Once again we hear from the Middle East expert in Yass!

Not only does he know about solving the crisis there, he also is an expert in Middle Eastern dress codes!

I would like to point out to him (and others who have read his letter) that the government's "lack of understanding...to ban something that they don't even know the name of", shows his own lack of understanding of the issue.

A woman wearing a niqab can easily remove the 'mask' part in order to be identified; a woman wearing a burqa cannot.

There are only small numbers of women who choose to wear the burqa, so the numbers of people affected by this possible security ban is limited. There is no call for the niqab to be banned, noting that the wearing of this item is not a cultural issue as there are Australian converts who choose to wear it.

I have yet to see any woman wear or carry a NAQIB, as they would want him to walk on his own! Because Philip, for your information, a naqib is "he who investigates" - something you should try before writing.

As mentioned in your last paragraph - "consider the need to investigate, think and understand before we make fools of ourselves". It maye be too late for some.

Murray Squires,

Yass.