were unclear on whether wearing the garment would be banned altogether, unofficial reports attribute the measure to security concerns.
Less than two months ago Dutch MPs voted to ban wearing burqa in public places. Should the vote become law the Netherlands will be the fourth European country to ban the garment, behind France, Belgium and Bulgaria. Swiss MPs have also voted for a ban, although it has yet to be implemented, and there are moves to restrict such clothing in Germany, Norway and Italy.
