I firmly believe that legislation protecting the rights of women who are forced into wearing the niqab is not only desirable but essential. The influence of radicalism grows stronger by the day. These women are not only denied a face, but also a name and an identity.

Afifa Luaibi wrote a substantial article I found on an Arabic website. Nothing is revealed about the personal details of the writer, but the article reveals a lot about her very progressive thoughts, which are bound to ruffle some feathers in the Middle East, but which constitute a breath of fresh air in the ongoing debate about Muslim women and their rights.

The cover of Foreign Policy's May/June 2012 issue is raising controversy for it's photo depicting a nude woman with a niqab painted on her body, with the title "Why Do They Hate Us?" I am thrilled to see the Muslim debate raised to a level I have been longing for.

Liberal MP Justin Trudeau chided the Conservative government for calling honour killings "barbaric." But why such reluctance to call these heinous crimes using terminology that best describes them? Is it fear of stigmatizing a particular culture or religious community? Is it simply naivete of the worst kind?