"wearing of unkempt beards, strict sexual apartheid (including no opposite gender hand-shaking), female inferiority, philosophical conformity and interfaith intolerance are the inevitable products of a masculine clerical consensus, which have no authority in the immutable Qur'anic text"

This is so biased, and completely inaacurate.

As for niqab, if she wants to wear it fine, why not? If she had a hideous deformaty I think no one would protest but as it is religious it is sensationalized. If the father is forcing her to wear it, shame on him, he will get his.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"