A Muslim woman has been killed by militant Islamists in Somalia for refusing to wear a veil, her relatives say.
Ruqiya Farah Yarow was killed outside her hut near the southern Somali town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the al-Shabab group, they say.
The militants had ordered her to put on a veil, and then killed her after returning and finding she was still not wearing one, the relatives said.
Ruqiya Farah Yarow was killed outside her hut near the southern Somali town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the al-Shabab group
An al-Shabab spokesman denied the group had killed the woman.
Al-Shabab does not fully control the area where she was living, he added
Ruqiya Farah Yarow was killed at about 07:30.
She was shot twice and died instantly, they added.
Ruqiya Farah Yarow is survived by her husband and children, the relatives said.
Al-Shabab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, imposes strict rules of behaviour, including dress codes for men and women.
La-Fleu Mohamed, a Muslim woman from Florida, who is wearing a full face veil, has claimed she was refused service at a Chevron gas station.
La-Fleu Mohamed said the cashier refused to accept her business unless she could see her face.
The Muslim woman claimed she was told to leave the gas station in Boca Raton, Florida, and was left “humiliated”.
Chevron, owners of the gas station, said they have launched an investigation into the incident after La-Fleu Mohamed said she was the victim of religious discrimination.
A spokesman for Chevron confirmed the incident took place around Halloween.
The company’ spokesman Brent Tippen said: “We spoke with our employee cashier and reviewed the store surveillance tape. The incident occurred within a few days of Halloween – a time when retailers are prone to increased theft from persons wearing masks and other facial coverings.
“In light of this concern, we acknowledge that our employee did ask Ms Mohamed to remove her veil for security purposes; when she refused, she was denied service.
“We fully believe that our employee acted without the intent to violate Ms Mohamed’s religious principles and any suggestion that discrimination is acceptable at Chevron is completely false.
“Chevron employs 60,000 people from countries across the globe. Our Human Rights policy requires that we treat all people with respect and dignity.
“Regardless, we regret the misunderstanding. We have apologized twice to Ms Mohamed and encouraged our employees to be more aware of potential diversity issues.”
La-Fleu Mohamed said the cashier refused to accept her business unless she could see her face
La-Fleu Mohamed, who was wearing a niqab, or full face veil, claims she wanted to buy $20 worth of gas.
When she approached the cashier to hand over her money she said she was told “you can’t come in here dressed like that”.
La-Fleu Mohamed said: “I was very shocked.
“I said <<this is my religious right>> and she said <<well, I need to see your face>>.”
La-Fleu Mohamed said she asked the cashier again for gas and the woman “just threw my money back at me”.
The woman left the store after she said she was “humiliated” and called 911.
When police arrived she was escorted back inside, but was still refused service.
The South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations have taken up her case and submitted a complaint to the Florida Commission on Human Rights.
La-Fleu Mohamed, who came to the United States from the Caribbean in the 80’s, said she converted to Islam 12 years ago.
“I’m a very polite person, I always say hi to everyone I see,” La-Fleu Mohamed said.
A Muslim woman from France has been fined for driving while wearing a burka because the garment “reduced her field of vision”.
Police who stopped the woman compared wearing a veil over the face behind the wheel to driving with ice on the windscreen, eating a sandwich or smoking a cigarette.
The woman was handed a 35 Euros on-the-spot fine under article 412-6 of the highway code, which states: “Field of vision must not be restricted by either passengers, objects being transported or by the position of non-transparent objects on the windows.”
The woman was also told she was in breach of the country’s controversial burka ban imposed last April, which outlawed anyone hiding their face in public, including in streets, shops, restaurants and cars on public roads.
Police said the woman was pulled over while driving in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, on Thursday.
Spokesman Laurent Dufour added: “The officer who stopped her said she was driving hesitantly and clearly could not see properly.
“Looking out through a narrow slit in the fabric is as dangerous as driving while eating a sandwich, smoking or with an iced-up windscreen.”
France was the first country in Europe to outlaw Muslim headgear that hides the face. Similar laws have since being passed in Belgium and the Netherlands.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described the burka as a “sign of debasement”. France immigration minister Eric Besson called it “a walking coffin”.
Militant Muslim woman Hind Ahmas, 32 – dubbed France’s first “burka martyr” – is currently facing two years in prison for wearing the veil after refusing to pay a 50 Euros fine for the offence.
She is appealing the fine on the grounds that the new law is unconstitutional and preparing to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Senior police chiefs have branded the ban “unenforceable” and said officers were too busy fighting serious crime to go “burka-chasing’.
Leaders of Al Qaeda’s North African network have vowed to seek revenge on France for enforcing the law.
They wrote on an Islamic extremist website: “We will seek dreadful revenge on France by all means at our disposal, for the honour of our daughters and sisters.”
