UK finally eyeing a burka ban and stripping citizenship

The U.K. may finally deal with the problem they're having with orthodox Islam. Lawmakers and political leaders are running hither and thither as they attempt to take back control of the country and foil future terrorist attacks.

British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke at the COBRA emergency committee and afterward told the media there was "too much tolerance" of Islamist extremism in the U.K. and insisted the counterterrorism strategy would be reviewed. 

Tough words, but that's all they are. In a country that doesn't allow guns in the hands of its own police (only 4 percent of the police carry), politicians are insulated from the danger as they're protected by armed security.

Now the U.K. is focusing on recruiting and deploying more counterterrorism officers, and pushing through new laws to "round up' suspected terrorists and, if convicted, stripping them of their citizenship as a deterrent.

"There is also early talk that things could go as far as banning the burka," a source told Fox News.

The burka debate has divided the U.K. for over a decade. MP Jack Straw in 2006, first advocated support for a burka prohibition in the media, but a few years later was pressured into apologizing following a "useful idiot" backlash. 

Other EU countries such as Austria, Belgium, France and Germany have implemented varying degrees of legislation to restrict full-face veils.

"It is just whispers at the moment, but if that goes live, one would guess that it will be enforced across the U.K.," the source said.

The U.K. is also trying to figure out how to dismantle pockets of extremism, the "no go zones" as they're called, and enforce a better way to integrate the community.

"There are a lot of Muslim strongholds in the U.K. from London to Luton to Birmingham, Burnley and Blackburn," the source added. "Right now, through weak policies, we have allowed the fundamentalists to spoil it for the majority."

Authorities in Britain said they are looking for ways to "force large Internet companies to ban extremist material on their search engines and additionally report any content that they find."

May said on Sunday that the Internet could no longer function as a "safe space" for jihadism. With her laser focus on the Internet, people are concerned that May may monitor and restrict access to the Internet for everyone in the U.K.

It's weird that May said the country has waited "long enough" to finally do something. Why didn't they do something the first time they were attacked in Europe? How long is "long enough?"



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