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Queen
Beatrix, who is in Abu Dabi, wore a headscarf when she visited
the Sheikh Zayed
Mosque. (Photo: ANP)
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Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, who is in Abu Dabi, wore a headscarf when she visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque this morning out of respect for the customs, traditions and conventions of Islam, says Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal. The queen is on a two-day state visit to the United Arab Emirates.
“Not to
have worn one during a visit to a mosque wasn’t an option. In that case, the
invitation to visit to the mosque, one of the most important in the United Arab
Emirates, would’ve had to have been refused,” explained Mr Rosenthal.
‘Oppression’
His
comments come in response to criticism from the Freedom Party (PVV) about the
clothing worn by Queen Beatrix and Crown Princess Máxima who, with her husband
Prince Willem-Alexander, is part of the royal party visiting the UAE. The PVV
had complained that, by wearing a headscarf, the queen was lending legitimacy
to the oppression of women under Islam.
Mr
Rosenthal pointed out that Queen Beatrix also adjusts the way she dresses when
she visits synagogues and cathedrals.
‘Waste of time’
The
democrat D66 party was quick to point out that PVV leader Geert Wilders himself
wears a yarmulke when he visits the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Green Left MP
Tofik Dibi not only slammed Mr Wilders’ comments about the queen’s dress but
also the responses to them as a waste of time.
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