Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Republic of Congo bans full-face veils in attempt to prevent religious extremist attacks

Announcement was made today by the president of the country’s Islamic High Council

Rose Troup Buchanan
Saturday 02 May 2015 10:52 EDT
Comments
A full face veil (this one pictured in France)
A full face veil (this one pictured in France) (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Republic of Congo will ban full face-veils in an attempt to prevent violent extremism.

El Hadji Djibril Bopaka, the president of the country’s Islamic High Council, made the announcement earlier today.

Muslims are a minority group in the nation, located in central Africa and bordered by Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda.

The Islamic council leader said that the approximately 80,000 Muslims in his country were reacting positively to the news.

He added that his government would prevent non-resident from sleeping in mosques in order to encourage refugees to register with police.

The Republic of Congo is predominantly Christian with only 10 per cent registered Muslims or those who follow animist beliefs.

Unlike neighbouring Cameroon or the Central African Republic, the country has not suffered from religious or extremists violence.

Additional reporting from Associated Press

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in