German Chancellor Angela Merkel today (December 6, 2016) proposed a partial ban on the face veil, hardening her party's once-progressive view on immigration in the face of rising anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe, according to the Vice News website.
Speaking at the Christian Democratic Party conference, Merkel suggested that the burqa and the niqab -- head coverings traditionally worn by Muslim women -- are "inappropriate" and insisted that German law "takes precedence over codes of honor, tribal or family rules -- that has to be spelled out clearly."
While some of her closest colleagues in the party have previously suggested a ban on face coverings -- purportedly for security reasons -- this is the first time Merkel has made such a strong statement publicly.
Merkel has often been criticized for her handling of Europe's refugee crisis, after she opened German borders to allow over a million people -- most of them fleeing war in the Middle East and Africa -- to live in Germany in 2015.
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