Does terror threat justify niqab ban?

Re What a mean thing Quebec has done, Mallick, Oct. 21 I wore the Jewish star — the Star of David — as an 8-year-old child in Nazi-occupied Hungary. It was nothing like wearing the niqab. It was not by choice, nor was it requested by my religion. But I often wished I could hide and make myself invisible.

As I understand it, the niqab is a matter of choice, not a religious requirement. I understand and support the individual’s right to dress any way she likes. But we have a global problem with terrorism.

One of the marvellous new tools of our digital age is facial recognition. Anyone can hide behind a niqab and feel safe that they won’t be recognized. We should question the sanity of our society for allowing any individual to wear it in public, in a crowd, because terrorists have a way of finding our weak spots.

Should we not consider the greater good? Gisele Foti, Thornhill Heather Mallick’s opposition to Quebec’s Bill 62 is surprising, given her progressive and feminist credentials. This is an opportunity for all Canadians, especially women, and especially Muslim women, to denounce the invasion of orthodox Wahhabi and Daesh-approved misogyny into our country.

Let anyone wear their niqab/burka all day long if they want, but facial ID is reasonable and desirable at times, as Bill 62 describes. If not, then let’s get rid of all facial ID on drivers’ licences and health cards. And let’s do away with all the surveillance cameras. Why should only Muslim women be allowed to hide? Nelson Daniels, Scarborough I am completely shocked that women in 2017 are not freely able to wear their niqabs in Canada. I am also shocked at how Heather Mallick tries to draw a parallel between Jews in Nazi Germany being forced to wear a yellow star and wearing a niqab. One is to make Jews stand out and is imposed by the government, with death being the consequence for non-compliance; the other is a personal choice. Effi Frohwein, Toronto