Hijab

Nationalist party VMRO is to table a bill banning the use of burqas in public, the party's leader Krasimir Karakachanov has said.

VMRO is part of the Patriotic Front coalition that backs the minority government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

The issue of burqas in Bulgaria is exaggerated, but should be considered in light of future security problems, Bulgarian Deputy PM and Education Minister Meglena Kunevas has said.

She has made her comments a day after embracing a suggestion of Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov, who over the weekend opined the wearing of burqas should be banned in public.

France's minister for women's rights on March 30 compared women who choose to wear conservative Islamic dress to the "American negroes" who once supported slavery, sparking anger and accusations of racism.

Bosnia's High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, which oversees the judiciary, on Wednesday confirmed its previous decision to prohibit employees in judicial institutions from wearing religious symbols, including the hijab - the headscarf used by Muslim women.

Muslim leaders and Bosniak politicians have reacted angrily after the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC), which oversees much of the country's judiciary, told judicial institutions to review whether to allow their employees to wear religious symbols such as the Muslim hijab.

Malaysia is launching the world’s first Sharia-compliant airline, Rayani Airlines. The low-cost airline follows Sharia rules based on guidelines available. Rules include mandatory hijabs for female Muslim cabin crew and non-Muslims must also be dressed decently.

Prayers will be recited before departure and alcohol is strictly forbidden. Food and beverages will be halal.

Serbian National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic who wore a hijab during her recent Iran trip thus "caused a great deal of attention," a Belgrade daily writes.

Advocates of women's rights in Serbia said Gojkovic should not have donned the full-length abaya during her trip to Tehran on Monday, arguing that she had worn more conservative clothing than was necessary for diplomatic protocol in the Islamic republic.

Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic is visiting Iran where she chose to wear a black hijab during her meetings with Iranian officials.

Playwright and activist Biljana Srbljanovic has commented on this "choice of wardrobe", the Novi Sad-based website 021.rs is reporting:

Mia Khalifa was born in Beirut in 1993 and wore a hijab, but that’s not the last time she wore it as disgruntled Muslims will tell you. In 2000 she and her family moved to the United States, settling in Maryland. She earned her BA in history at the University of Texas at El Paso.