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324 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 11 / 2018 the use of the niqab in public9. Indeed, even within the Muslim community there are differences of opinion concerning the niqab, as evidenced by the statements of politicians and religious authorities in various countries, some of whom support the niqab10 and some of whom are completely opposed to its use11. In the UK, for instance, when asked whether Muslim women should wear the niqab, the leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, Muhammad Abdul Bari, gave a vague answer: «No one should be compelled to wear either the hijab (headscarf ), the niqab (face-veil) or the burqa (full body covering). But Islam calls upon both men and women to dress modestly»12. Other religious leaders, however, have strongly refuted this argument and stressed that the niqab has nothing to do with Shariah Islamic law. And these issues have been reflected to an extent in the press, particularly when a dispute arises13, given the widespread media attention they tend to garner. However, if we leave aside the media and examine the scientific literature devoted to the niqab in Spain, we find that nothing has been published on the subject. Something similar occurs at the international level: only a few publications have dealt with the matter, and very few European ones. However, it must be said that from 2014 onwards literature began to focus more on the subject following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights to allow national authorities to ban use of the niqab in public places because it posed a threat to peaceful coexistence. In doing so, it upheld a ban imposed by France three years earlier on the wearing of face-covering veils in public. The ECHR judges thus determined that «the face played a significant role in social interaction» and that «veiling that conceals the face can violate the right of others to live in a space of socialisation that makes living together easier»14. In any event, aside from the publications that 9  SHIRAZI, Faegheh, and MISHRA, Smeeta. Young Muslim women on the face veil (niqab). A tool of resistance in Europe but rejected in the United States. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2010, vol. 13, n.º 1, pp. 43-62. 10  RUITENBERG, Claudia (2008). B Is for Burqa, C Is for Censorship: The Miseducative Effects of Censoring Muslim Girls and Women’s Sartorial Discourse. Educational Studies, 43(1): 17-28. 11  This issue is not only a source of controversy in Europe, but also in the so-called Arab Muslim countries. The niqab debate has led to various clashes in countries such as Egypt, where the president of Helwan University, Abdul Hayy Ebeid, sparked controversy by banning the use of the niqab on campus. The ban triggered numerous protests by men and women who support its use in public places. 12  COCHRANE, Kira (2013). The niqab debate: «Is the veil the biggest issue we face in the UK?» (online) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/veil-biggest-issue-uk-niqab-debate, last accessed on 1 August 2016. 13  The Dutch government banned what it called the «full veil» in May 2005, thus stirring up major controversy. In September the same year, the story of the hate crime perpetrated by two men in Madrid who kicked a niqabi woman was picked up by the media. Similarly, the media also reported the incident in Corsica where Muslims attacked a tourist for taking pictures of a woman in a burkini. And in France and Italy, we have seen how women wearing burkinis were banned from bathing. 14  MESEGUER, Silvia (2016). Prohibición sobre la utilización del velo integral en el espacio público europeo y español (online), http://publicaciones.usat.edu.pe/index.php/ius/article/ view/323/318. http://revista.ieee.es

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