Congo Republic bans full-face veil for security reasons
Authorities in Congo Republic will impose a ban on wearing the full-face Islamic veil in public in order to tackle a security threat from people using it to conceal their identity, the head of the Congo's Islamic Council said on Saturday.
Many of the Muslims in the oil-producing central African country come from French-speaking West Africa or Arab nations, Bopaka said. Less than 10 percent of Congo's 5 million citizens are believed to be Muslim. Neighbour Cameroon has been plagued by attacks by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in its northern region. Thousands of refugees have also fled to Congo from neighbouring Central African Republic, where Christian militia have targetted Muslims in the south of the country.
Islamic Council head Djibril Abdoulaye Bopaka said Congo's Islamic community, which he estimated at some 800,000 people, was in agreement with the measure after what he said were reports of individuals using this kind of veil to carry out illegal acts.
