The Danish Ministry of Justice has put out a press release indicating that the government is looking to place a ban on full-face Islamic veils and levy a fine on violators.
The Ministry of Justice wrote, “In Denmark, we will meet each other properly – face to face,” and added that in order to properly participate in Danish society it requires other people to be able to see a person’s face and confirm their identity, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.
Should the ban, which will also include balaclavas, come into effect, those found violating it will receive a 1,000 Krone (£119/$166) fine which could increase to as much as £900/$1,257 for repeat offenders. Previously some had also opted for a three-month prison term as well but this will not be included in the new proposal.
Unlike the Austrian burqa ban, which prohibits all facial coverings including Halloween costumes, the Danish ban will have a limited number of exceptions including those using scarves to protect their faces from cold and people dressed up in costume.
As a result of the ban on the burqa in Austria, many veil-wearing Muslims are said to have left the country entirely. In other cases, violators have been in violent altercations with people who have pointed out to them that the veils are banned.
Denmark will follow in the footsteps of several other European countries which have also banned the full-face veil, fully or partially, including France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Belgium, Germany, and parts of Switzerland.
Some have protested the banning of the full-face veil including Algerian millionaire Rachid Nekkaz who has promised to pay the fines of any burqa-wearer in countries where it is banned. Nekkaz recently made a trip to Vienna where he violated the Austrian version of the ban by wearing a “Halloween” mask which obscured his face and was arrested.
Earlier this month, Nekkaz revisited the city attempting to pay off ten separate fines and slammed Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz who first introduced the legislation to ban the burqa.