Women wearing the Muslim veil which covers the entire face (the niqab, usually worn by Pakistani women) will nto be allowed to enter in Italian museums any longer.

In the Ca’ Rezzonico museum of Venice an Israeli woman of Muslim origin was denied access because she was wearing a veil covering her entire face. This is not a religious battle, as the direction of the museum declared, but an issue of public security: an Italian law intimates that all people in public places need to be identifiable, and thus prohibites people to walk around with veils covering their entire faces.

This measure will probably e adopted in other Italian museums, starting from Venice, Naples, and Florence. The women wearing the niqab will be asked to step in an apposite room of the museum, next to the ticket office, where a woman guardian will identify them. If not, they will be denied access to the museum. This would not be the case for women wearing the chador, the veil covering only the hair but leaving the face visible.

I think this is a necessary measure to prevent possible terrorist acts and to make Italian laws respected even by Muslim people. As already declared, it is not a religious issue, but aquestion of public security.