Pope Benedict XVI has criticised a French law banning Muslim women from wearing the Islamic full-face veils in public, saying women should be able to wear them voluntarily, according to a book due out on Tuesday.
"As far as the burqa is concerned, I do not see a reason for a general ban," Benedict said in a series of interviews in his native German to be published as a book.
"Some women do not wear the burqa entirely voluntarily and it is correct to talk of a violation against that woman. Of course one cannot agree with that," he said. "But if they want to wear it voluntarily, I don't know why one must ban them," he said, according to a copy of the German text obtained by AFP. [AFP] Read more
