51 Comments

1. Tina Trent:

“Not wearing the veil” may not be “a victory for the West,” but Dr. Chesler’s leadership on this issue, not least exposing us to these voices, is a tribute to the universal value of valuing women, and an example of what true feminism is when it is in capable hands.

Oct 7, 2009 - 12:09 pm 2. Gail:

Egypt? LOL, LOL, LOL! So, what’s the punch line?
I have seen first hand how the Egyptian men really think and this is a pipe dream or, a perfectly set agenda!

Oct 7, 2009 - 12:57 pm 3. Ken Besig Israel:

While I largely support women’s emancipation and empowerment, I have mixed feelings about applying these ideas to Arab and Moslem women. At best these are primitive, ignorant, and very violent societies, certainly among the men, and there is no reason for me to believe that if their women are freed from their all too real bondage to learn, develop, and grow that they too will not become just as primitive, ignorant, and even more violent than the men. As an Israeli Jew my family and I have had more than enough experience with the bitter, violent, and often murderous anti Semitism common and accepted among Arab and Moslem men, not to mention Arab Christians, as well. I have also seen how Arab and Moslem women have been drafted into the terrorist networks to maim and murder innocent Jews here in Israel, and how those even moderately emancipated Arab and Moslem women are even more rabid in their hatred of Jews than their men are. Frankly I am happy to see that the Arabs and the Moslems are keeping half of their populations in state of servitude, ignorance, and bondage. We Israeli Jews have a hard enough time staying ahead of the Arab and Moslem men who are working overtime to kill every Jew they can get their filthy hands on.

Oct 7, 2009 - 1:10 pm 4. judy nyc:

i concur wih ken besig #3. i really don’t give a damn about these jew haters, female or male. i hope they suffocate in their ridiculous burqas. only in bizarro world would anyone be allowed to walk around with a bag over their heads, unidentified. we can thank the obamanation for enabling these lowlifes here, in our country.

Oct 7, 2009 - 1:54 pm 5. George Jochnowitz:

As you wrote, Phyllis, “the Egyptian government is unhappy about the gathering forces of Islamic fundamenalism.” Egypt, the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood, has much to fear from groups that want to destroy its leaders and replace them with extremists. This fear has led Egypt to make a decision which happens to improve the lives of its women a tiny bit. It is ironic that extremists have led Egypt to take a step away from extremism. Serves the extremists right.

Oct 7, 2009 - 2:30 pm 6. Ruvy:

Dear Dr. Chesler,

At Desicritics, a site where some of my own articles have appeared, a woman blogging under the name Kim, an Indian who presently resides in Egypt, and according to her, “blogs on a variety of subjects on her many blogs: Egypt, Restaurant Reviews, her alma mater, Mumbai & other stuff Currently she is in Egypt among the pyramids, bedouin & camels….” has written a book review on “The Poison Tree”, which is evidently downloadable for free.

According to Kim,

The book is written in a semi disjointed “part blog-part diary-part letter” fashion and someone who is used to a structured flow when reading, may start out feeling a bit disconcerted. But if you persevere you can gain some insights into Egytian culture, sexuality, morality and society. The unifying theme of the book revolves around gender stereotypes, dating and marriage and how men and women are held to different standards in society. While this may be true across the world, it is more pronounced in Egypt.

While I personally have no interest in this book, you might, especially considering the controversies you highlight here in your own article, and I recommend both Kim’s article, and The Poison Tree to you.

מועדים לשמחה
Ruvy

Oct 7, 2009 - 2:43 pm 7. Anonymous:

Go France! (Good, but it’s strange day when the French are harder than us.)

Oct 7, 2009 - 3:28 pm 8. Ruvy:

Apparently the link I provided in my previous comment did not take. Here it is: http://desicritics.org/2009/10/06/100333.php

Oct 7, 2009 - 3:45 pm 9. David W. Lincoln:

As long as those who divide the world into the Dar al Islam, and Dar al Harb cast a blind eye to what Hannukah and the Magna Carta have in common (namely this: government can only go so far), they will continue the road of human rights being violated. For misogyny is, at its
very simplest level, a violation of the property rights of women.

Oct 7, 2009 - 3:54 pm 10. Ann:

Good news indeed and one can only hope and pray that all European governments stop the wearing of the burkha/abbeya and all forms of head covering. I live in the Middle East and it is sickening to see every muslim woman covered from head to toe in black, it is so depressing and to think we have allowed this miserable garb to infiltrate our western cultures is utterly abhorrent. They can have it here all they want, but I do not want it in my country and most Europeans are thinking this way. Another issue is that women who ‘cover’ are suffering from a serious lack of vitamin D due to little or no sunlight, so for health reasons this should be stopped, which would reduce our free health costs for these women.

Oct 7, 2009 - 7:13 pm 11. Pajamas Media » Banning the Burqa: Egypt, France, and Italy:

[...] Read the entire piece here. [...]

Oct 8, 2009 - 1:15 am 12. Marie Claude:

Anonimous, Thank you, fortunately there are people in your country that can rejoice my heart

Oct 8, 2009 - 4:34 am 13. Vaio:

I absolutely agree with the ultimate goal of getting rid of burqa. I oppose a law banning it, for a very simple reason: it won’t work, and it will probably make the situation even worse (in the west).

Imagine you ban the burqa. What happens? You think Muslim women will take it off and hit the streets unveiled? I doubt it.

