There’s no two ways about it – the Burka is a scary looking thing. Far beyond a simple scarf, like that used by Orthodox Christian women in Church, Hijabs worn by more than half of all Muslim women, or even Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the Burka is enigmatic symbol of oppression. The vast majority of women in the world, regardless of religion or region, would concur. Seeing a woman with a full hood pulled over her entire head, only a piece of mesh stretched across her eyes for her to see, is down right bizarre. Simply put, it’s scary and can remind one of the walking dead. When this writer sees women like this, my immediate reaction is one of sympathy. I feel sorry for the women, making up less than 5% of the Muslim world, who feel they need to wear such a ghastly and horrible thing that in no way is called for by any Islamic verse. They make the average person, man women or child, feel uncomfortable at best, fearful at worst.
With that said, French President Nikola Sarkozy is an idiot for trying to legislate its use. Yes, it’s bizarre, but what’s next? Banning the overly tattooed? Drafting a law against freaks with twenty-five ear rings, another dozen nose rings, along with pierced lips and tongues? In the end, we do not have the right to draft laws against that which makes us uncomfortable or afraid. Sarkozy is blind to the fact that drafting laws to dictate the dress codes of women is exactly what the backwards dictatorships in Saudi Arabia and Iran do, making himself an inverted reflection of what he says he is standing against.
Us Westerners should also know better when it comes to dress codes anyway, but we’ve forgotten who Christ really was – a brown-skinned Jew from a Middle Eastern Land that bridges Africa and Asia. He wore a robe like the African dashikis or Arab kandoras and often wore a head dress of some kind. He sang and danced to the rhythms of the Eastern world, and lived a life within a culture far removed from the West. He certainly was not of one “us.” Too bad Sarkozy wasn’t around then; maybe he could have stopped that whole opened-toed sandal fiasco of days gone by.
On a final note, when I have spent time in Paris, the porn that was on TV all hours of the day really did seem to elevate the status of women. Vive la France!
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“Freak,” “Stupid,” “Idiot…”
These are some of the words that punctuate your article. Very poorly written. It’s not that I support the burqa. Far from it. I believe it is an anti-human garment that serves to obliterate an individual’s humanity. However, any discourse on this topic will not benefit from ranting or name-calling.
The simple truth is that the burqa is not Islamic. If anything, it is pre-Islamic, in that it pre-dates Islam (as do honour killings); and it is un-Islamic, in that there is no mention of it in the Quran. The burqa only serves to subjugate women. A woman who says she chooses not to throw away the burqa is no more exercising freewill than a cheetah reared in captivity chooses not to leave its cage. The fear of change is unnerving, to say the least.
Several Islamic countries have a low tolerance for the burqa, Turkey and Algeria among them. India, with the world’s second largest Muslim population, has very few burqa-clad women.
France as a country with liberal values is under no compulsion to condone one of the most illiberal of practices. France is not Afghanistan and has no desire to appear so. If it bans the burqa in public, it does so for the same reasons many stores, schools, and offices ban balaclavas and full-face helmets. Thinking Muslims need to pick their battles and not take everything as a personal affront to their religion.
Your last line was flippant and shallow. It only served to undermine your poor arguments.
Schools, work places, institutions etc. DO have the right to dictate any kind of dress code they see fit; that I would agree with 100%. However, banning an article of clothing, as bizarre as it may be, from being worn anywhere and everywhere, in an entire counrty, period, IS stupidity at its finest. Its nowhere near the same as banning it from the office. Surely, an obviously intelligent person such as yourself can see that.
As I stated in the article and you repeated, the Burka issue is not an Islamic one and criticism of it (even my claim that it makes women look like the walking dead) is by no means a criticism of Muslim practices. I would plainly tell any Muslim who rejects Sarkozy’s call for a ban of the Burka on religious grounds, that he or she is flat-out wrong and that this IS not an affront to Islam. (you’re right, a common knee-jerk reaction)
In the end, this is not a Muslim issue at all, but quite the opposite. It’s an all inclusive matter of the right to choose; the fundamental core value of any democratic country. The United States or Canada would never even think of drafting such a law. Besides, this is just uppity Sarkozy talking out of his tight little French you know what (tell me… is that flippant or shallow? I can’t decide) Time will tell if anything actually comes of his proposal.
The terms “Liberal” followed by “not condone” also seems to be a bit of a oxymoron, but maybe thats just me undermining myself again. I never can tell. Perhaps you could let me know. I would appreacite it, as your power of analysis clearly surpasses mine.
The world would be a boring place if we all agreed on everything… Thanks for stopping by and hope to hear from you again!
Habortenors, are you serious?? “France is not Afghanistan and has no desire to appear so”?? No shit Sherlock. I hardly think the few Burkas there are in France is endangering the country into becoming an Afghan look-alike! You’re hilarious!
