Category Archives: Hijab

Burka ban proposal splits Danish government

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The governing party has rejected a proposal from its coalition partner, the Conservative Party, to ban people from covering their face with clothing such as burkas and niqabs.

“We do not want to see burkas in Denmark,” said Naser Khader, the integration spokesman for the Conservatives. Khader, who immigrated to Denmark from Syria and who helped established the Modern Muslims group, said the burka symbolised the Taleban and oppression of women. It had nothing do to with Islam. “The modern burka was instituted by the Taleban when it came to power. I see it as a symbol of the Taleban,” he said. Khader said the burka was “un-Danish” and should be completely banned in this country.

The Conservatives’ proposal received the support of the Danish People’s Party, a key government ally, and the opposition Social Democrats. But the party’s government ally, the prime minister’s Liberal Party, said legislating against certain types of clothing was a step too far.

Islamic Faith Society spokesman Imran Shah said the ban was unnecessary as only three or four women in Denmark wore the burka, while 30-40 women wore the niqab.

Copenhagen Post, 17 August 2009

The burkini – it’s part of ‘the Islamist war on the West’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

James-Delingpole“When most of us think of militant Islam, we tend to think in terms of suicide bombs on London buses, planes flying into Twin Towers and 19-year olds getting their limbs blown off by Taliban IEDs. But as any extremist Imam could tell you, there are at least two ways in which a good Muslim can further the ongoing struggle to convert the whole world from the House of War (that’s the non-Muslim world) to the House of Islam (ie global submission to the will of Allah): one (see above) is by poison or the sword; the other is by honey.

“So the Burkini is part of the honey campaign: all those parts of the Islamist war on the West that have nothing to do with killing people. This campaign includes everything from schoolgirls fighting legal battles (with the help of one Cherie Blair) to fight for their inalienable right to go to school dressed like a sack, to Muslim supermarket workers trying to dictate the terms of their employment (refusing to sell alcohol), to the ongoing campaign (apparently endorsed by our own Archbishop of Canterbury) for certain civil decisions in the Muslim ‘community’ to be made under Sharia law. The goal is to establish the view that Islam is a religion should be allowed to trump everything, including the cultural norms of any non-Muslim society in which its adherents find themselves living.”

James Delingpole’s Daily Telegraph blog, 16 Auguat 2009

See also Jemima Lewis in the Daily Telegraph, 16 August 2009

Update:  Delingpole has published an expanded version of this bigoted rant in the Daily Express. See ENGAGE for a response.

French minister urges burka ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A ban on the wearing of the burka in France would help stem the spread of the “cancer” of radical Islam, one of its female Muslim ministers has said.

Urban Regeneration Minister Fadela Amara told the Financial Times that a veil covering everything but the eyes represented “the oppression of women”. Ms Amara said she was “in favour of the burka not existing in my country”.

The comments come as French MPs hold hearings on whether to ban the garment, which covers the body from head to toe.

BBC News, 15 August 2009

French woman threatens legal action over ‘burkini’ ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A 35-year-old French convert to Islam has threatened legal action after she was evicted from a public pool for wearing a “burkini” – a veil, trouser and tunic covering that she said allowed her to swim while preserving her modesty. The case revolving around the pool east of Paris has reopened France’s bitter row about how Muslim women can dress.

Carole, who would not give her surname, bought the suit while on holiday in Dubai and wore it swimming with her children once at a local pool in Emerainville. The second time she wore it, she was banned. “What annoys me is that I have been made to believe this is a political problem,” she told Le Parisien. Carole, who converted to Islam at the age of 17, said she would seek advice from anti-discrimination groups.

Guardian, 12 August 2009

Assorted rightwingers who can’t tell the burkha from the niqab condemn police

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A police force has been accused of wasting public money after three officers dressed in burkhas and pretended to be Muslim women for a day. Two sergeants and a community support officer wore either a full burkha or a Muslim dress and headscarf as part of an “In Your Shoes Day”.

But the idea was blasted as a “complete waste of police time and taxpayers’ money”, by Douglas Murray of The Centre For Social Cohesion. “It’s not the duty of police to empathise with particular sections of the community. It is the duty of the police to prevent crime,” said Mr Murray.

The day was branded “an absurd div­ersion from real policing” by Matthew Elliott of The Tax Payers’ Alliance. People want the police out catching criminals, not indulging in politically correct gimmicks,” he added.

The burkha was a “symbol of oppression of women” which police should not enc­ourage, said Sid Cordle, of the Christian Peoples Alliance. “Are they going to go out dressed as prostitutes or the homeless to see how they feel?” he added.

Metro, 4 August 2009

See also the Daily Mail and the Daily Express.

