117 Comments

1. George Jochnowitz:

As awful as the burqa is, banning it will strengthen Islam by turning the issue into one of freedom. What we should do instead is make the content of the Qur’an better known. Everyone should know all the repeated passages requiring cutting off a hand and a foot on opposite sides, for example.

Jul 2, 2009 - 2:55 pm 2. Pajamas Media » Should America Ban the Burqa?:

[...] Read the rest of the story here. [...]

Jul 2, 2009 - 3:03 pm 3. Louis Santacroce:

Phyllis, are you aware that the displayed below the title of this article is from http://www.ArabMatchMaking.com, offering to hook us up with “muslim girls” complete with faux-sultry pictures of two women, one with head scarf, one without?

Jul 2, 2009 - 3:38 pm 4. Louis Santacroce:

and, yes, ban the burqua, and everything else muslim, including the mosques.

Jul 2, 2009 - 3:40 pm 5. Ann Davis:

America should never ban anything. Businesses and public buildings could and should, but the U.S. Government has no right to censor.

Jul 2, 2009 - 3:42 pm 6. Gianni:

Education and pedagogy are essentail but they work if they supported by law. I have to add another “small” detail. Only women and not men wear Burqa and niqab and, pardon me, this is the most important issue at all.
So, YES, ban the burqa and the niqab.
And about the so-called “religious rights” I answer: who cares?! Women’s rights are the only thing that matters and they have to me the primacy on all the rest.

Jul 2, 2009 - 3:47 pm 7. Theo Goodwin:

Dear Phyllis,

I am so happy that you parted ways with the radical sisters. However, I see that one of their habits remains strong in you. Phyllis, please, we do not need to write 20 books on the question of the burka in the USA. Individuals may choose to wear burkas but no organization can require individuals to wear them. Individuals who think burkas are a moral disaster must be permitted to express themselves and no organized group, such as CAIR, can be permitted to suppress that free expression of opinion.

Jul 2, 2009 - 3:56 pm 8. Avi:

Some of the first historical records of veiling/niqab of women were recorded by the Assyrians, successors of the Sumerians. The veil was used upon women of the upper castes to indicate male ownership. Later, concubines “won” the right to veil, i.e., to indicate male ownership, as well. Women may have adopted this humiliation in order to avoid the greater humiliation of being raped at will. At this time, the right to be in public space, as a woman of the upper castes, was brutally denied. It seems to have accompanied the unpleasant attempt of the upper caste males to deify themselves, after claiming divine sanction. Wherever we have consolidation of male power, we have also the subordination of women, the association of women with pollution, and the capital punishment for disobeying or for attempting to regain agency.

The Burqa/niqab is a feminist issue; sad to see that we are still fighting this primitive relic, which denies that women are fully human and above the status of animals, nearly five thousand years later. Ban them!

Jul 2, 2009 - 4:29 pm 9. John Moore:

Religious freedom is important.

Burquas and face masks should not be banned as religious items (nor for femist reasons such as their symbology of oppression).

They should not even be directly banned. If they represent a threat to safety or security, then a law banning anything which represents that same threat is the only reasonable one, and the only one that will stand up to constitutional muster.

Hence it might be appropriate to ban the wearing of any form of face mask in a public place, or wearing bulky clothing in crowded venues.

There is no legitimate or constitutional reason to ban the hijab.

I say all this as a strong opponent of jihadism and multiculturalism.

Jul 2, 2009 - 4:36 pm 10. Left Coast Mike:

I agree with #4 LOuis. Ban the burqua and all muslims. Quit catering to all these minorities in this country. If they don’t like our way of life return to some Arab country.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:07 pm 11. Evil Pundit:

#6 Gianni — “Women’s rights are the only thing that matters and they have to me the primacy on all the rest.”

So sad that you consider women’s rights above human rights.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:09 pm 12. Marie Claude:

don’t forget that those persons who wear burkas don’t care of your freedom of speech and or religion practices, they want to impose their views, and they are in a conquest procedure, gain power, good bye America

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:18 pm 13. David Thomson:

“America should never ban anything. Businesses and public buildings could and should, but the U.S. Government has no right to censor.”

On a practical level, you and I are double talking, mealy mouthers. We are “hypocritically” trying to have our cake and eat it too. I am also uneasy about an absolute government ban on face covering. And yet, I strongly believe that the private sector can prohibit women covering their faces from using the public restrooms. Think about that for a minute. If a woman cannot use these toilets—she has been effectively marginalized. She might as well stay home.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:21 pm 14. Greenconsciousness:

Ban them – no terrorist coverings – no face masks in civil society.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:23 pm 15. Cornelia:

The security and health issues are what I find persuasive on the issue of banning the burqa. Religious tolerance and respect for individual freedom does not require us to pay deference to any and all customs and practices regardless of their nature. I do fear for Western Civ that there are so many defenders of “tolerance” who cannot apply reason and good sense, and therefore move us in the direction of cultural suicide.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:29 pm 16. Strawman:

A first-time burqa wearer may feel that she cannot breathe freely and that she might slowly be suffocating. She may feel buried alive and may become anxious, claustrophobic. (Try on a burqa, this experience is easy to confirm).

Ask any firefighter or first responder about putting SCBA on for the first time. Some can’t, and have to find other work.

Imagine walking around all day in a gas mask, and you might get some sense of what this is like.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:37 pm 17. Jeffrey:

Ban the burqa in public; let them dress the way they want in their own homes and inside their meeting places. Ban the physical mistreatment of women for religious purposes. Religious freedom does not mean the freedom to oppress others or coerse others against their will in the name of religion.
We have security issues that must be addressed until the threat is over. The face is a key identifier along with finger prints. The threat isn’t over just because the politicos decide to change the name of terror.
The real living God has allowed freedom of choice to mankind as to which way he should live his life although there are consequences to every behavior whether we like it our not. So we should not interfere with Gods will, but if a group of people can be identified as threat to peace and safety then we must take action to protect the peaceful from the radical suspected terrorist. This is the duty of those who hold positions of trust and authority to provide protection to the public.
As we all know by the in face evidence, our enemies like to use our freedoms against us, that’s why we are still taking our shoes off at Airports, one Muslim man thought he would use his shoes as a bomb on a plane. Have there been persons in Burqa’s committing acts of terror? Should we wait until it happens here before we do something?
Yes we have crooks in crook town holding high public office who are not speaking the truth or keeping our best interests in mind and that’s what makes this situation even scarier. They can and probably will allow our enemies to do harm for their own greedy purposes. The evidence is pointing that way right now.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:38 pm 18. Strawman:

Government has no right to censor.

Gawd, here’s this red herring, again. For this to qualify as “censorship”, it has to be a “statement”. Are you suggesting that this is a statement? If so, then it’s disingenuous to say that it’s a religious custom, because statements are choices, and customs aren’t.

And as a matter of fact, when a clear public interest is involved, they do sometimes have the right to censor. See 200 years of American jurisprudence on the issue of the First Amendment. Something about yelling “fire” in a theater, or something like that.

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:45 pm 19. The Skizzerd of Waz:

I’d rather see a law passed that bans wearing your pants so low that your a$$crack is on display. Also I’d ban posing for pictures making those ignorant gang symbols with your fingers, as well as a ban on playing ig’nert a$$ jungle chanting in your car so loud that the pavement vibrates, and I’d ban people pasting so many bumper stickers on thier cars that they look like rolling billbords. And most of all, I’d institute the death penalty for anyone having anything to do with all of this COEXIST $hit!

Jul 2, 2009 - 5:45 pm 20. Martin:

And now the problem comes to a head.

If we have been impotent to resist the inquisitorial tolerance in being made to suffer as a means to an advertiser’s profit’s, and concupiscent men’s desires 50ft women in lingerie in public spaces.

How to deal with inquisitorial enforcement of Islamic dresscodes?

Equal freedom by command and all that. Liberals have alot to answer for.

Jul 2, 2009 - 6:09 pm 21. Lynn B.:

Setting aside all religious motivation, I agree with a ban on burkas and veils. All they denote is ownership and subjugation of women. Women, whether Muslim men believe it or not, are not walking vaginas nor are they property.

Jul 2, 2009 - 6:18 pm 22. ic:

No, don’t want to trash our Freedom of Expression for them.

Jul 2, 2009 - 6:23 pm 23. Linda:

First I would like to say that I own and wear a burqa, and I have researached the wearing of the Burqa and Niqab and the onslaught of discrimination it has brought to Muslim women. The Burqa and Niqab are protected under the Federal EEOC law. It would be down right discriminating for the government to ban something that symbolizes a person faith. If that got started with the Burqa and Niqab, then what would stop the government from banning people wearing crosses? What if the government said that women can no longer wear pants while in public? Then I guess people would start saying it is unfair.

Please do not oppress any Muslim women by banning something that shows their faith in GOD. If America started oppressing Muslim women by dictating what they should wear, then American will no longer be thought of as the Land of the Free. And the oppression will lead to other forms of oppression for other classes of people. I guess Nuns now should be stopped from wearing habits.

I am not a Muslim by the way. I am a Christian. So now what? A Christian wearing a burqa. If you will read your Bible sometimes you will see that a women should be covered.

I hope that American Muslim women would bann together and stop this discrimination that is spreading rapily all over the world. I for one will stop it wear I see it.

Jul 2, 2009 - 6:48 pm 24. someNewInput:

the problem is the priestly high class.
these people brainwash us and force their old codes on the society.
can we expose all high priests as our problem?
jewish, pagan, christian, islamic high priests are holding us as hostages.
our new code could the enlightened thoughts of john rawls, emmanuel kant, peter singer and many others.

