Is it too much to ask everyone who identifies as libertarian or classical liberal to protest this proposed assault on individual liberty in the Netherlands? Perhaps Dutch civil libertarians might don burqas (or helmets with visors) in protest.

"The Dutch cabinet has backed a proposal by the country's immigration minister [Rita Verdonk] to ban Muslim women from wearing the burqa in public places.

"The burqa, a full body covering that also obscures the face, would be banned by law in the street, and in trains, schools, buses and the law courts.

"The cabinet said burqas disturb public order, citizens and safety."

I’m not inclined to draw inappropriate analogies between contemporary events and the history of Nazi Germany, but I can’t help thinking this is pretty much what Hitler said about the Jews.

"Other forms of face coverings, such as helmets with visors that obscure the face, would also be covered by a legal ban.

"Ms Verdonk insisted the burqa was not an acceptable part of public life in the Netherlands.

"But the minister told the BBC that social interaction would be easier if faces were not covered.

"'It is very important that we can see each other and can communicate with each other. Because we are so tolerant we want to respect each other.'"

Yeah, right.

UPDATE: According to this article (scroll down), the burqa is outlawed in five Belgian towns, including Antwerp.

FURTHER UPDATE: Naima Bouteldja, a French journalist, explains here how the Dutch have reached a new level of authoritarianism and how across Europe, the campaign against the veil now has an established pattern; and it has nothing to do with integration.

Paul Noonan - 11/19/2006

I remember reading somewhere that a number of states have laws that ban a person from appearing in a public place wearing a mask or similar facial covering (sometimes with exceptions for Halloween and - in Lousiana - Mardi Gras).

These laws are written in neutral terms, but are generally understood to attempts to hobble the Ku Klux Klan. I wonder what the result would be if someone tried to enforce such a law against a woman wearing a burka?

Sheldon Richman - 11/19/2006

Outrageous! Thanks, Mark.

David T. Beito - 11/18/2006

I'm glad you brought this up. Where are all the conservatives who normally complain about attempts to limit religious expression? Unfortunately, most of them probably support this ban.