Sarkozy Backs Burqa Ban Bullshit
January 26, 2010 No Comments
A report issued today in France calls for the ban of the full face covering worn by some devout Muslim women, called a niqab. The president is due to sign the proposals today.
Last week he called the garment “contrary to our values and to the ideals we have of women’s dignity”.
Although 2/3 of the country want the veil outlawed in public, critics complain that it is anti-Muslim. Most Muslim women in the country do not wear the full face covering, but would reject a law restricting their religious freedom.
The fact is that this is not a religious debate but a cultural one.
First of all, the face covering is not mentioned in the Qur’an but actually predates Islam in Arabia. The male and female traditional dresses are not that different, both are long robes with head coverings perfect for life in the desert. So the wearing of the veil is more about Arabian cultural dominance than religion.
The justification for the the veil is that the Qur’an states that women should avert their eyes and be modest. It does not say that to accomplish this women must be covered in black from head to toe.
The real issue is that the veil is a visual representation of a rejection of French values. French people want French citizens to be French, to embrace France and act like French people.
Now we could say that France should be more tolerant of another culture, but there are limits to this. If people immigrate to France, they can’t ignore the people they have chosen to call their own. A passport should not be about health care or tax breaks.
In the Western culture, walking around with a covered face clearly indicates malicious intent. It is something that criminals do, not law-abiding citizens. 
And a long black robe with a black cowl is also a well known cultural image of death.
These clothes are not inherently evil, but it is naive to assume that you can adorn such powerful negative imagery and not get a negative response.
Whenever a country embraces a new group of immigrants there has to be some give and take. The immigrants can’t expect to live as they would at home, totally ignoring their adopted country.
But then again the country can’t accept the immigrants but reject all their values. What it is to be French is not static. The culture needs to be flexible enough to embrace Muslim values as well as Catholic ones. There is no point looking at your grandparents generation for advice on how to be French in the 21st century.
The report suggests banning the garment at post offices, universities, hospitals, state-owned premises and on public transport.
This will effectively alienate all the women who wear this covering. If they cannot take public transit, go to school or conduct official business then they will be forced to rely on their male relatives to conduct their business for them. This will push these women further and further from French society and into a ghetto of male dependence.
Way to support a woman’s dignity Nick!
Views on the Veil from the Times:
The Netherlands A proposal to ban veils failed in 2006 after lawyers said that it would be unconstitutional. The Government has since said that it will try to ban face-covering veils in schools and for government employees
Italy A law passed in 1975 required people to keep their faces visible in public but it is not usually applied to Muslim women. Silvio Berlusconi’s government said in October 2009 that it would try to add a specific ban on religious garments that cover the face
Belgium Full veils were banned in the town of Maaseik in 2004 but there is no countrywide ban
Germany Some states have banned teachers from wearing headscarves in public schools
Switzerland The Justice Ministry said that it would consider a ban after November’s referendum halting the building of new minarets
Turkey Islamic-style headscarves in schools, universities and government offices are banned
Also read:
Muslim Women Balk At Religious Ruling Forcing Them To Show Their Faces
Barbie Dons Burkas And Black Hijab