Jul 2, 2009 - 6:58 pm 25. Dr S McCosker:

Linda: IF you are in fact a Christian and not a Muslim taqiyya artist trying to mess with our heads, you are a fool.

At no time in the whole of Christian history, in any part of the Christianised world EXCEPT those parts where Christians lived as despised dhimmis under the Muslim scimitar, have women been required to cover up to the extent that Muslim women have been required to cover up. Certainly not even the most devout nun has been required to cover her entire face by a mask and turn herself into a walking ghost in a black tent.

Jul 2, 2009 - 6:58 pm 26. Strawman:

If that got started with the Burqa and Niqab, then what would stop the government from banning people wearing crosses?

You didn’t read the article, did you?

Jul 2, 2009 - 7:11 pm 27. Reclass:

Why not go after abusive husbands or families who force their wives to veil rather than pursue an outright ban? What do you think the impact would be on women were the burqa banned, in France or here? Would women be forced to stay home because either a) they did not wish to appear in public without their covering–for them it is a choice, or b) would women be forced to stay home because their husbands disagreed with allowing them to be out in public so uncovered? Ultimately, I think this would rebound badly for women.

Jul 2, 2009 - 7:33 pm 28. AThinkingPerson:

The burqa is basically shackles in the form of clothing. If we allow this in America we are doomed. Religious freedom yes, clothing as a form of control, no.

Jul 2, 2009 - 7:54 pm 29. Strawman:

You didn’t read the article either, did you?

Jul 2, 2009 - 7:58 pm 30. Max Friedman:

Linda: #23. A woman “can” be covered, but she shouldn’t be buried in a burlap bag. It is unhealthy, esp. the black-heat absorbing ones.

I have nothing against a head scarf. My dentist wears one. However, when she operated on me, it was nice to see her face, not a masked black bag with sharp instruments in its hands. Shades of Daniel Pearl and Nic Berg, among other victims of the “covered” assassins.

The real question is whether wearing a burqua is a legitimate part of an ethnic/religious culture, or is an instrument of jihad, forcing people to accept an alien intrusion at the risk of being sued or being called a “racist” (race has nothing to do with it, but it’s the word of the aggressor, aimed at cowering its victims).

I think that this is the real issue, just as “sharia law” is another intrusion being forced on America. I don’t give a damn what people do in a private setting, but there is only “American law”, at least for the while until Obama and his corrupted Justice Dept. change it to “international law” (Sotomayor, Koh, Sunstein, Craig, etc).

Jul 2, 2009 - 8:44 pm 31. Ironic Surrealism v3.0 » Should The Burka Be Banned In The U.S.?:

[...] I therefore suggest that we begin a national conversation about whether Americans should consider banning the burqa not only for security-related reasons but on the grounds of human rights/women’s rights and for health-related reasons. Continue reading >> [...]

Jul 2, 2009 - 8:44 pm 32. Marie Claude:

well, I didn’t notice that the women who wear burkas in our countries were forced to stay at their homes, but rather that they are in the provocation attitude, kinda proud to parade with their “difference”

Jul 2, 2009 - 8:52 pm 33. DavidN:

My contribution to this discussion is on a philosophical level. A couple of days, maybe a week or two ago, here on Pajamas, there was an article about Hamas having a dating service, of all things. A sort of eHarmonyJihad. The article included a picture of the first couple who had met on the site and were going to get married. The woman, of course, was in full burqa mode, a shapeless blob. You couldn’t see anything other than hands (maybe not even those), certainly nothing of her eyes or face, or the shape of her body. The interesting contrast was the guy. He was wearing pretty standard casual Western attire: jeans, running shoes (expensive I expect) and a sweat shirt with some logo across the front.

The point I’m trying to make is this: Arab Muslim men think of themselves as part of two worlds. They want to be sophisticated, worldly characters, known by name at casinos on the Riviera if they’re wealthy enough, certainly able to navigate their way around the world wide web and through the modern world. But this makes them feel guilty, as if they’ve betrayed the world of their ancestors. So what’s a worldly Muslim man to do, when he’s not flirting with girls at a London nightclub? Marry a traditional girl, who wears whatever traditional head- or body-covering his culture requires, and settle down somewhat, make some babies. It’s sort of the Muslim version of the division of cars in American society that some feminists and women used to complain about: the man would have a sexy sports car, even though he was married and didn’t need to attract girls any more; she had a mini-van, to take the kids to soccer practice and go grocery shopping in. The guy thinks “I don’t have to be practical in my car choice: my wife already has a practical car.” The Muslim guy thinks “Maybe I’m betraying my faith and culture by dressing this way and looking at porn on the internet, but at least I married a traditional woman.”

I’m not excusing their behavior, or absolving them of anything. Frankly, I find the whole thing to be ridiculous. I’m uneasy about banning anything, but we already do ban certain things when it comes to attire: women, for instance, aren’t allowed to go topless. Imagine the Muslim reaction to that: you guys can have your burkas, here in America, but only if you agree that our women can walk around naked if they want. Blood vessels would be bursting right and left.

Jul 2, 2009 - 8:52 pm 34. Poll: Should The Burka Be Banned In The U.S.? « Ironic Surrealism v3.0 -Mirror:

[...] I therefore suggest that we begin a national conversation about whether Americans should consider banning the burqa not only for security-related reasons but on the grounds of human rights/women’s rights and for health-related reasons. Continue reading >> [...]

Jul 2, 2009 - 9:15 pm 35. jerry:

I am opposed to the wearing of the burqa on security grounds. I would also be opposed to the wearing of the burqa for socially sensitive positions. There should never, never be a policewoman who wears a mask; not a teacher or doctor or social worker or politician. Humans need to make judgments about the emotional reactions of such functionaries and it is a restriction of that right to be able to “read” the other that is at stake.

That being said, it is necessary to view the burqa as the “price of freedom” paid by Muslim women to be allowed into the street at all. Their shapeless mass is unlikely to arouse the most macho man, so women’s entrance to the street became a permitted act.

The burqa thus has been an improvement in women’s circumstances in countries where sexual feelings in males are always the fault of women. In those countries there has not been a shared responsibility for civil, asexual, interactions such as occurs every day in the non-burqa world in spite of male hare-trigger sexual fantasies and womens’ longings. Seen in this light burqas prevent the growth of civilized males and females who might otherwise be satisfied with a single liason as sufficient or adequate to permit life to go on without getting bent out of shape. Perhaps our relatively insensitive senses of smell have arisen to allow male-female interactions without constant sexual arousal. Our sexuality colors our world, but should not control it.

Jul 2, 2009 - 10:33 pm 36. charlze:

I always look forward to reading Dr. Chesler’s comments,but I have have to take exception to her reference to America’s dedication to “freedom of religion”. It is time we in America and The West stop mindlessly proclaiming our allegiance to the concept of “freedom of religion”, placing it above any other consideration such as, for example, the preservation of Western Civilization. I believe our Founding Fathers idea of religious freedom included the element of religious TOLERANCE, a concept totally foreign to Islam. There are religions that involve ritual human sacrifice. They are rightly not permitted in civilized society today. Just because a philosophy or a totalitarian political ideology calls itself a religion does not mean that we in the west must accept all its customs, no matter how much they go against our values. As far as I can determine no one has forced any Muslims to come to America or any other western country, and,as our President has pointed, out there fifty seven Islamic states where muslims can practice their customs as they see fit. I for one can see no need for all this hand-wringing over how to treat the Muslims fairly. They chose to come to our country, they can abide by our customs or they can leave if they choose. The stated goal of Islam is to eliminate every other religion. Since the elimination of western civilization and freedom of religion is the ultimate objective of Islam, we should feel no need to accommodate Islam in any way.

Jul 2, 2009 - 10:41 pm 37. Cromert:

Steel or fabric, a cage is a cage. Ban the burka.

Jul 2, 2009 - 11:40 pm 38. Dave .:

If there is to be legislation on this subject,
then two provisos:

Any federal law must be restricted to federal property. Maintaining proper jurisdictional
lines is essential to maintaining our legal
and cultural system. Do not worry. Having the burqua outlawed in one place while some states and localities follow suit and others do not, will not hurt a thing. The overall effect will be the same as a universal statute.

Number two: Any such legislation should have a sunset provision. The law will expire in 10 years, or 20 or 30 unless renewed by a super-majority in both houses, etc.

This latter is to be sure that the restrictions do not outlive the war that necessitated them. 30 years max ought to do it.

Now let us proceed with all this in mind.

Jul 2, 2009 - 11:45 pm 39. Dave .:

One other thing: If you can’t lick them then join them, sort of.

We might want to have some of our people make public appearances wearing burquas properly adorned with the Cruifix. How about the Star of David?

Such people will of course be flag-wavers:
got a choice of three. They are: U. S.,
Israeli, and Confederate Battle.

After all, if the Constitution protects their wearing it their way, it protects our wearing it our way. Heh, heh.

And should this provoke some violent reactions, then by all means bring them on! You can conceal a lot of ready rebuttal inside a burqua—–not to mention spare magazines.

Jul 2, 2009 - 11:54 pm 40. Raseena Sherif:

Why I wear a Hijab ?
By Raseena Sherif
I was asked by a friend about why I wear a hijab. This is my answer.

You asked me ages ago why I wore the hijab. It was always somewhere in my mind – not necessarily always the back – that I should reply and I finally decided I wouldn’t put off your reply any longer, and therefore you shall have it.

