"The UK Independence Party is to call for a ban on the burka and the niqab — the Islamic cloak that covers women from head to toe and the mask that conceals most of the face — claiming they affront British values. The policy, which a number of European countries are also debating, is an attempt by UKIP to broaden its appeal and address the concerns of disaffected white working-class voters."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6990402.ece
I happen to agree with this proposal. What I find discomforting, though, is the The Times' reporter words: an attempt by UKIP to broaden its appeal and address the concerns of disaffected white working-class voters. It assumes that if you disagree with the burka and the niqab, you must be a) white and b) working class.
I wonder what a member of the black middle class would make of such a patronising comment?
a correct and necessary ban.. in the last years I started to see another form of it more frequently 
and the requirement of white and working class is more ridiculous than the dress itself.. 
I really do know what “proscribed” mean. I substituted words like “prohibited” and “forbidden” into your sentence and then I couldn’t understand what you were trying to say. I didn’t think the issue was what the Koran forbids women to wear, but more what it actually commands them to wear. But it doesn’t matter.
I used to work with a fairly devout turban-wearing Sikh. He told me that the wearing of the turban was customary because that was the common headwear in the region from which many Sikhs originated. The religious element was the covering of the head (or hair), not what it was covered with. This means that the turban is essentially a cultural item. Similarly, the arcane clothing of the Hasidic Jews has nothing whatsoever to do with their religion – the ringlets in the hair and unshaven beard may have religious origins, but the hats don’t.
So I can’t see much difference between the burka and these other forms of dress.
The security issue is a bit more difficult. Quite honestly, a full beard and a large silly hat will adequately disguise most people. The burka doesn’t cover up significantly more that a nun’s cowl or a Christian monk’s hooded robe. None of these should get past high security unchallenged.