Women of Islam 'exempt from wearing veils in France'

Two Saudi clerics have declared Muslim women are exempt from wearing full veils in France, which is planning to ban them, but added they should avoid visiting it as tourists.

The comments, by Islamic jurisprudence scholar Mohamed al-Nujaimi and author and cleric Ayed al-Garni, come two weeks after French MPs passed a bill under which women could be fined for appearing in public with the all-covering burqa or the niqab, which leaves only the eyes exposed.

"For a woman who permanently resides in France or is a French citizen, if there is harm in wearing the veil, it is permitted that she shows her face when necessity demands it," Nujaimi said.