Having grown up in a practising Muslim household, many things were just handed over to me. And having studied in an Islamic school all my life, consequently having an entirely Muslim circle of friends, I never questioned them. That was the way things were done in my little world, and it was therefore the way I did things too. The hijab was one of them. I grew up in it. Physically and also mentally. I think the question, or at least the one with the more interesting answer, is why I continue to wear the hijab even after having spent more than three years now, in Christian colleges, and with a friend circle that is largely non- Muslim.

There are many things I found in the hijab as I grew up. Things as varied as the convenience of not having to spend considerable amount of worry and time on my wardrobe and outside appearance, to philosophical, spiritual, and you might be surprised to hear this, but even feminist concepts that I feel proud to stand up for and show my belief in.

In wearing a hijab, a woman is identified by the things she does and the things she stands for, rather than her looks. Even as a woman, there are times when I have found myself identifying another woman by her looks, where I might ask “Oh, the one with the long hair?” In underplaying my looks, I force others to look for more in me.

My hijab saves me a lot of the time, effort, thought and worry that would otherwise go into my dress, my hair, my skin and my make up. I think it’s a pity that while theoretically looks aren’t supposed to matter, one must spend so much time and money on them. With the hijab, looking good means looking neat and the best part is that I get to stop where others begin.

As a teenager, I have seen girls go to large extents to look attractive to men. I have heard of an entire class getting their mums to pay for breast implant surgeries as graduation gifts. I have heard of girls hanging themselves because they weren’t invited to a prom. I think it is so demeaning to believe that your worth lies in the admiration of the opposite sex. I think you insult yourself by preening in front of them. People say the hijab is oppressing. I think being compelled, by society, or even worse, by your own mind, to confirm to external standards of beauty is oppression. Mental oppression. In the hijab, I find dignity and freedom.

Corporate circles are aware of power dressing concepts and how women feel that if they dress in certain ways, then they gain power and confidence. Does this mean that there are women out there who are learning that the way they look can earn them power? I guess in their ideology, we in the hijab are powerless. Maybe in the corporate world, the way you dress does give you power – I’m not arguing with the idea. I just don’t want to think of what happens to the self esteem of the people who believe in this theory when they grow old, or lose their beauty.

And honestly, look at the larger picture. In society, the more women are expected to look that way at work, the higher becomes the man’s standards of beauty for women. The more dissatisfied he becomes with “ordinary” women. I think dissatisfaction is where it all starts from – look at the number of broken relationships, broken people, broken homes! I hate to think we are breeding a collective idea in the minds of both men and women about what a “modern day” , “powerful”, “influential” woman is “supposed” to dress like, and subsequently, look like. Why power dressing? Whatever happened to the power of goodness, the power of ability? Isn’t society supposed to run on the power of love?

People say the hijab is “backward”. So I’m guessing I can find forward in the opposite. Hmm. In which industry does the focus lie on beauty, on desire and exposure? It’s the fashion industry! Starve yourself to get the right look, and once you get it, you can rule the world! If you die in the process, oh, how sad! Enjoy your short period of power, by the way, because tomorrow when you lose that figure of yours, you’re going to be dropped like a hot plate and no one is going to turn around and give you a second look. Personally, I think the hijab is fast forward.

I know someone who doesn’t really like the hijab, but finds it convenient to wear one when she’s traveling by bus. She’s saved the stares and the gropes. People wearing hijab find that men don’t mess with them as much when they’re in one. They’re given a decent amount of space when they’re walking down a side walk.

I can go on about the hijab and what it means to me, or what can be found in it. But the reason I wear it is none of them. In Islam, a person does a thing because her Lord asks her to. And because, she has faith. She believes. She believes in the Infinite Wisdom that the Creator of the universe would have. She believes that what comes from Him can be nothing less than the best. That does not translate to unthinking obedience.

In the Quran, we are repeatedly asked to use our brains, and to think for ourselves – not to evaluate everything God asks of us, but to establish for ourselves that there is only One God, Allah, and that the Quran and all that is in it cannot be from any other source than Him. But once you do come to that belief, as I have done, you also believe in His Infinite Wisdom. You don’t need any other source of advice, or knowledge – you have the Creator of the universe in front of you. To settle for a lower source doesn’t make sense. It results in, not blind obedience but faith. And from that point on, it is a spiritual journey.

We continue from there, trying to please Him by following His various injunctions. If He allows us to see the beauty and the wisdom behind them, that’s great. But those reasons do not then become the primary reasons for following those injunctions. The reason for doing what we do remains to please Him. And we feel good about pleasing Him, for we know that He is not a whimsical Lord. What pleases Him is what is good for humanity. Sometimes in so many more ways than we realize. In so many ways that it surprises us when we find another. And because we believe in accountability. That is the reason I wear the hijab.

Looking back now, at how I began to wear the hijab, I’m glad I did start the way I did. In spite of the fact that I prefer to find things out for myself, and hate taking things for granted, or doing things without really believing them. Because having started the way I did, to me, the hijab was always just another type of clothing.

I think about the kind of stereotypes people have about hijabs, and women who wear them, and I know that if I were left to discover the hijab for myself, it would have been tough for me to go beyond those stereotypes, to go back on all that I grew up hearing, seeing and believing, and to allow myself to actually see the hijab for what it is and its beauty. Having grown up wearing it, in a society that didn’t jump to conclusions about me because I did, or look at me like I was weird, I have always felt comfortable in it, and never thought of myself as any different from the rest. It was just my way of dressing. And with the stage for objective evaluation of that type of dressing set, I have come to love that way of dressing above others.

On the other hand, I know there are those that hate the hijab they wear. I feel bad for them – for the fact that they are forced to do something they don’t even understand, and the fact that they haven’t understood something so beautiful. However, I think the saddest part is that they are losing out on both the happiness they might have found in dressing the way they would have liked to, and the happiness they could have found in pleasing their Creator. It’s always our intentions that are considered and if you’re doing something only because you’re forced to, it doesn’t count. You might as well enjoy yourself living life the way you want to. And then if you are fortunate enough to find God for yourself, I think you are really lucky.

In fact, I feel bad for all those Islamic ideologies that are reduced to meaningless customs and traditions, and the joke that they have been allowed to become in the minds of people. Anyway, I won’t start on that or I shall go on for a couple more pages. I just want to ask you to make a distinction between actual Islamic ideology and the actions that one sees from some people born into Muslim households – especially the kind I heard you grew up with.

In the hijab, honestly, I feel blessed.

Jul 3, 2009 - 3:01 am 41. Grace O'Malley:

Just because something is called a religious tenet doesn’t necessarily make it so. I believe the government already bans multiple wives, sex between children and adults as well as physical beatings as punishment. All of these things have been part of different religious groups who have claimed they had a right to subject their members to things that violate human rights, not to mention common decency. Some claim religion when it comes to female mutilation of the genitals, should we allow that?
In general I am fairly uneasy with government banning, however in this instance I would make an exception for multiple reasons.

Jul 3, 2009 - 3:18 am 42. susan:

islam is not a religion, it’s a braiwashing cult with political ambition (at least in places where it’s not ALREADY a political power).

So it’s not a matter of religious freedom.

Secondly, we shouldn’t allow anything that is not allowed to non-muslims in muslim countries. That would be the only fair handling of the matter.

Jul 3, 2009 - 3:30 am 43. Bob:

Personally, I would rather ban the whole “religion” of Islam from the planet than to ban some Islamic attire for women. It is the most dangerous, destructive and oppressive “religion” on the planet and I don’t care if the majority of the followers are peaceful and “tolerant” in real life, I would rather these followers just walk away from Islam for good. Islam is too dangerous for freedom and for all of humanity. Way too much blood has been shed for this “religion” from Arabia.

GET RID OF ISLAM. PERIOD.

Jul 3, 2009 - 4:43 am 44. Parabellum:

John Moore hit the nail on the head:

Hence it might be appropriate to ban the wearing of any form of face mask in a public place…

Now the issue is non-religious and simply a public safety issue. Simple, really.

Jul 3, 2009 - 4:55 am 45. Zac D.:

I would love to personally meet that 10% and ask them what the hell is wrong with you?

Jul 3, 2009 - 5:12 am 46. Lynn B.:

Linda
one doesn’t need to wear a burka or a cross to show love of GOD. That is the most ridiculous argument FOR not banning it.

Jul 3, 2009 - 5:20 am 47. Pippa:

The niqab and burqa make me very uncomfortable. I fear for the women inside those fabric prisons, much as I fear the day that I or my daughters may be told to wear one. My fears of UK islamification aside, it seems only sensible to require that humans working and socialising in public should have their faces uncovered. Here in the UK I may not enter a bank/bulding society while wearing a motorcycle helmet or similar item that might obscure my face, why then is it acceptable for someone to walk around hidden behind a mask/veil? We function within society in part by reading body language and facial expression; burqa and niqab work against this and serve to prevent real communication and trust. Modesty for muslim women is an excuse; absolute isolation is the intention.
Write on, Dr. Phyllis.

Jul 3, 2009 - 5:50 am 48. Reynolds Butler:

Most municipalities do not allow people to wear masks in public. The laws are already on the books. If I can’t wear a mask in public, then NO ONE should be allowed to wear a mask. Period. End of discussion.
What this is REALLY about is the Muslim conquest of the United States. Are we going to allow them to colonize us and rule us (as in Britain) . . . or not?

Jul 3, 2009 - 6:28 am 49. B Spinello:

Not be banned. But effort should be made to interview women in Burkas on grounds of suspected cruelty. When such interviews reveal that some women are forced or coerced to wearing them, the perpertators of the force should be prosecuted and severely punished. –You force a woman to wear a Burqua — you go to jail, the same as if you beat her.

