This House believes France is right to ban the face veil
Monday October 11 2010
MOTION REJECTED
by 22% to 78%
Opinion poll
Doha, Qatar, December 4, 2010 - Arabs overwhelmingly condemn France's ban on the face veil - but a third of them think those who wear it should show greater sensitivity to Western concerns.
The results emerged in a YouGov poll during the first week of November, conducted for The Doha Debates in 17 Arab states.
Respondents - 80 percent of whom opposed the French move - labelled it "a breach of freedom of expression" and said it "singled out Muslims for persecution".
The poll findings mirrored the result of October's Doha Debate, where a mainly Arab audience rejected the motion that France had been right to restrict the face veil - or niqab - in public.
Half of those polled believe the ban is linked to the rise of right-wing political parties in Europe.
In their own countries 77 percent said they had noticed an increase in the overall number of women, wearing the veil.
Polling dates: 2 7 November 2010
Download the polling data [PDF]
Watch online