And I second what was stated above – banning it from the office is no where near the same thing as banning from an entire country. Get a grip. Burkas a freaky, but come on. Sarkozy is over-extending himself.
I’m a twenty-something agnostic Western World woman from Australia. I am not religious and never have been. I am not 100% clear about something. Is the French President trying to ban the Burqa from being worn at all? I mean, if a woman on her day off wants to go out for a walk or to the supermarket, is he saying she can’t wear it? If thats the case, how is that either reasonable or possible? Certainly what one wears or even does on their own free time is their own business. At least that’s what I was raised to believe. Governnments have NO right to say otherwise.
I also wanted to say to the above people that it is everyone’s right to disagree with others and have their own opnions. But why is it you feel the need to use insulting words like “Shallow” or “Drunk” aimed personally at the writer? Are you trying to make your argument stronger? If so, its not working. Can’t you just say you dont agree and support your words by explaning your opinion? Am I or the other commentor acting like a drunk or being shallow becuase we agree with the post?
I’d just like to point out that the burqa is not just any other article of fashion. It is qualitatively different from anything else and is a garment of exploitation and subjugation. It’s not in the same league as the headscarf.
Liberal does not mean tolerating everything. And all freedoms have limits.
Editor-in-chief, I appreciate your point on the right to choose. But a case could easily be made that many of these women have been forced to wear the burqa. The government should have some right to legislate what happens in public space. Banning smoking could be seen as an infringment on one’s right to choose. But it is right and proper that smoking be banned in public areas. (This is not to say I’m equating the burqa with smoking, as I’m sure Canuckle Head will be quick to misinterpret.)
Liberals don’t need to condone (and I use the word advisedly) everything. There’s no oxymoron here. There are groups in Holland calling for sex with children to be legalised. Liberals are under no obligation to condone this.
Hi all.. I was really surprised to read all the comments and to see how you guys give yourself the right to judge wither a woman wants to put on a Burka or not. Let me explain something, as a MUSLIM who strongly believe in her values. The Burka is not required in Islam in any way, it is more traditional. Profit Mohamed ” peace be upon him” said “Women are allowed to show this and that, and he pointed at his hands and face”. Do I ware a Burkah – NO – but do I think that the French president has the right to prevent those who want to follow what they believe – NO, its totally RIDICULOUS and this doesn’t represent a FREE country that believes in FREEDOM and that looks very HONESTLY at what they are standing for.
Other countries like the United States or Canada seem to be more open, so why is the French President annoyed doing this?
On the other hand, if you take a look at the Orthodox Jews, with their long beards and hair, and they are more accepted by society, right? No one even calls them scary .. right? But a woman who wants to wear a Burkah is put under governmental control? . I guess people needs to leave people alone, whether they be Mulsim, Jewish or anything else, and just be more tolerant.
I’m rubber and your glue… whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.
If you’re not equating smoking in public to wearing a Burqa, than why the hell are you making the comparison to suport your opinion??!! Dude, you make no sense. Further still, a good argument should not make assumptions. You are assuming all women who wear are Burqa are forced. Sure you could make that arguement, but the other arguement could be made too. There is no way you can know that to be true. WEAK! You left the net wide open and he shoots, he scores!
I agree, not all women are forced to wear the burqa. The more interesting question is why do they choose to wear it? There are several reasons: fear, indoctrination, and survival. These women live in oppressive familial environments where their opinion counts for nothing. If they have been indoctrinated as children to believe in the sanctity of the burqa then when they grow up that belief is deeply instilled in them. Victims learn to survive any way they can. Which partly explains why some women are such fervent believers in a faith that is so obviously anti-women. If burqa-clad women express a fundamentalist reverence for the dictates of their religion then they can survive in their oppressive domestic environment.
Why is it that men aren’t required to cover up? Because Islam and all the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism) see woman as the temptress. These women don’t really have the choice to give up the burqa, because that means being ostracised by their family and losing a whole lot more than just the burqa.
Just a few more observations: would we tolerate shackling our servants — even if they were ok with it?
The burqa has obvious security implications. Balaclavas are illegal in Ireland — for obvious historical reasons.
Going back to freedom of choice. This always comes with limitations. The KKK uniform is not tolerated, neither is the swastika, or denying the holocaust. Liberal countries ban a lot of things: walking naked in public, having sex in the park and so on. I think we ought to be clear here about what Sarkozy’s intention is: it is to ban the burqa in public — at home or in private you can wear whatever you desire.
My final thought on this is that it is not unreasonable to ask to deal with someone face to face. It is my opinion that the burqa is a tool of cultural jihad – and I say that not as a rant. It just might be true.
Harbortenors – Comparing SMOKING which is a bad habit with wearing the BURKA is nonsense. When you smoke youre damaging your body and your health and affecting people around you.