Jul 3, 2009 - 6:52 am 50. Joe:

This is laughable. Of course we should ban the burka. Islam is not concerned about anyone’s “rights” and for us to allow it is ridiculous. This is something that is symbolic of oppression.

Jul 3, 2009 - 6:56 am 51. Nisky:

To be in the safe side ban all the muslim and mosque if they want that stuff they can have that one somewhere else not in USA, not in my lifetime, not in my watch. ok?

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:12 am 52. SGT Ted:

AS Reynold at #45 has pointed out; wearing full masks in public to conceal the face is against the law. Islamists want to be exempt from laws the rest of us follow; they want a Separate and Unequal legal code for themselves within our country. The “freedom of religion” arguement is a dodge; Muslim majority countries don’t allow freedom of religion. I don’t recall any Mennonites or Amish folks cutting the heads off of their daughters if they leave the faith and wear modern clothing. Muslims have done this in the USA. The burka is just one of a Muslim supremacist bigots ways to control women.

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:18 am 53. john from cinncinatti:

this reminds me of a story about a guy who asked his wife why she cut off the ends of the ham she was preparing for christmas dinner. she replied i don’t know thats how she was taught by her mother. having the mother in law in the kitchen he asked her why she did it that way. she replied i don’t know why thats the way i learned how to prepare it from my mom. well granny was in the living room so he went to ask her why she cut off the ends. she replied that when i first got married i didn’t have a pan big enough to fit the ham so i cut the ends off. TRADITIONS
why they wear burkas is probably to keep that 120 degrees of sun off of them. i have driven all day in the desert and i keep a long sleeve shirt handy to put on my left arm otherwise at the end of the day it is sunburned and it ain’t pretty. so what i gather here is that Arab men are pigs and can’t control themselves so women have to bear the brunt of their lasciviousness.
so if i find a woman in a burqa sexy does that mean she is no longer modest? when western women go to the M.E they are expected to adhere to their traditions so why does the west have to accomadate them? they don’t us.
ban the burka!

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:22 am 54. john from cinncinatti:

where exactly did the ten commandments that were in the county office go to, remember the judge who had them on the wall, in Alabama or Missisippi? yeah we can ban religious things can’t we.

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:27 am 55. Victoria Brown:

Yes BAN the Burqua. I ride a motorcycle,, and have been run out of my lane, by these
women wearing these GARBAGE BAGS!! I am sick of having to jump curbs to get out of their way.
These people should NOT be allowed to drive motor vehicles. They are a hazard on the road.
They are also a security hazard,, you cannot even tell if it’s a woman under them.

Better yet,, BAN ISLAM!!! The Infidel world,, needs to seriously study the Quran, Hadith and Sura.

Islam is a destroyer of civilizations. And our own ADVANCED WESTERN CIVILIZATION is now threatened
by this religion of death.

THEY LIE,, islam is NOT a religion of peace.

Lan Astaslem

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:49 am 56. Bob:

Islam is anti-freedom, anti-Western, anti-democracy, and anti-American. Let’s not give the apologists, the appeasers, and the enablers any excuse to tell us that Islam is a “peaceful and tolerant” religion and that a “tiny minority” of extremists and fundies are “hijacking” Islam. In fact, the majority of them are so willing to protect Islam and its worse aspects than to actually confront them head-on. Allah does not decide who should be free and who shouldn’t on Earth.

I would rather the future of America and all of humanity not be submitted totally to Islam.

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:53 am 57. Toronto Girl:

#23, do you live in the same world as the rest of us? If Moslem men wish to enslave their women in their own countries, there is little that we can do about that. However, if they come to MY COUNTRY and try to enforce their archaic laws, they should not be allowed to get away with it. Live by the rules of the country that you live in. BAN THE BURQA. Period.

Jul 3, 2009 - 8:36 am 58. memememe:

YES!!! BOOM!! YES!!!! BOOM!!!

UNLESS YOU CAN MAKE A “SHEER” BURKA….THE ANSWER WILL REMAIN,

YES!!

YEAH, WE SEE ALL THE ISLAMIC “PEACE” IN IRAN…WHEN THEY MADE IT UP, IT WAS TO BE ABOUT PEACE, MAYBE…NOT ANYMORE BOOMBOOMBOOM, KILL YOUR OWN PEOPLE, KILL YOURSELF, KILL EVERYBODY, THAT’S THEIR WAY…

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:22 am 59. Strawman:

54, I used to believe that western lefties were naive tools. It’s slowly dawning on me that they’re really closet misogynists, and under the guise of multiculturalism, bringing their misogyny out of the closet.

For left-wing closet bigots, islamism is a godsend. It gives them cover to come out and display their misogyny, homophobia, and antisemitism without fear of criticism, all while they criticize their adversaries for the same things.

Jul 3, 2009 - 9:51 am 60. Gina:

I am confused by Raseena’s “My hijab saves me a lot of the time, effort, thought and worry that would otherwise go into my dress, my hair, my skin and my make up. I think it’s a pity that while theoretically looks aren’t supposed to matter, one must spend so much time and money on them. With the hijab, looking good means looking neat and the best part is that I get to stop where others begin.”

I thought the hijab was the scarf. The women I see that wear one still have to take care of their hair, skin and clothing. I think it’s sad that she takes so little pleasure in how she looks. I quite enjoy looking good and don’t think even theoretically that looks shouldn’t matter. Of course how you present yourself to the world matters. Whether she likes it or not, how she presents herself gives me information about her which allows me to make an informed decision about how much or little interaction I want to have with her, how much or little I should trust her. We all must make judgements about the people around us and we use our eyes to do that.

So though I’m reluctant to advocate giving anymore power to the government, I do think that face masks of any kind should not be allowed in public. I fortunately live in a city where one seldom sees porta-prisons on the street, but if I see one rolling toward me I will cross the street to avoid it and will make no apologies for that. I don’t know what’s inside it and am under no obligation to assume it’s benevolent. In fact, for my own protection, which is my first right, my assumption is that it’s not.

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:07 am 61. Bill Perron:

Anyone brainwashed enough to wear one of those ridiculous blankets is to stupid to even consider the mantle of repression it represents, even if they are college educated. A college education is no guarantee of common sense or self respect. Let the ignorant, lacking in the ability to be critical thinkers, wear what they want, most of them are not very attractive anyway.
I do have a question: Why is it the Infinite Creator of the Universe only wants the female followers of Allah to wear the burka? How come the Infinite Creator of the Universe discriminates between the children ?

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:19 am 62. asdf:

Sorry George but this “fighting it only makes it stronger” bs has got to stop.

“Tolerance of evil is a crime” – Thomas Mann

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:49 am 63. Marie-Luise:

I wonder why we are fighting the Taliban if we allow such hokum in the West?

Rasheena Sherikf stated:

“In underplaying my looks, I force others to look for more in me.”

I would not even of talkin to people who disguise themselves.

Jul 3, 2009 - 10:58 am 64. Marie-Luise:

Correction: I would not even consider talking to people who disguise themselves.

Jul 3, 2009 - 11:00 am 65. Jenny Greenteeth:

The Koran does not insist on a veiled face, only that women should be modestly dressed. The use of the veil and beliefs about a woman’s face or hair only being seen by her husband or immediate family members are tribal and mostly predate Islam. Therefore there is no reason why America should not ban the burqa, niqab and jilbab.

In Britain a muslim dentist who tried to insist muslim women visiting his surgery must be veiled for reasons of propriety (yes I did say a DENTIST wanted his patients to cover their faces) has been struck off for gross professional misconduct after being censured by his profession’s regulator before for the same thing.

Muslim Dentist Omar Butt Faces Dismissal

Jul 3, 2009 - 11:20 am 66. Cat:

There is so much nonsense in Sharif’s post (#30) that it’s hard to know where to begin. But even setting aside the fact that the Koran, which is the source of Ms. Sharif’s rhapsodizing about her Creator, does in fact demand absolute unthinking obedience from its self-professed “slaves,” it’s the self-righteous “modesty” boasted of in this piece that’s most amusing.

Professor Karen Green of Monash Unversity skewered the rather pathetic conceit of “choice”-covering muslimahs most effectively:

“This brings me to the last, and perhaps most controversial of my personal reflections on Islam and feminism. Muslim women claim to wear the headscarf, or other more voluminous covering, out of modesty. I suspect that, in fact, the veil is attractive to women because it subtly appeals to their vanity. Islam tells women that, no matter how plain, old or ill-favoured she is, the sight of her uncovered hair will be so stimulating, that any man who sees it will lose control of his passions. Thus, beneath her modest covering, a Muslim woman can imagine herself the most desirable creature possible. Women who operate freely in society, conversing with men on a daily basis, are, in the end, forced to form a just assessment of their desirability. Unless she is particularly young and pretty, a woman will be made well aware of most men’s indifference to her charms. She will find, in the long run, that likeable men will like her as much for her character, skills and wit, as for her beauty. It is when woman’s sexuality is not shrouded that it ceases to be an object of mystery and passion to men, and women have the greatest chance of being treated as more than sexual objects.

The headscarf and restrictions that Muslim women adopt lead to the strangest pantomimes when a man approaches. Coverings that have been laid aside among other women have to be hastily donned, emphasising, rather than reducing, the sexualisation of male-female relations. But, in order for women to operate as equals in the public sphere, it has to be assumed that the bulk of interactions between men and women are non-sexual. Muslim women are wrong if they think that the headscarf prevents them from being treated as sex objects. In fact it confirms that that is their social status.”

