A former Islamic council boss backs Pauline Hanson’s burqa ban over fears terrorists could hide weapons under them.
Haset Sali, former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said he agreed with the One Nation leader wearing an $87 burqa to the Senate.
He said the stunt showed the religious garment could be dangerous as it concealed the identity of its wearer, and praised her for raising awareness.
Former Australian Federation of Islamic Councils boss Haset Sali backs Pauline Hanson’s burqa ban over fears terrorists could hide weapons under them
The Queensland Senator donned the Islamic garb when she appeared at Parliamentary Question Time on Thursday afternoon
‘We are living in an era where any common terrorist could put on a burqa and go into a mall and start shooting with a machine gun,’ he told The Australian.
Mr Sali said the Koran made it clear there was no need to wear it to be a good Muslim, calling it a ‘Bedouin hangover’ blamed on Islam.
‘[Muslims] are only required to dress modestly and women are required to cover their breasts in public. It has got nothing to do with Islam,’ he said.
The former chief of fruit company SPC made similar comments to ABC radio on Friday, branding the burqa ‘unnecessary baggage’.
Senator Hanson will move a motion in parliament on Thursday, to be debated in the afternoon, calling on the federal government to ban the burqa
Senator Hanson rips off the burqa (left and right) after labelling it a threat to national security
‘It’s about time the myth of the burqa being Islamic dress was blown out of the water. The sooner Muslim women get rid of this hideous garb the better,’ he said.
Mr Sali said Attorney-General George Brandis was ‘just grandstanding’ in his impassioned rebuke of Senator Hanson following her stunt.
He conceded federal government workers providing services to the public should be allowed to wear them, but witnesses in trials needed to have uncovered faces.
Mr Sali was joined in his support for a burqa ban by author, ex-politician and feminist critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali – who is also a former Muslim who wore one herself.
The businessman was joined in his support for a burqa ban by author, ex-politician and feminist critic of Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali – who is also a former Muslim who wore one herself.
‘Expecting half of humanity to go around covered in black sacks is just evil sexism,’ she wrote in The Australian.
‘We should no more want to see it [the burqa] imported into Australia than we should want to see wife-beating legalised.’