Burqa Ban Justified
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Many will disagree here and you’re most welcome to do so, of course. We live in a free country with the right to express our opinions. Remember, however, it is a two-way street.
First question that most would be bothered by regarding the Burqa ban in France would be – 'How is this justified if the law bans a section of the population from expressing their faith?' On the same hand, those very people will say – ‘True, the Burqa isn’t actually mentioned in the Quran but it’s a tradition.’
In all these debates, a simple analogy would simplify the situation from the boiling pots of race relations to straightforward tolerance. You’re a muslim woman who wants to express your religion by wearing a veil covering your entire face in public, at work, pretty much every which where. Would an avid football fan be allowed to do the same in public no matter where he/she is or what the occasion is? Paint his/her face with a Welsh/English/Scottish/Irish Flag? No.
Then you’ll ask, ‘How could you compare religion with football?’
It’s not a question of what religion is and what a recreational attachment is. It’s about what is important to people. To some, the religious tag holds a lot of importance and to many, the associations they have with their local and national sporting teams holds more importance than dear life itself. Yet there are boundaries we all have to toe. It’s called society and common courtesy.
Just because something is really important, doesn’t mean we make everyone around us uncomfortable in the process. Can anyone honestly tell me that taking your child to a parent-teacher conference, and having to talk to a woman clad in all-black isn’t awkward? (Not to mention inconvenient if you are a person who needs to lip-read) Or is it perfectly comfortable to go in to an enquiries desk and talk to just a pair of eyes instead of a face?
Back to the analogy – would anyone honestly accept it if at the next parent-teacher conference, your child’s teacher turns up with a Welsh Dragon painted on his face? No. Why? Because there is a time and place for everything.
As it is, no free-thinking woman would want to be clad in an attire which cuts her off from the rest of the world, unless she has been brainwashed into believing that it is her purpose and responsibility as a Muslim woman to do so. So if you’re Muslim, you stop being human do you? I wouldn’t have thought so.
The issue of the Burqa and the Veil has been argued for with just one main justification – it is a religious symbol. Fine, no one’s arguing with that. But it’s a step too far if that symbol has to step outside your personal domains and fly about an entire country in all activities of the day. There is a concept called meeting each other in the middle.
It’s not a custom, in the Western World, to hide your face when in public. If it’s a gathering specific to a religious ceremony, then it technically does not remain a largely public domain as much as a small gathering within a community. In that case, by all means knock yourself out. It is a free country after all.
But to try and impose customs that are personal just to you on a religious front is slightly arrogant.
Now if you want to argue as to why it isn’t an acceptable tradition in Western Society to roam about covered from head to toe in black – well, ask a History professor. End of the day, Islam has never been part of the custom of the Western World, much the same way many other religions wouldn’t be part of a country’s practises in the Middle East.
Why should it be anyway? There is a massive difference between accepting the existence of a religion and allowing it to take over everyone’s lives. Accepting the fact that there are people of different faiths and religions living in Western Society has been coming along anyway, but that doesn’t mean all those religious needs would be allowed to capsize everything these countries have run themselves on over all these years.
The bad elements – yes, they need to go. But usual run of the mill things like social customs, etc? No. That is part of the identity of the countries in question, much the same way the Burqa is part of Islamic tradition.
This may sound horrible, but the former customs in mention came here first. So it’s quite unfair to suddenly want to change it all around and let another cultural tradition come and oust them completely. Blend in if you can, if not then it already has its place in the Middle East. If we go to countries like Saudi Arabia, our women will have to cover themselves up from head to toe. If we were to live there, we would have to follow those rules to the very end.
A young couple in Dubai got convicted of indecency for just kissing on the beach. Why? Because it wasn’t acceptable there. A woman visiting Dubai was raped by a local man, but when she reported the crime she was the one arrested by the local authorities. Why? Because she was there with her boyfriend, with whom she was obviously sexually active outside the bonds of matrimony, making her the 'guilty' one.
Are these countries accommodating what we are used to from birth in the Western World? No one said: ‘Oh they’re British or French, so it’s okay for them to do it.’
No. They said, ‘Doesn’t matter where you’re from. You are here now so you play by our customs.’ The practises which were accepted over there first gain more importance over any others that come along later.
If they don’t comply with the primary needs of the state, they aren’t tolerated. That is pretty much what has happened with the ban on the Burqa. It may be a religious symbol and very important to you, but the line was already crossed when it was pulled out of personal realms and introduced into the public fold where everyone else has to compromise their customs to facilitate the Burqa.
Like it or not, it is highly uncomfortable and ridiculous to an extent, to have to liaise with someone on official or personal issues, or any kind for that matter, whilst they have themselves covered head to toe in a Burqa. All France has done is not allow a religious practise to overhaul the basic social customs upon which their country was built. Next thing they will be asked to give up wine, because alcohol is forbidden by Islam.
The line has already been crossed a long time ago. This ban has just pulled it back to some extent. As said before, it is meant to be a two-way street. I say this with all the humility and respect in the world, but no one can have their way everywhere.
Links:
Read more on the Burka debate at theSprout
Information >> Religion >> Islam
Sources:
Guardian: British woman arrested in Dubai after reporting rape
Image: Telegraph
5 Comments – Postiwch sylw
BrokenEggShells
Rhoddwyd sylw 18 mis yn ôl - 18th August 2010 - 13:20pm
I completely agree with you when you said that if you go to another country, you should follow thier rules. Britain should'nt have to accomodate the Burqa, just like Dubai shouldn't have to change it's rules for tourists. As a country, Britain is terrified of upsetting particular religions and people groups and in doing so, we forget our own culture and traditions. I personally feel incredibly uncomfortable next to someone clad head to toe in black fabric, with only thier eyes showing. I feel it is incredibly extreme but that we are to afraid to stand up for our beliefs for fear of being deemed racist
abhijanb
Rhoddwyd sylw 17 mis yn ôl - 21st August 2010 - 16:25pm
that was the point of this piece to be honest. nothing against islam as a religion or any religion for that matter. but th line gets crossed if its not treated as just a reigious belief and becomes and strict way of life which we all have to accomodate to despite being uncomfortable with it. if we say something about it, then we're deemed racist but its the same thing when people arent allowed in a nightclub if they dont have the proper dress codes. its clear policy, you want to be inside, then you dress a certain way. if not, you're welcome to go somewhere where it's the order of the day.
why should it be racist moment religion comes in to play?
Pasternak
Rhoddwyd sylw 17 mis yn ôl - 21st August 2010 - 19:03pm
Particularly as religion has nothing to do with race. A religion is simply a set of beliefs.
BrokenEggShells
Rhoddwyd sylw 17 mis yn ôl - 23rd August 2010 - 12:55pm
Exactly, it's not racist, but that's what everyone seems to accuse you of being when you express these opinions.
abhijanb
Rhoddwyd sylw 17 mis yn ôl - 23rd August 2010 - 17:25pm
@Pasternak
precisely. it's a set of beliefs which are personal to you, more or less same way in my case I swear by my football club and counry (liverpool and england)
just because i am absolutely dedicated to every game they play, doesnt mean it's a justified excuse for me to start wearing an england or liverpool kit to work or something like that. nor can i refuse serve a german customer or someone from manchester or an evertonian because of the rivalries. i'd be told im out of order and my rivalry or whatever it is i feel is personal and not meant to be brought in to the general sphere of everyday life. i feel the same applies for everything.