Ms. Green’s thoughtful analysis is well worth reading in its entirety.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/17/1073878073592.html

Jul 3, 2009 - 12:02 pm 67. Marie-Luise:

Nr. 61 – @Jenny Greentheeth

“Dress code dentist can practise”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/8133766.stm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhjnAVnY5ns

Jul 3, 2009 - 2:54 pm 68. sheik yer'mami:

The biggest fallacy is that many in the West believe Muslims that the freedom sack is a matter of “choice”- that is simply not the case. Once it is permitted and the numbers of Muslims increase, as the Muslim ghettos expand, we will see more ‘no-go zones”, police will give up patrolling these areas, and non- muslims will be forced out. Women who don’t cover up will be assaulted or spat at, there will be more honor killings precisely because there are women who refuse to wear this abominable “portable seclusion”. No, except in some isolated cases of western ‘reverts’ who somehow found ‘allah’, the burka is never a matter of choice, but forced on these women in all kinds of ways of coercion. We, our society, will be doing them a favor to ban it. But either way we lose, because we don’t want government to interfere or ban things, but if we don’t, our society will be even more contaminated.
Ban Muslim immigration!

Jul 3, 2009 - 4:15 pm 69. usafirst:

If these women choose not to wear it, there is no law to make them. It is clearly their choice. They need to stand up for themselves, if they do the law is on their side.
It would be unconstitutional to ban the burka. It is as simple as that. If you think it is a good idea, you are pretty much an un-American fascist, or just plain ignorant. These are the same laws that preserve your freedoms as well. The United States does not endorse any particular religious beliefs, we are clearly a secular country. If you impose restrictions on Islam, you might as well on Judaism, Christianity, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. There is NO difference.

Jul 3, 2009 - 6:07 pm 70. eco delsol:

The Burqa hides the identity of the person behind. If the burqa is allowed in the USA, then the Potato sack should also be allowed. Any mask should be allowed. I, myself, would like to wear a clown mask on my next driver’s license.

thank you

eco

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:07 pm 71. eco delsol:

seriously, common sense is in order with this topic.

Jul 3, 2009 - 7:08 pm 72. jw:

#23: Clothing is regulated in most places. In most places, in the United States and Canada, except for nudist colonies, clothing is required, even on beaches and swiming pools. The burka is a threat to everyone, even more than the hoods of the old Ku Klux Klan, since anyone can hide in them. Being black, they are also useless in hot countries like Saudi Arabia, since black absorbs heat. They are unhealthy. Etc.
The notion that women want to look attractive just in order to attract men is ridiculous. Most people want to look attractive, it is mark of respect for others. And don’t men dress so as to be attractive to women? The Muslim obsession with sex makes it seem that all Muslim men are like Harpo Marx, jumping after any woman, with no self-control. They cannot respect women as persons – I feel sorry for their wives and daughters.

Jul 3, 2009 - 8:16 pm 73. Tamara:

This is not an issue of “cultural tolerance” but of women’s freedom. Ms. Chesler does an excellent job of demonstrating the the burka is an actual, physical limitation on women – not just symbolic.

Would making the burka illegal be the best way to eradicate it? Would the suppression of the burka become a rallying point for extremists, who would get sympathy on grounds of “religious freedom”? That is my worry. I would LOVE to see the burka banned. But would that backfire?

Jul 3, 2009 - 8:23 pm 74. Raseena Sherif:

As a Muslim Lady, I want to say certain things:
There are lots of misconceptions about MUSLIM WOMEN in West, let me make things clear:

1. Western media needs to do survey of Muslim countries to find out real picture, it shouldn’t be Biased.
2. Read Chapter NISA(Women) from holy Quran, it speaks about Women Rights, to Property, Education, Work, Liberty and freedom of thought and speech.
3. 50% of Business in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is headed by Muslim Women, Read Arab News.
4. There was no Women American President, but Muslim countries had Female leaders like Benazir Bhutto, Khalida zia, sheik Haseena, Megawati Sukhano putri of Indonesia
5. TALIBAN and ALQUIDA don’t represent Islam, there are the monsters created by USA(CIA) Pakistan to counter communism and Soviet block.
6. Through out Islamic History there were great Muslim female leaders like Razia sultana, Ayeaha, MAriyam, Khadeeja, Fatima, Juveriya etc
7. Islam doesn’t restrict female from driving Cars, Saudi Law does, in Islamic history Female warriors rode horses and waged wars.
8. BURQA is no sign of slavery, but sign of Protectiona nd Modesty.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:31 am 75. Raseena Sherif:

As a Muslim women, I love to wear a Burqa, as it is the symbol of Modesty, Islamic belief, and I have every right to wear it, no one can stop me from wearing it.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:33 am 76. Raseena Sherif:

As a Muslim Lady, I want to say certain things: NO One can stop me from wearing Burqa, it is my Religious, right, it is my Fundamental and Birth right.
There are lots of misconceptions about MUSLIM WOMEN in West, let me make things clear:

1. Western media needs to do survey of Muslim countries to find out real picture, it shouldn’t be Biased.
2. Read Chapter NISA(Women) from holy Quran, it speaks about Women Rights, to Property, Education, Work, Liberty and freedom of thought and speech.
3. 50% of Business in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is headed by Muslim Women, Read Arab News.
4. There was no Women American President, but Muslim countries had Female leaders like Benazir Bhutto, Khalida zia, sheik Haseena, Megawati Sukhano putri of Indonesia
5. TALIBAN and ALQUIDA don’t represent Islam, there are the monsters created by USA(CIA) Pakistan to counter communism and Soviet block.
6. Through out Islamic History there were great Muslim female leaders like Razia sultana, Ayeaha, MAriyam, Khadeeja, Fatima, Juveriya etc
7. Islam doesn’t restrict female from driving Cars, Saudi Law does, in Islamic history Female warriors rode horses and waged wars.
8. BURQA is no sign of slavery, but sign of Protectiona nd Modesty.

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:35 am 77. Marie Claude:

http://muslimsvoiceofamerica.com/blog/2009/06/french-intolerance-towards-burqas/

got this american muslim follower on my Twitt

umm, what do do think ? they just don’t want that we stop them

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:14 am 78. Gina:

There is no right in this society to disguise your identity in public. It is a matter of public safety. Masks designed to prevent identification should not be allowed and in fact are not allowed in many banks and other places of business.

This is not a theocratic state. The US Constitution clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” The intent was that there would be no state sponsored religion, no preference accorded any one religion faith, its teaching or practice.

“…or the free exercise thereof” which was interpreted (in 1990, Employment Division v. Smith) to mean that a law that does not target a particular religious practice does not violate the Free Practice clause.

Since wearing a mask in public to hide the wearer’s identity is not a particular religious practice, it is not a “right” protected by our law.

There are many theocratic states where religious law trumps civil law. This is not one of them.

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:29 am 79. LivefromEPTexas:

Let’s see…
I propose that we make the Students at Bob Jones University not wear such uptight, constrictive clothing. In Fact, Cleavage bearing leg showing clothes for the women…and for the men…yeah, for the men, keep your code the same as it is now.
Thank you

Jul 4, 2009 - 8:45 am 80. KA:

Dr Ali Sina, an ex muslim, explains the origin of the burqa in his book:
Origin of burqa:

http://www.faithfreedom.org/book.htm

“In the later years of his life Muhammad was affected by acromegaly, a disease caused by excessive production of a growth hormone, resulting in large bones, cold and fleshy hands and feet and coarse facial features such as enlarged lips, nose and tongue. Acromegaly occurs after the age of 40 and usually kills the patient in his early 60s. It causes impotence, while it increases libido. This explains Muhammad’s sexual vagaries in his old age and why in the later years of his life he had such an insatiable craving for sex. He would visit all his 9 wives in one night to touch and fondle them, without being satisfied. His impotence explains his insecurity, paranoia, and intense jealousy of his young wives. He ordered them to cover themselves, lest other men would cast a lusting eye on them. Today, half a billion Muslim women veil themselves, because Muhammad was impotent. Muhammad’s illnesses explain a lot of mysteries of Islam.”

Jul 4, 2009 - 9:30 am 81. Carol:

Ms. Chesler – As always, an excellent, thought-provoking piece. I have mixed feelings (as a result, did not vote) about this question. The U.S. is not a country that should prohibit religious freedom or expression. On the other hand, the burqa does appear to be a unique case among religious clothes and deserves special scrutiny as a result. Perhaps the answer lies more in issues you have raised in many of your writing, which focus on women’s rights, health issues and such rather than the religious aspect of it. And if those whose expsertise is in Islam can’t agree on whether the burqa is required for Muslim women, I surely have no hope of sorting it out for myself! This is truly a very very compelling question: How does a free democracy handle a situation where an immigrant group wears a type of attire that has all the problems already stated? Our guiding principles as a free country would tell us we cannot ban the burqa. Yet there are other factors at play here that cause me to revisit this immediate reaction to realize we’re treading on delicate and difficult ground. I look forward to more of your writing on this.

PS Mr. Pipes comment about modesty is wonder! Yes, it should be modest!

Jul 4, 2009 - 12:17 pm 82. I blame Bush:

*71:

“As a Muslim women, I love to wear a Burqa, as it is the symbol of Modesty, Islamic belief, and I have every right to wear it, no one can stop me from wearing it.”

That’s gtreat Raseena. Go for it. No-one in America can stop you from wearing what you want to in your private life.