Only 367 Muslim women in France wear full veil – report

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Only 367 women in France wear Islamic veils that cover their faces and bodies, a newspaper reported on Wednesday, undermining the position of politicians who are pushing for a ban on the garments.

A panel of legislators is studying the issue of whether the number of women wearing such veils is on the rise and why. The panel is expected to say in coming months whether it backs a ban on the veils in public places, as advocated by some politicians.

The influential newspaper Le Monde said that in light of the tiny number of women concerned, the idea of a ban should be dropped. “Do we need to legislate for fewer than 400 people, legislate for an exception? … Given the risks, including the stigmatisation of Islam … the answer is no,” it said in an editorial.

The intelligence reports cited by Le Monde suggest that the reality of women who cover their faces in France, and why, is quite different from the description given by politicians.

The reports say most women who wear full veils are under 30 and do so to make a political point. Outraged by what they see as widespread anti-Muslim sentiment, they want to defy society and, in some cases, their own relatives.

French converts to Islam account for around a quarter of wearers, the newspaper said, quoting the reports.

Reuters, 29 July 2009

Georgia courts to allow religious head coverings

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Lisa_ValentineGeorgia courtrooms will allow religious headgear after last year’s arrest of a Muslim woman who refused to remove her headscarf in a west Georgia courthouse.

The Judicial Council of Georgia voted unanimously this week to allow religious and medical headgear into Georgia courtrooms. It also allows a person to request a private inspection if a security officer wants to conduct a search.

“If this had been a nun, no one would have required her to remove her habit,” said Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, who heads the Judicial Council. “I think this is a good rule, and I think it’s clear.”

The policy shift stems from the December 2008 arrest of Lisa Valentine, who was ordered to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court after she refused to remove her hijab at a courtroom in Douglasville, a town of about 20,000 people west of Atlanta.

Associated Press, 24 July 2009

See also CAIR press release, 24 July 2009

Muslim woman ‘told to take off veil’ by bus driver in Australia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Khadijah Ouararhni-Grech was wearing a pink, floral niqab, which covers her hair and lower face, when she tried to board a bus in Greystanes, an outer suburb of the Astralian city.

“As I was stepping onto the bus the driver said ‘You can’t get on the bus wearing your mask’,” she told the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper. When she explained it was religious dress, the woman said the driver responded: “Sorry, it’s the law.”

“I told him it wasn’t the law and he said ‘You have to show me your face,'” she said. “I said to him, ‘There’s no difference between me and that lady sitting there who chooses to not wear what I’m wearing’.”

The bus company, Hillsbus, said the driver was being questioned over the claims.

Daily Telegraph, 24 July 2009

The niqab, fact v fiction

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Fatima Barkatulla clears up misconceptions about the niqab.

Times, 22 July 2009

Not all of the paper’s readers are convinced. Some online comments:

“How can anyone but an absolute ignoramus justify wearing a mask bearing in mind the current dangers of terrorism from Muslims.”

“The niqab is a male-made obligation destined to show other men that ‘this female belongs to me’. Nothing else.”

“The reality is that in Britain, and Europe more generally, covering up women in this way is not accepted, it goes against both our traditions and standards…. In this country we pride ourselves on tolerence and fairness, and the problem is that there seems to be a clash between accomodating a religious practice and women’s rights.”

“The writer of this article should wake up – you can be subjugated and believe that you are exercising choice – this is the result of brainwashing.”

“You may wonder if Mrs Bartakulla is a brainwashed naive or an islamist propagandist. I think I know the answer.”

“You don’t want to comply with our culture in any way, whilst we are forced by the blind and stupid to pander to yours. You use it to control your women and push your intransigent religion on non-muslims.”

“If someone wants to wear the burqa, they have the right. I on the other hand also have to right to have nothing to do with them.”

“This is a western country with western culture and tradition and it’s about time people who choose to live her from other cultures showed some respect. The British people are far too tolerant and we get taken advantage of.”

“British and Western women must cherish their freedoms and not let foreign hostile beliefs do away with the freedoms that the Christian religion has given them.”

“As an atheist and an Englishman … I am saddened by the influence on my own culture of what I perceive as a socially backward faith…. Covering oneself is not ‘normal’ in my books and reveals an unhealthy mind. However many excuses are presented, it smacks of subjugation. To see the promotion and normalisation of such behaviour in The Times is both surreal and absurd…. tolerant though I consider myself to be, those who want a return to the Dark Ages can count me out.”

“… it is the basest form of ignorance which inflicts those rules on women and that is THE VERY REASON they should be OUTLAWED!!!”

“As a white man, how could [I] even become friends with a Muslim woman, who by wearing a burqa, straight away sends out a message of I do not want anything to do with you.”