The West's First Niqab-Covered Public Official?

Ouafaa Abrazi, a Muslim woman of Moroccan origins who teaches in the Muslim Yunus Emre primary school in The Hague, is running for public office. Specifically, she is on the Islam Democraten ticket in municipal elections in the Zuid-Holland region. Her particular focus is to prevent the government from banning the burqa in public. But what makes her campaign particularly notable is her seeking votes only in mosques. "She does not want to give interviews and we must also not give her phone number to anyone," said Islam Democrat leader Hasan Kucuk. "She does not want to appear in public and certainly not have her photo in the paper." She is under such deep cover, her name does not appear once on the Islam Democraten website.

A unique way to find out her thinking is to read her comment at the password-protected http://www.maroc.nl site, where she suggests that "We Muslims must know that it is our duty to take decisions which benefit the umma. Choosing Islam Democrats is one of them" ("Wij moslims moeten weten dat het onze plicht is om beslissingen te nemen die in het voordeel zijn voor de moslimse oemmah. het kiezen op islam democraten is één daarvan").

It is not impossible that she will win a seat on The Hague city council, where the Islamic Democrats gained a seat last year in a campaign which featured the issue of segregated swimming pools for men and women.

Comment: Abrazi's candidacy suggests new ways for Muslims not to fit into the West. (February 23, 2007)

Mar. 8, 2007 update: The provincial elections took place yesterday and Abrazi did not win a seat.

Related Topics:  Muslims in Europe, Radical Islam, Sex and gender relations receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list