In another display of Islamophobia in Europe, a Swiss politician has claimed that women should not be allowed to wear hijab, or headscarf in passport photographs, according to a report by the British newspaper the Independent. The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) member Walter Wobmann said that it if headgear such as caps and headbands are not allowed in ID photographs then the hijab should not be allowed either.

Wobmann claimed the policy is an act of "unequal treatment," telling the Independent: "It is unacceptable that you can wear a hijab in a photo but not a cap. This is not a question of religious freedom but of equal treatment."

The Swiss Federal Council permits the use of headscarves by Muslim women in passport and driver's license photographs for reasons of faith, as long as the face is fully identifiable.

Wobann's remarks come amid growing anti-Muslim sentiment in Western countries. Rising xenophobia has emerged as a key concern in Germany, as anger over the arrival of nearly 1 million asylum seekers in Germany in 2015 runs high in that country.

The burkini recently sparked tension in France, as the burkini debate is particularly sensitive in France given the deadly attacks by Daesh militants which include the deadly attack in Nice and the bombings and shootings in Paris which killed 130 people last November, all raisingtensions between communities and making people wary of public places. France, which has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, estimated at 5 million, introduced, in 2010, a ban on full-face niqab and burqa veils in public.