Mask ban is back on the agenda in Russia

The issue of Muslim women wearing the niqab is once again under serious discussion in Russia. In the wake of the Moscow metro riots, police raids in Dagestan, and the crackdown on Muslim women in Khasavyurt, authorities are considering the garment a security threat.

Prominent religious scholar Roman Silantev has submitted a proposal to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, proposing a bill that would ban all clothing that covers the face, including face masks.

He believes that hiding the face creates an opportunity to commit a crime or avoid responsibility.

Eva Merkacheva, a member of the Russian Human Rights Council, said that everyone's face should be visible on public transport, because facial expressions can reveal their intentions.

Nevertheless, the fact that a young man who defended a masked woman on the Moscow metro was detained for 13 days and a criminal case was opened against him, while the attacker was given a light sentence, is causing public outrage.

Experts see these restrictions as a policy to push Islam out of federal-level discussions and portray it as a marginal religion, "subservient to the Russian world." Political scientist Ruslan Aysin, however, noted that Muslims are still seen as "internal enemies" and that the central government is keeping itself aloof through pressure at the regional level.