Trouble is, for every one of you, there are 99 women who wear the Burqua because their husbands/fathers/brothers would beat the crap out of them (or worse) if they didn’t.

By the way, you go on about rights. Question: should your sisters in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc etc have the enforceable right NOT to be veiled??

(Deafening silence from Rasheena)

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:20 pm 83. Michael Lonie:

I do not think that we ought to ban burkhas here in the USA. If a Muslim woman wants to wear such an outlandish garment in pursuit of her vision of what the Lord demands of her, it’s her choice as far as I am concerned.

Now for a couple of caveats. She should be willing to forgo driver’s licences and other photo identity cards useful for life in these United States because wearing a face veil counteracts the whole purpose of such things, to be able to identify the person from the photo. There is also the public safety factor of her trying to drive with obscured vision, including peripheral vision. The devout Muslim lady will undoubtedly accept these restrictions cheerfully as necessary consequences of her devotion, much as the Amish avoid cars. Won’t you Sayyidah Sherif?

Then there is the question of whether or not the apparel is donned volutarily. Mark Steyn reported in his book “America Alone” hearing from non-Muslim women he knew in London and Amsterdam, that they went out covered in Muslim dress. They found that this resulted in Muslim men no longer harassing and threatening them. I also saw a film, shown to us by our teacher from the Yemen, of Arab women discussing hijab among themselves. One, at least, expressed the view that wearing it was the only way to avoid being raped. If a woman wants to cover herself that is one thing. If she is doing so because she is being threatened if she does not that is quite another, and should never be tolerated here, any more than Muslim polygamy should be tolerated. Such complaints should be taken seriously and acted on, not like in the UK where I have read that when they get complaints about Muslim men threatening or beating Muslim women the police send around a couple of Muslim officers, who will explain to the woman that she should keep quiet if she knows what is good for her.

My Arabic teacher told our class that the Qur’an did not require the full covering, only that a woman should “veil her ornaments.” She took this to mean wearing a headscarf and a long dress down to her ankles. I eventually had to point out to her that in a Muslim majority state it would not be her opinion that mattered, it would be the opinion of the (wholly male) ulema and other men in a position to make their opinions felt. It seems likely to me that if it was not for the Commission for the Prevention of Virtue and Promotion of Vice in the Wahhabist Entity(I think I’ve got the actual functions they perform correctly described here) there would be a lot of discarded burkhas there, and if not for Muslim Brotherhood snitches and goons in Egypt a lot fewer covered women there.

Oh, and Sayyidah Sherif, the Talilban and al-Qaeda have nothing to do with the CIA, since they were formed only years after the US stopped supporting the Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion, since the USSR had been driven out of Afghanistan and we agreed, as part of the agreement by which they withdrew, to stop our own contributions. The Taliban were the work of the Pakistani ISI Bureau, and al-Qaeda that of jihadist devotees (mainly from Egypt and the Wahhabist Entity) of monstrous arrogance and vanity. I’m glad to see you denounce them, since if Muslims follow them the jihadists will lead the Muslims to Hell, or a very close approximation of it.

Jul 4, 2009 - 3:38 pm 84. Mike Giles:

Isn’t it the religious duty of Christians to spread the word of God? How’s that working in Muslim countries? Bibles? Yarmulkas? Tell Islam that the west will start respecting their “religious/cultural” practices, when they start respecting everyone elses.

If we accept Burkas, what’s next? Polygamy? Genital mutilation? The occasional Honor Killing?

Wear a scarf if you must. No Burkas. No Veils

It isn’t the custom of this country. If you can’t adapt, leave. Oh, and take any Western women who argues for the “right” to wear a burka with you.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:08 pm 85. Mike Giles:

Yes, Raseena Sherif. I’ve no doubt that, once upon a time, there were blacks ready to tell the master how happy they were to be his slaves.

Jul 4, 2009 - 6:13 pm 86. maak:

No. Especially not at the federal level. Any adult woman in America that’s wearing it is most likely wearing it by choice. And if her husband is encouraging it, well, she chose her husband! If the security issue is that important then we should also outlaw Halloween costumes and those funny animal costumes people wear when they advertise clearance sales. I tend to draw the line at the state level where issues like drivers license and state ID photos come into play. And of course, the private sector has a right to enforce their own dress codes.

Jul 4, 2009 - 7:13 pm 87. I blame Bush:

#82 Maak:

“Any adult woman in America that’s wearing it is most likely wearing it by choice.”

Come off it.

Jul 4, 2009 - 10:14 pm 88. leigh:

Modesty comes from within and is not created or enhanced by hiding behind a sheet. Muslims like Raseena are ignorant of Yeshua’s teachings that it is what comes out of a man or woman’s heart that makes him or her unclean (not what they eat or impliedly how they look)
Wearing a hijab or burka doesn’t fool or impress Yahweh.
As Dr Ali Sina wrote the practice arose out of polygamy practised by Mohammad a destructive anti woman practice that is a patriarchal tool for the oppression of women.

Jul 4, 2009 - 10:23 pm 89. Marie Claude:

“Malalai Joya: the woman MP who dares to defy Afghanistan’s warlord rulers

My father always said he could spot me in any crowd of women wearing burqas because I walk like a penguin. You have no peripheral vision because of the netting in front of your eyes — and it’s hot and suffocating under there.

The most useful thing about these long blue robes is that you can hide schoolbooks and other forbidden objects beneath them. Under the Taliban I also appreciated the anonymity of the burqa when I had to walk to and from the illicit lessons I gave for girls.”

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6634124.ece

A German man outside of a Dresden, Germany, courtroom stabbed a 32-year-old Egyptian woman to death on Wednesday after she had won a defamation case against the man

Sherbini had filed a case against her killer, Alex, a 28-year unemployed German of Russian descent, in August 2008, after he had called her a “terrorist” on a Dresden street because she wears the higab – the Islamic headscarf that covers the hair.

The murder comes as Europe is in the midst of a battle over what Muslim women can wear.

http://www.egyptdailynews.com/news%20marwa.htm

Jul 5, 2009 - 12:09 am 90. sugga:

wow…some of you burka lovers have problems..’

Maybe women love it to hide their shabby shape, not take care of themselves, slovenly ways… helga eyebrows, nothing to do ith religion.

As I have read everywhere there is nothing in the Koran about you must wear this or that…what??? Allah picked out color and design??? only for women??? he’s prejudice???

Get a life girls, it’s to control you!!! God/Allah loves you even naked.

The subject is silly. This is america, if you want to wear a burka go back where you were completely opressed in your own house by a bunch of men. don’t bring your problems here. the only sin is allowing religion to control your common sense.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:58 am 91. maak:

83. I blame Bush:

“Come off it.”

I suppose you think these women are either retarded or under hypnosis? Adults make decisions all the time that we disagree with or may be unhealthy for them. Do we need a nanny state to protect them from themselves?

Jul 5, 2009 - 8:42 am 92. Shine The Light:

ISLAM: SAVAGE BARBARIC SATANIC CULT
STARTED BY A MENTALLY-ILL ORPHAN GANGSTER

The websites below (with some muslim contributors) quote the exact chapters and
verses in the Koran which repeatedly tells its followers to loot, terrorize and kill people of
other religions (esp. Christians and Jews) for no reason except their religion, and convert
infidels by the sword. They also tell you the shocking truth about the robberies, violent,
gangster life, pedophilia and mental problems of Islam’s founder (that led Aloys Sprenger,
a noted historian to conclude that he was “psychopath”, which, orphans can become) as
described IN THEIR OWN “RELIGIOUS” TEXTS:

http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/index.html

http://www.prophetofdoom.net/

FABRICATING THE KORAN AND PALMING IT OFF AS ‘ALLAH’S WORDS’

Muslims are brainwashed into suicidal violence by the booze-and-porno heaven
promised in the Koran as a reward for killing infidels which they are conned into
believing is the “word of Allah”. However many reputed Islamic scholars discovered that
Koran, a disogranized text replete with grammatical errors, childish inconsistencies and
obvious falsehoods was actually fabricated 200-300 years after Mohammad’s death by
“multiple hands”, and is pulp fiction and obviously not the word of God:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/denis_giron/multiple.html

For more details on Koran’s authorship, including names of the various writers and poets
involved in writing the Koran, see:

http://www.islam-
watch.org/AbulKasem/WhoAuthoredQuran/who_authored_the_quran.htm

These authors of the Koran copied and plagiarized ideas (such as monetheism,
circumcision, hatred of idol-worship, prophets, day of judgment) and many other myths,
customs (black robes for Rabbi/Mullah, beards, headdress), legends and fables from
Jewish mythology (e.g. Torah), and from the Christian Bible which were the prevalent
religions of the region, and then claimed a heavenly source (”revelation”) to cover up
their plagiarism. Books by authors such as Gieger (”Judaism and Islam”), Tisdall
(”Original Source of Koran”), Goldsack (”Origins of the Koran”) and by Charles Cutler
Torrey (”The Jewish Foundation of Islam”) are available online and show the exact verses
which are copied from their Jewish/Christian sources.

