1.0 link 227616 <![CDATA[French Lawmaker: Burqa Ban Can Be Gradual]]> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/08/french-lawmaker-burqa-ban_n_227616.html PARIS &mdash; French legislators took up the touchy subject of face-covering, body-length Muslim veils such as the burqa Wednesday, as a leading lawmaker softened his calls for an outright ban by suggesting the garments could be forbidden gradually.

France's questioning of the veils has raised hackles among some Muslim groups abroad and prompted threats from an al-Qaida affiliate based in Algeria. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last month that burqas make women prisoners and that they would not be tolerated in...

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