Who told you that all women are forced to put it? That’s absolutely a false generalization. Some women that wear it because they feel more comfortable with it and yes, some people might be forced or a victim of a family’s tradition.
People need to mind their own business sometimes, and stop judging others pretending they know better. We are all created the same way by God whether we are black or white or Arabs or Asians. We are all human and we need to think like humans sometimes. Learn to RESPECT and open your mind and soul.
At the end, anyone has the right to write what he or she thinks just, as we all have the right to follow or ignore. This is a matter of choice, but when you do your best to prove that youre right, you will never win any argument.
Hey Harbortenors, I really do hope that was your final thought cuz you’ve gone off the deep end! Balaclavas? Walking Naked?? Chaining up Servants!? Jihad???!!? You’re so busing trying so hard to be Mr. Intellectual, you end up sounding like a moron! LOL!!! Wasnt it you who said ranting is of no benefit amd will get you nowhere? Take you’re own advice! Resist the tempatation and stop this before you make yourself sound even more stupid!!
I had to think about it this one for awhile. I can understand both sides, although I seem a world away from it all. I’m an American, born and raised in Helena, Montana. I’ve been married for twenty seven years and wake up everyday wondering how I managed to be so lucky. I have a great wife, two wonderful adult children and have been working construction since I finished high school about a thousand years ago. I’m no scholar or academic. I’m just a guy with his grade twelve, who lives on a small acreage, drives a pick-up truck, dabbles in his garden, loves football and rides horses.
Freedom is important. Freedom of speech, or expression, or religion, or whatever you want to call it is a big thing with us Americans. We all have the right to speak our mind, to say how we feel, to be who we want to be. There are some negative consequences to granting everyone this right, such as white supremacy groups having the right to hold parades. These ugly people, no matter how distasteful their message may be, are entitled. This is a cost of our freedom and the first thing that I thought of after reading this post.
I later recalled a day when I took my family on a road trip to see the Hoover Damn. I hadn’t thought of this day for years, but after reading this post and the comments below it, it flashed through my mind. I was a young man then, still in my thirties, had a slim waist line and a lot more hair. My beautiful wife and I packed the girls up in our old Ford half-ton and made the long drive. While we were there, my wife and two girls noticed what I assumed was a Muslim woman wearing a full face cover. My girls, both under ten at the time, stared at the woman and asked me why she was covering her face. I told them that it was her choice to do so and a part of how things were in her part of the world. For the sake of my daughters I didn’t make a big deal out of it, even though I would be lying if I said the sight of the woman didn’t make made me feel a little uncomfortable. My girls, as they often did back then, soon lost interest and ran off somewhere to find something else to discover.
What I remember most about that day is looking at that woman afterwards and thinking. I realized she felt comfortable enough to cover herself they way she did and slowly, it made me proud to be an American. I was proud to be from a country where anyone could come and be whoever it was they wanted to be, as long as they weren’t hurting anyone else. I was proud and felt lucky that my daughters would be raised under a flag of real freedom. I know that much of the world sees us Americans as loud and obnoxious and I guess in way we are sometimes. But that’s because many of us truly feel blessed to be from out little corner of the world. I know I do.
I guess what I’m saying is, I won’t be moving to France anytime soon.
John
I enjoyed reading your comment. It was thoughtful and you had several interesting things to say. I found myself agreeing with much of it. I have much respect and admiration for America’s achievements, especially in the fields of technology, space exploration and the arts and entertainment industry. Not so much in the fields of politics, foreign policy and economics, but that’s by the by. I’m glad America is the world’s superpower and not China or Russia.
However, I’d just like to point out that the idea that America is more free than France is a misapprehension. Post-9/11 has seen Americans lose a lot of their freedoms. Perhaps you don’t experience this where you live, but America is a huge country and the patriot act has done more to deprive the average American of their rights than one can imagine. Just for starters: you probably know that the government can wiretap, conduct electronic surveillance, check your mail, medical records, bank records, credit card statements, and library records without you having done anything wrong, without a warrant, and without probable cause.
Now, for people who think they’ve done nothing wrong so they have nothing to worry about this may not seem like a big deal. But ask the thousands of journalists, entertainers, and just plain average Americans who’ve been persecuted and had their freedoms abused what they think of the patriot act and what they think of freedom in America.
I’m sure France is not perfect, but neither is any other country.
Wow Harortenors… thought you were done? Why is it you cant stay away? Looking over your comments and you really seem desperate to show everyone how “enlightened” you are compared to the rest of us. You cant just offer your opinion. You have to show us all that the reason you are right is that you “know so much more” than those who think differently than you – that our “ignorance” is the reason for our opinons. You really are a pompous ass, arent you? Typical intellectual poser… get over yourself.
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