A noted Islamic scholar, who compared the modern Koran to the older versions,
found many inconsistencies between versions. For e.g., the 72 alleged virgins (hoori)
promised to terrorists in heaven is a mistranslation of 72 raisins (hoor) from older
versions, due to misplaced diatrical marks on these similar sounding words, as reported in
the New York Times. See:

http://www.rim.org/muslim/qurancrit.htm

These sites are a must-read to understand the deep, religious roots of Islamic
terrorism which spans over a thousand years, and which has been spread through sheer
terror and force and which led to slaughter of over a billion innocents in the Middle east,
Africa, Sind, Kashmir, India, Chechnya, Indonesia, WTC, Phillippines, etc., many 1000
times more than Mao, Pol-Pot, Stalin or any other tyrant ever in history. These sites help
you understand how the mullahs, Muslim tyrants and children’s textbooks in Saudi Arabia
and Egypt, have been conning ordinary Muslims and the world by covering up the lies,
forgeries and plagiarism from Jewish sources in the Koran and the shocking life and
crimes of Islam’s founder, and why giving visas or selling weapons or doing any business
with these savages is like digging your own grave and why the world must unite and
eradicate this savage medieval satanic barbaric cult for mankind to finally live in peace
and harmony.

Jul 5, 2009 - 9:46 am 93. Judy, NYC:

the burqa should be banned as well as the people who love them.

Jul 5, 2009 - 10:08 am 94. joeblough:

America should ban jihaddis.

Get rid of the jihaddis and enforce American laws, and all the other problems will resolve themselves with time.

And above all, stop bending over backwards to avoid mohammedan complaints. If they don’t like how we do things, let them go home.

All organizations that have the faintest, vaguest suggestion of a tenuous iffy connection to the jihad should be banned and their members deported immediately.

The burka? Wearing one is grounds for suspicion.

And it should be prohibited to wear masks in government buildings, secured places (banks etc), and schools.

For private establishments to refuse admission to persons wearing masks should be perfectly legal.

We could do all that without violating any of the basic American ground rules of life.

And the whole problem would resolve itself in a couple of years.

Jul 5, 2009 - 11:28 am 95. Reclass:

82 Maak

“And if her husband is encouraging it, well, she chose her husband!”

Pardon?

Jul 5, 2009 - 5:51 pm 96. lefty:

I think they wear it because it is a shield. It covers all the flaws of a woman that doesn’t care. It doesn’t matter. If where you are says No Coverings…then No Coverings. Islam does not require the burka, it a choice. Maybe in their home country their family demands it, but not here.

Quit fleeing one place and coming here and trying to make it exactly like the place you left. I agree, if you do not like American law, leave. we have to protect ourselves and our children from these people.

Jul 5, 2009 - 6:54 pm 97. Anglo Unity:

The burqa is totally oppressive and demeaning fashion – as well as a convenient method of concealment for a terrorist. Allowing anyone to wear a burqa in this country only opens the door to other Islamic perversions. Allowing Islamics in this country is also a major mistake. Hopefully we’ll get wise and someday deport anyone who advocates any sort of Islamic practices in the U.S.

Jul 5, 2009 - 10:19 pm 98. Douglas Johnston:

No, the burqa should not be banned, except in situations where it could directly endanger the public safety. It’s a freedom of expression and religion issue and pretty much a no-brainer to me.

Jul 5, 2009 - 10:36 pm 99. I blame Bush:

#89 maak:

“I suppose you think these women are either retarded or under hypnosis?”

No – under compulsion. In 99 cases out of 100.

Jul 6, 2009 - 12:31 am 100. Freedom is Just Another Word:

#74: For all the reasons you list, I can list the reasons why Muslim women are treated worse than pigs. Beatings, honor killings, etc. In Sudan, women are beat openly by their husbands in public. While it is true that there is an epidemic of spouse abuse here in the USA; it is “accepted” in the Muslim world and reasoned that the woman should be more obedient and submissive.

While you state that you are free to wear your headscarf, I ask if you are free to choose not to wear it? I am free to choose.

Are you free to go to another church or to study another religion? I am free to attend any church, mass, synagogue, or mosque…and to switch to any religious idea I want…and my family and friends will not shun or disown me and my government will not jail me.

My government does not require I carry a “religion card” such as those carried in Muslim countries; and depending on what infraction I do…a different law will be broken and punishment applied.

I think all should read the book, “Why the French don’t like headscarves; Islam, the State, and Public Space.”

Jul 6, 2009 - 6:19 am 101. maak:

93. Reclass:
Pardon?

97. I blame Bush:
No – under compulsion. In 99 cases out of 100.

OK. Can anyone show me a FEDERAL law that outlaws and punishes the VICTIM of Stockholm Syndrome? Can anyone show me a FEDERAL law that prohibits Fundamentalist Mormon women from wearing long skirts and long underwear in the hot sun out west? And if it’s a modesty thing…well… I can tell you if they outlawed clothes, I don’t look that great in my birthday suit. I’d probably stay indoors all the time and order everything off the Internet. Last time I looked at the Constitution, the 1st Amendment said, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…”. State or local exceptions based public safety or photo IDs I can support but dress codes enforced by the Federal Govt is just plain scary.

Jul 6, 2009 - 7:06 am 102. Al Rasooli:

#8 by Avi puts it clearly & simply; these hideous repressive “garments” were useful to women in extremely primitive, violent and backward societies. Obviously with the help of Islam it’s possible that America could eventually become such a place in which case by then the burka could actually be useful! Meanwhile it is most definitely not desirable and its growing use is a political (not religious) and antagonistic tactic used as part of a range of on-going Jihadist measures to soften-up and weaken the West.

As for post # 23 by “Linda”; thank you for that utterly confusing and devious piece of deceit! Your last line with your two near puns on “bann” and “wear” shows just how confused you are!

“Linda” doesn’t yet seem to have yet completely mastered the art of “Taqiya” (Islamic subterfuge or lying to confuse the “Kuffar” which is all of us) despite progressing significantly towards it by claiming she’s a Christian woman yet one who prides herself on owning a burqa! She of course also throws in a typical red-herring about the bible probably without the slightest knowledge of what it really contains (as reading the bible and developing actual knowledge of anything is strictly prohibited by Islam).

I highly recommend a characteristically quirky yet brilliant performance on YouTube by Pat Condell (off beat and very sharp indeed) called “Ban the burka“ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlkxlzTZc48

Jul 6, 2009 - 7:45 am 103. Al Rasooli:

Dear Raseena Sherif,

I have read your comments (posts 39, 70, 71 & 72) with a great deal of interest especially since I have been studying & researching the subjects of Muhammad’s Quran, his Sunna, Ahadith & Tafsir for more than 25 years in ARABIC my mother tongue.

Let me address your more important comments one by one:

1. You speak about the Hijab & Burka as if they are words describing a woman’s attire in the Quran. It is obvious to me that you do not understand Arabic nor have you comprehended the verses of the Quran –in any language- because there is NOT a SINGLE verse in the Quran that uses the word HIJAB or NIQAB as a covering for the women of Islam. No such AYA or SURA exists in the Quran. Period. How then, as a ‘practicing Muslim’ misinform the readers?

2. The Hijab & Niqab are NOT symbols of the Islamic faith but a Political ‘in your face’ announcement in our democracies.

3. 99.999999% of women in the non- Islamic world are NEVER groped on buses, trains, cars, planes or ships. This unfortunately is not the case in Muhammadan Muslim countries.

4. As a woman claiming to be so full of knowledge about Islam please tell me why Al Tirmid & al Maududi assert that all women should be covered because they are like a “genital” that tempts Satan? (The implication is all MALE Muhammadan Muslims are like savage animals and are completely unable to control their most basic impulses and desires – this might be true in Islamic countries where that sort of male behaviour is greatly admired and encouraged but it is most certainly not the case in the “West”).

5. Why does Muhammad’s Sunna consider women DEFICIENT in INTELLECT? Specifically “half the intellect of a Man”? That MOST of the denizens of HELL are allegedly WOMEN? That the WORST thing he leaves his MALE followers are WOMEN?

6. In Islam a man may marry up to four “full time” wives, and in addition he is entitled to as many “temporary wives” as he likes. By contrast in Islam a woman is “owned” by a particular man. If she so much as glances at another man, let alone spends a moment privately in his company (even if in complete innocence) she risks the most dire and appalling consequences.

7. The Quran instructs that the husband has the right to BEAT his wife if she disobeys him. Furthermore he is told he can have SEX with her, WHEN, WHERE & HOW he wants. The concept, for example, of “rape within marriage” is totally meaningless in Islam.

8. Sharia allows that he can DIVORCE her at will. However if she wants to divorce him she must get his AGREEMENT first. The husband decides who her friends should be. Her husband can forbid her from seeing her parents if he so chooses. A woman cannot act as a witness in court unless a second woman is also available; in Sharia the witness of TWO women is required as one on her own is not considered intelligent enough.

9. The women victims of RAPE are accused of UNCHASTITY and hence found guilty and STONED to death. Technically, the only minuscule chance a woman might have if rapped is if she can somehow find FOUR (!!!) INDEPENDENT MALE WITNESSES who all ACTUALLY SAW her being raped.

10. You are WRONG to tell us that Osama & the Taliban are NOT true ‘Muslims’. In fact they are the most PERFECT Muslims. They are the JIHADI warriors of Muhammadan Islam. They are not RADICAL. They are the most perfect NORMAL Muhammadan Muslims. The RADICALS are the ones who want to CO EXIST with other human beings without Jihad (life without Jihad is a revolutionary and hard-to-grasp idea for Muhammadan Muslims).

11. Not a fraction of the women wearing the Hijab or Burka would do so had they not first been TERRORISED & SUBJUGATED.

12. I can go on & on but the above suffices to show that the only thing LIBERATED about you is your INTELLECT.

Incidentally, you mention in the middle of you first (and longest) post, numbered 39, that “In the Quran, we are repeatedly asked to use our brains, and to think for ourselves”. As already mentioned I have personally studied the Quran intensely for over two decades (in Arabic) and can assure you I have never come across such a passage. Perhaps if there are so many – as you assert – you could list a few such references so we can start checking them for ourselves?

