The Burqa is not an Islamic garment, it is not directly refereed to in the Koran or the main Islamic teachings. It is just a primitive tribal garment which has only one purpose, the suppression of women. However, as with female genital mutilation, there is a very high correlation between its use and Islam.
A burqa covers the whole body from the top of the head to the ground, a niqab covers the face. This article refers to both. Hijab refers to both the head-covering traditionally worn by some Muslim women (much like Mrs Windsor’s Hermes scarf) and modest Islamic styles of dress in general. All covering of a person’s face in public, except for motorcycle helmets, or masks for health reasons, fencing, skiing or carnivals, must be illegal. It goes against all the tenets and the ethos of liberal Western society that anyone should be allowed to hide their identity in public.
Most of the world’s Muslim women don’t wear face coverings. Only those from the most primitive, usually tribal communities. Even in Afghanistan before the Taliban the chadri (their version of the burqa) was rarely worn in cities. In fact usage of the burqa would have almost died out by now if it wasn’t for the cult of Wahhabism. The Koran merely says “Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their outergarments close around themselves”.
Any man whose wife wears a burqa should be utterly ashamed of himself. He isn’t a proper man. He is an uneducated, intolerant, primitive peasant with no respect or consideration for the fundamental rights of other people. He is the problem.
One of the main arbiters of Islamic thought in the world today is Muhammad Al-Munajjid, a Wahhabi scholar who runs the world’s most popular Islamic website, IslamQA.info. He says: “The crime of homosexuality is one of the greatest crimes, the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deeds” and that “a man is allowed to have intercourse with a slave that he owns whether he is married or not; and that his wife or wives has no right to object”. So it comes as no surprise that he says “Muslim woman are required to cover their entire body including the face and hands. This ruling is obligatory and does not vary depending where you are. Women are required to stay in their houses unless they are in the company of a mahram and are forbidden to drive cars as “it leads to evil consequences” such as being “alone with a non-mahram man, unveiling, reckless mixing with men, and committing haraam actions because of which these things were forbidden.” Women are not fit for public office or judgeships because they are more emotional; however, they can serve in administrative posts where they will work solely with other women.” So you can see the intellectual attitude that lies behind modern Burqa usage. This is the barbarism that is Wahhabism.
There are a number of very good reasons why the Burqa must be banned:
1) It suppresses women. This is utterly irrefutable. Muslim Burqa wearers who say they are not suppressed are just providing proof that they are.
2) In Western society it is very rude and bad mannered to hide your face when talking to someone.
3) Human beings have evolved so that a high percentage of their communication is non verbal. Which is why we have 42 face muscles.
4) We live in an age of terrorism, mainly Islamic terrorism. Face covering to hide identity is a perfect tool for the terrorist. (Here a male Syrian al-Qaeda leader got through several military checkpoints by wearing a burqa).
5) Use of the Burqa prevents the integration of Muslims into our society. Tony Blair described the face veil as a “mark of separation”.
6) In schools and other education face-to-face communication and eye-contact is essential. The world’s Muslims have a huge educational deficit. Amongst Muslim women this is especially egregious.
7) Banning the Burqa would be a very visible first step in the emancipation of very many Muslim women.
When it comes to banning the Burqa we in Great Britain are behind other countries in Europe:
- France banned it in 2011. This was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights in 2014. The French Parliament said: “Given the damage it produces on those rules which allow the life in community, ensure the dignity of the person and equality between sexes, this practice, even if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place”.
- Belgium also banned the Burqa in 2011.
- Italy passed an anti-terrorism Law in 1975 forbidding the wearing of any dress that hides the face of a person.
- Holland. A 2012 law banned any clothing that would hide the wearer’s identity.
Even parts of the Islamic world ban the Burqa. Turkey banned it in 1980, strengthening the ban in 1997. But now Erdogan is determined to take Turkey back to the 15th century and in 2013 he issued a decree easing the ban. In Egypt the government are currently working to make the burqa illegal, they say that it is un-Islamic  and that the Quran only requires women to dress modestly and cover their hair. Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy was an influential Islamic scholar who from 1986 to 1996 was the grand Mufti of Egypt. He said: “The niqab is a cultural tradition and has nothing to do with Islam”.
When it comes to the Burqa, as with so many other issues, Western feminists have been an utter disgrace. They are far more concerned with “manspreading”, “mansplaining” and underarm hair than they are with the enforced suppression and subjugation by men of many millions of women.
And when it comes to banning face covering in our society the measures must include everyone. Street thugs, such as Jeremy Corbyn’s Momentum, use face coverings to hide their identity when they bring violence and mayhem to our public places, it effectively allows them to break the law with little chance of recrimination.
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Sorry to be blunt Bruce but this an absolutely ridiculous article.
Firstly, the notion that all women wearing the burqa are oppressed is a myth despite any of your protestations that it is “utterly irrefutable”. I live just outside Bradford and of the few Muslim women who wear a burqa that I know all choose to do it because they want to. I have talked to them about it and they feel comfortable wearing it and choose not to wear it sometimes, depending on the situation. To suggest their husbands make them wear it is ridiculous and many of their husbands actually would like them to dress up a bit more often. Bit they accept it is the woman’s choice.
