SWISS ITALIANS SAY NO TO THE BURQA: The prettiest corner of Switzerland wasn’t exactly crawling with Muslim women, so it’s worth asking what happened.

The burqa ban was predictably denounced by the usual suspects, but not many in Ticino seemed to care—not least because it wasn’t initially clear when the new law would actually take effect.

Then it was announced that the anti-burqa law would take effect this July 1, just as the tourist season gets into gear. Although Saudi Arabia warned its citizens visiting Switzerland to respect local laws and not cause trouble, it was widely anticipated that provocateurs would seek to get attention.

On cue, two protestors showed up in Locarno on the very morning the ban took effect. One woman, Nora Illi, a Swiss woman who converted to a radical form of Islam, was wearing a full burqa and was arrested by police. So was her companion, Rachid Nekkaz, an Algerian politician and businessman. They got the global media attention they sought.

Ticino authorities mean business and have announced that Illi will be fined 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,170) and Nekkaz will receive a fine of 200 francs ($204). There’s not much sympathy for them in Ticino. He is a professional provocateur for Islam while she is a public advocate of polygamy.

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