On the heels of the French Parliament's vote to ban Muslim head coverings in public, the Syrian government has outlawed them in universities.
The ban shows a rare point of agreement between Syria's secular, authoritarian government and the democracies of Europe: Both view the niqab as a potentially destabilizing threat.
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The order affects both public and private universities and aims to protect Syria's secular identity…
Meanwhile, the Spanish Parliament defeated a proposal yesterday 183-162 that would have banned the burqa in public.
"It is very difficult to understand how it is that our troops are defending liberty in Afghanistan and the government doesn't have the courage to do so here, in Spain," said opposition spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria in Parliament.
A broader religious freedom bill to be debated in Spain may still include a ban on the burqa.
