Excerpt:
Bulgaria's proposed law banning the wearing of the burqa is a violation of civil rights and could lead to a threat to national security, the Council of Spiritual Leaders – which includes Chief Mufti Mustafa Hadji – said on July 28.
Bulgaria's National Assembly approved on June 15 the first reading of a law banning the wearing in public of clothing that completely or partly covers the fact – a law tabled by the nationalist minority coalition Patriotic Front to outlaw the wearing of the burqa.
The Council of Spiritual Leaders, a recognised component of Muslim leadership in Bulgaria, said that Muslim clothing was a "divine decree".