The Council of Europe has withdrawn a social media video celebrating the Islamic veil after protests from France, where Islam and immigration are contentious political themes in the run-up to next year’s elections.
“Beauty is in diversity as freedom is in hijab . . . #JOYinHIJAB” ran the slogans in a 27-second video depicting women in split images without the veil on one side and wearing it on the other. It was made as part of a campaign to promote tolerance and launched last week by the anti-discrimination programme of the council, a 47-nation body that champions democracy and human rights.
Based in the French city of Strasbourg, the council said: “These tweets have been withdrawn and we will consider a better presentation of this project.” They were part of a joint project with the EU aimed at combating hate speech and raising awareness of the need for tolerance of diversity, the council added.