To the Editor:
Re “French Legislation Takes Effect Banning Full-Face Coverings” (news article, April 12):
What do the French and the Taliban have in common? They both force women to dress a certain way.
Restricting the right to wear a niqab, or any other type of nonrevealing clothing, infringes on freedoms of religion, conscience and thought. These are the same freedoms that some terrorist organizations restrict. The anti-niqab law is an infraction of the right of Muslim women to observe their religious beliefs.
I, as a Muslim American, appreciate America’s tradition of proudly protecting and promoting the right to practice and display one’s religion however one chooses. It makes me proud to be an American.
AZHAR HUSSAIN
Plano, Tex., April 12, 2011
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 