Veiled Threat

A Muslim woman was asked to leave a Roman museum because she was wearing a veil. The woman, visiting Venice’s Ca’ Rezzonico museum, which houses 18th-century Venetian art, was with her husband and children, and had cleared security when she entered the building.

When she reached the second floor, a room guard told her she must remove her “niqab”, which leaves only the eyes visible, or leave. The woman was believed to have been a member of a well-off family visiting Venice from Saudi Arabia or a Gulf state. She refused to take off the veil and left the building, which faces Venice’s Grand Canal and houses works by such 18th century Venetian masters as Giandomenico Tiepolo. The guard, whose name was not disclosed, was hailed as a hero by some in the Veneto region.

According to Yahoo!News UK & Ireland, “Italian anti-terrorism laws from 1975 ban people from wearing face coverings in public but they are rarely enforced in cases of Islamic veils.”

More here.