On the other hand the Quran defines “knowledge” (ILM) in the most narrow and limited sense possible – i.e. ONLY in the context of Islamic theories and dogma. Every other form of knowledge, i.e. real knowledge as most of humanity understands the concept, is heavily discourage especially if it might lead to questioning any of the many absurd precepts of Islam (such as why women must be treated worse than domesticated animals and “owned” by men largely for sex and procreation).

Islam of course means submission, i.e. to indignities like having to wear burkas and to living without questioning and accepting that there are no answers and that nothing can improve or progress.

I Q al Rassooli

Please feel free to listen on YouTube to my talks on:

(a) Women in Islam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW5RylDv0mM

(b) The Hijab http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-BkyFvdA24

Index page for all talks: http://www.al-Rassooli.com/AhmadsQuran3

Jul 6, 2009 - 7:47 am 104. Strawman:

Can anyone show me a FEDERAL law that outlaws and punishes the VICTIM of Stockholm Syndrome?

Red herring. The code of the clan is enforced by death penalty. They call this “honor” killing. The law’s irrelevant where it’s ignored.

Jul 6, 2009 - 8:51 am 105. maak:

102. Strawman:

Can anyone show me a FEDERAL law that outlaws and punishes the VICTIM of Stockholm Syndrome?

Red herring. The code of the clan is enforced by death penalty. They call this “honor” killing. The law’s irrelevant where it’s ignored.

Red herring? Not really. Some have implied in this discussion that a woman’s thinking is wrong or she’s been mentally weakened if she wears a burqa. I think Stockholm Syndrome is an example of a distorted mind, like an abused woman that justifies her husband’s beatings. I don’t believe “black eyes”, a symbol or possible indication of that abuse, is illegal. We don’t put beaten women in jail for having a black eye.

The question was, “Should America Ban the Burqa?” In America, if a woman feels threatened with abuse or death, she can get on the phone and call the nearest women’s shelter for protection. Then, she can find an attorney to file for divorce and even sue her husband for denying her civil rights. She could probably find someone who’d do it pro bono. She won’t do that?… we’re back to a messed up mind. It’s not illegal to have a messed up mind.

“The law’s irrelevant where it’s ignored.” However, I do agree somewhat with this statement. It seems useless to make and try to enforce a law that would likely be ignored in American Muslim enclaves. We’d be rounding up the burqa ladies along with the prostitutes. Imagine that jail holding cell…

BTW, it IS against the law in America for a man to murder a female family member for any reason. I suppose I could be wrong but I can’t image that the City of Dearborn (for example) would endorse honor killings.

Jul 6, 2009 - 10:17 am 106. Al Rassooli:

Thank you “Shine The Light” for post #90!

You could add to your list my own website:

http://www.al-rassooli.com/AhmadsQuran3/

where completely for free you can steadily listen thru some 250 or more talks I give based on more than 2 decades of intensive (and completely unfunded) work by me into this filthy, evil and totally perverse cult.

The most extraordinary thing is that despite patiently and politely explaining to them how deeply flawed and offensive their so-called “religion” is, and despite the fact that NONE of them have any coherent thing to say in its defence (or any sensible or intelligible – let alone valid – thing to say in contradiction of the many important points I make) the vast majority of them still cling on desperately and blindly to all of their appalling lies and nonsense!

If only they could listen objectively to some of my talks and resist their usual stupid angry outbursts when confronted with reality, instead allowing themselves (even for a few minutes) to actually question all the deeply absurd and highly damaging “values” at the core of their cult then there might be a chance for them to escape it.

The sad thing is they are mostly too afraid, and too successfully indoctrinated to let go of their madness.

Kind Regards,
al Rassooli

Jul 6, 2009 - 10:29 am 107. Abu Infidel:

Government should not ban the wearing of the burqa, however, if a law banning face masks is in place, then the burqas must come off. People have a right to wear what they please and businesses have the right to ban anyone who doesn’t meet their dress code.

I find a teenager with 10 piercings in his face to be far more offensive than a lady in a blue burlap sack.

It’s a matter of taste.

Jul 6, 2009 - 10:48 am 108. Francesca:

The one thing that continues to be missed out in all the debates on whether or not to allow burkas, hijabs etc, is the infringement on the human rights of muslim (and hindu) schoolgirls to participate in any sporting activity that requires exposure of arms and/or legs. Until these girls can completely enjoy the freedoms experienced by their liberated peers they will not have the confidence to stand up to controlling husbands or modernise their offsprings’ attitudes. So let’s not ban the burka but pass laws in all western countries insisting that all schoolgirls whatever their denomination should participate in PE in standard PE kit at school.

Jul 6, 2009 - 1:49 pm 109. Geoff King:

Muslim males are motivated by Muhammad’s sex drive (the perfect man according to Qur’an) who apparently had no control over his libido; marrying over a dozen wives and raping his endless supply of sex slaves. Muslim women need to cover themselves, otherwise a Muslim man may inadvertently glimpse her hair and go sexually berzerk. This is why Muslim women say they cover themselves for “PROTECTION”.

Jul 6, 2009 - 3:22 pm 110. I.Rawa:

For all the women who tried to free themselves of a barbaric practice and in the act of doing so lost their lives by the hands of their fathers, or other kin. For these women had the ban been brought to fruition they would be alive today to enjoy the Western lifestyle, to visit Fashionable hotels and buildings, to shop freely for whatever they want to wear. What choice did Aqsa Parvez have? What choice did Sarah and Amina have? It’s the religious fundamentalist mullahs, or the ayatollah’s or the Bin Laden’s who get upset when Westerner stand up to help those in need of freedom. And yet, we side with them and get upset with them.

Jul 6, 2009 - 4:07 pm 111. Reclass:

Maak @101

Merely questioning your assertion that burqa wearing women typically have a free choice of husbands. Maybe you were being ironic and I missed it.

Jul 7, 2009 - 12:56 am 112. ocularb0b:

First of all NO. They should not ban the burqa. But it’s a fairly moot point since it would be a massive violation of the constitution. Frankly I find this entire article poorly conceived and even more poorly written. All people are, and should be free to wear whatever they want for whatever reason. I started shaking my head as soon as I saw the title of this article and by the end I felt sad for the fool who wrote it. The citing of health risks is hilarious, Growing up on fast food and soda is factors more damaging, and is not cause enough to talk about a ban. Our freedoms are compromised enough. Please never write anything again, ever.

Aug 4, 2009 - 4:22 pm 113. Peter Knopfler:

Thankyou, covering the face is unacceptable anywhere at point in history. Not to be labour health and vitamin D deficiency; the Western World has communicated over the years and found face to face speaking. “I need to see how my words fall on your face for expressions and signs of participation”, especially in schools etc. Eye to Eye contact became important years ago, ” need to see your eyes so I can see if your listening or only hearing” even our pets have eye contact and facial expressions. Wake up this shouldn´t even be a question, go back to the desert where the sand needs your dress. I know! eskimo eye glasses in Hawaii. Please everyone reality is the present not the past, “Be here Now”. I have yet to hear a good reason for a veil or Berqua, can´t we find something more usefull that hiding like the Klueless Klux Klan in the USA past. thankyou Peter Knopfler

Aug 11, 2009 - 5:45 pm 114. John A.:

The Burqa must be banned. Otherwise it should be accepted if I walk around in a mask and claim it’s my religion.
Businesses should at least have the right to refuse service to anyone who has his or her face covered. What about asking for ID? Stores can ask for ID (and should) when using a credit card. Should these STUPID women have the right to refuse? Yes, you say? Well then businesses should be able to legally say no.
If I wanted to live in a backwards country then I would have moved to the middle east. In America it’s not acceptable to walk around looking like a ghost, except on Halloween.
These are STUPID traditions still held by STUPID people. WAKE UP! It’s 2009 you moron!

Oct 11, 2009 - 2:51 pm 115. Steven S.:

The good thing is in the US there are laws protecting women. As soon as these oppressed women find out that they are entitled to divorce their husbands (deviate Muslim man) AND take half his wealth you will quickly see this change.
These families SHOULD be stared at when in public (including the “man”) It’s my right to do so in America. They use this right to ridicule our women for the way they dress so shouldn’t be surprised that we can ridicule their insane traditions.
I think this will boil over into violence because these people expect everyone else to conform to their ways (or kill you, it’s in the Koran).

Oct 11, 2009 - 3:00 pm 116. ABD:

I vehemently oppose any burquah or niqu wearing muslim woman walking around the strets of the United States. I seriously do . THIS IS AMERICA! DAMNIT! They were not born here( a lot of them!) this is NOT IRAQ, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan. I have been in America ALL my natural life, and NEVER have I had to watch these hideous garbs come in to our country. UNTIL NOW. This is our country… 4-5 relgions rule this country, NOT ONE! and I, as a US taxpaying citizen will never accept burquahs, burkinis, niqus,etc… if the girl wants to walk around in the streets of America, do like the US girls do… or else face oppostion.
Thanks for your time

Nov 2, 2009 - 10:27 am 117. Chesler Chronicles » Canada To Immigrants: No Tolerance for “Honor” Killing; New Citizenship Guides Spells It Out:

[...] and the forced veiling and shrouding of girls and women, continue to dominate headlines. I have written about this many times and have, many times, suggested that the United States should also begin [...]

Nov 13, 2009 - 1:10 pm

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