Furthermore if they are being forced to wear something they don’t want to it would already be covered under domestic abuse laws so banning the burqa specifically is utterly pointless.
Also Bruce, having read some of your other work I find it incredible that you could suggest the state has a right to ban someone from wearing something. It is frankly just an authoritarian act of state suppression. Obviously, you don’t mind using the state to impose your own morals and prejudices on others. This makes you a hypocrite.
Moving onto the issue of security, the points you make are just unsubstantiated nonsense. Very few crimes (basically none) are committed by people wearing a burqa so banning them would make little difference. Also I notice you list France and Belgium as countries who we should in this respect. However, in those countries radicalisation is a much bigger issue than in Britain or America. This is because they have used legislation to discriminate against Muslims creating a level of hostility not held by British Muslims who comparatively are treated well. Furthermore, I don’t know if you realised Belgium and France have recently experienced terrorist attacks despite banning the burqa showing it provides no security advantage.
To finish Bruce I just implore you to engage fully with the facts and reach a sensible conclusion instead of letting prejudice lead you into the totalitarian temptation.
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Kim_John_Un
You say: “Furthermore if they are being forced to wear something they don’t want to it would already be covered under domestic abuse laws so banning the burqa specifically is utterly pointless.”
Which is ridiculous because so many laws are not enforced properly, if at all, against British Muslims, forced marriage and female genital mutilation for example.
The same with the nationwide epidemic of gang rape of white children by Muslim men, the police and social services just looked the other way.
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Then police funding should be increased and more effort put into prosecution instead of pushing through pointless legislation. Also in many cases Muslims are discriminated against as they are assumed to be guilty just for being Muslim or even just Asian so it is not a one way street like you ignorantly suggest.
As well I notice you don’t get angry at the endless cases of police negligence that led to some many children dying at the hands of abusive (non-muslim) parents. The poor policing is not confined to cases in involving Muslims as you suggest.
More effort should be put into evidence based policing not state sanctioned prejudice. Also the failure of police in cases like Rotherham are more to do with the corruption that led to tradegies like Hillsborough and and police aggression at Orgreave.
Also I notice you ignore all my other points therfore I suggest you accept there is not mass oppression of women so no need of banning the burqa in the first place and you are actually a prejudiced, authoritarian hypocrite.
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Kim_John_Un,
Calling me names does not make you right.
See how the New Humanist agrees with me: https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4199/why-feminists-should-oppose-the-burqa
As do Richard & Judy: http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/richard-and-judy/431069/The-burka-is-a-sign-of-degradation-and-has-no-place-on-our-streets
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Calling you names doesn’t make me right. The facts do though and you made no attempt to debate most of my points and your one argument was weak and based on falsehoods and ignorance.
Also some other people saying the same things as you won’t convince me when I wasn’t convinced by your arguments.
P.s. What names upset you?
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@Kim
Let them than remove it and see how the family and community treat them.
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This is your opinion.
“When it comes to the Burqa, as with so many other issues, Western feminists have been an utter disgrace. They are far more concerned with “manspreadingâ€, “mansplaining†and underarm hair than they are with the enforced suppression and subjugation by men of many millions of women.”
Back it up with FACTS.
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Sure.
Read this .
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Mr Bruce I read this post and as I read it I couldn’t help it but wonder “Have this man who wrote this ever met a Muslim woman? Does he understand what Islam means to a Muslim woman? Many examples you’ve used such as Turkey, let me put it this way, Turkey wanted to impress Europe so they will be accepted into the European union, and if what it takes is to get rid of what the Europeans see as “backward” so be it! Turkey is not an Islamic state and they don’t rule by Islam rather it is a secular country. Everything you said here to me as a Muslim woman who lives in a western country, a third year psychology student at University of Western Australia and who wears full Islamic Hijab, is nothing more than an interpretation based on your own biased views, on what you think is beautiful and Islamic!!! You said this is not Islam and this is “not beautiful”!!! This is what you think not the Muslim women. If you want to understand what beauty means to a Muslim, first you will have to forget about being naked as beautiful, you then have to understand the heart that loves Allah. You see her motive is not to please your eyes but her creator, her aim is not to look sexy in your eyes but to be pious Muslimah in the eyes of her creator and she is only for the eyes of her husband so her beauty, her dress, her perfumes and her sexy looks are only for one man’s eyes and that is her husband. So what your eyes have access to is what her creator decided you should have access to and she is a woman who have submitted her heart/will to the will of Allah. You see Muslim woman wants to tell you that “I am an intelligent woman, I have a soul so speak to me not to my body! I refuse to be objectified, I do not conform to fashion nor do I need make up to feel confident.
Travel and try to engage in real research of this topic (without any input of your biased views), understand why Muslim women wear what they wear and hear it from them personally. Get rid of this stereotyping the Muslim women “needs help and are being oppressed”!! Free yourself from hating what doesn’t appeal to you as the world we live is made up of “difference” and it is bigger than you, you are merely part of a big picture! As much as other women who are not Muslim wear what they want, so do the Muslim women have the same rights and freedom. It is not about “you”, it is about them. Otherwise what you are promoting here is “take the freedom of the Muslim women to choose what they want to wear, their rights to practice their religion and your problem is really not women who are being oppressed, rather it is Islam”!!!