Women who wear the burqa in western countries probably live in the most conservative, Islamist households. If you ban the burqa, these women will simply be forced to stay at home all day long, period. A ban on burqa will mean even more segregation for Muslim women.

The only way to fight the burqa in the western world is to integrate Muslim immigrants into western society, and maybe the next generations will refuse to wear it. It’s a long and difficult way but is the only feasible one. Repression won’t work.

One note to Dr. Chesler: I am Italian and I know the Northern League. They really are a bunch of xenophobes. Some of their MPs (!!) used to go around and spray disinfectants on black women.

Finally, ken #3 and judy #4: this is racist. and disgusting.

Oct 8, 2009 - 6:29 am 14. Dean_L:

The Muslim Canadian Congress has just asked the federal government to ban Burqas in Canada. http://bit.ly/Qob7N

Of course Muslims are not unified on the issue, the Canadian Islamic Congress is claiming it violates the freedoms of Muslims.

But the Muslim Canadian Congress is arguing that there is no religious basis in Islam to permit the burqa and that it marginalizes women.

Oct 8, 2009 - 6:52 am 15. adrian:

#13Vaio,,,you talk about integrating muslims in western societies,well isn’t that why they came here for? That is the problem we have now with these 3rd world countries,we continue to make excuses for their lack of common sense,we feed them so later thei can kill us..I’m sick and tierd of them and our stupid governments.

Oct 8, 2009 - 7:35 am 16. Gianni:

n. 13 Vaio: I am italian as you and while I do not like at all the Northen League I support them on this particular issue.
Believe me: “maybe” will solve nothing.
Burqa is sexist, plain and simple. I am a feminist not contaminated by cultural relativism and as I said here in the past I can’t care less about the so-called “religious rights”.
Women’s equality trumps all the rest. Have you ever seen a man wearing burqa? It’s a sexist stuff, period.
And as for the ban, I cross my fingers so that it will be banned sooner than later. It will work. A small town in Belgium already banned the niqab and all but one of the women who wore it ceased to wear it and choose a veil instead.
Of course, banning the burqa and the niqab should go with an educational approach.
You can’t imagine the evil ramifications that has the burqa and I am shocked to hear people from the left not wanting to ban it beacuse the government shouldn’t interfere about what a person wears (you know, the left defend the burqa but will they defend anyone who wants to walk in the streests naked?) and people from the right not supporting the ban beacuse you know it could lead to non-muslims having to abide to one law for all rules. God forbid!
I have hard time hearing people supporting the veil but supporting the burqa!
UNBELIEVABLE!
Sorry for the tone of the message but discovering people supporting the burqa it’s beyond me.
I am relieved Phyllis supports, to what i understand, the ban on the burqa.

Oct 8, 2009 - 8:19 am 17. David S:

This issue has been raised in these pages before. One need look no farther than the Lazreg quote to see the answer:

“As long as states mandate or prohibit veiling… a woman can never be sure she takes up the veil freely…No one is entitled to turn the veil into a political flag.”

The right wing Western politicians who want to ban this piece of clothing are the same folks who want it to be mandatory in the Middle East. Abandoning our freedoms to preserve them is pure foolishness.

Peace.

DS

Oct 8, 2009 - 8:33 am 18. Toronto:

Vivo:

SO LET THEM STAY HOME!! If they would make even the slightest effort to assimilate and join the freakin’ 21st century, they wouldn’t have their pathetic, child-like fragile feelings hurt. Good grief…who needs these aliens from outer space anyway? They cause nothing but chaos and trouble and violence. GOOD RIDDENCE.

Oct 8, 2009 - 8:34 am 19. wGraves:

I assume that this is interesting primarily because we will have to deal with it in American schools. We’ve always had dress codes, and wearing a niqab or burka is roughly equivalent to the wearing of gang colors. What Sheikh Tantawi has done, for which we should thank him, is to have obviated the defense that this is a religious practice. Now we just have to look for a Sheikh somewhere who will issue a fatwa that it’s not OK to kill your daughter if she dates a heathen. In America, muslims enjoy freedom of speech like the rest of us. Why isn’t there a vibrant resistance of organized oppressed muslim women refusing to be stepped on?

Oct 8, 2009 - 8:38 am 20. mwl:

This is a serious security issue for Western societies. No one should be required to do business with someone whose face cannot be seen. Robbers and fugitives have abused the burqa to escape the consequences of their crimes, and that cannot be tolerated.

Oct 8, 2009 - 9:13 am 21. Gypsy Boots:

Vaio (#13): Wait for the next generation?!? In some European countries we are seeing the third generation of native-born Muslims, and they are more radical and less Westernized than their fathers or grandfathers were.

#19: There is a resistance to Muslim women being abused, but it’s covert because many times these women have to resist and break away from their own families. No matter what they’ve done to you, it’s difficult to make a complete break from your family, but that’s what many, many Muslim women are doing (especially from areas like Pakistan). There are organizations that support them, mostly made up of women who come from similar situations, but they deliberately keep low-key to avoid endangering those still in abusive families.

Oct 8, 2009 - 9:45 am 22. Summum Bonum » Blog Archive » France, Italy, and Egypt Consider Banning Burka/Niqab:

[...] latest from Phyllis Chesler. Read to the bottom and you’ll see that even Canada is considering banning the niqab (a [...]

Oct 8, 2009 - 9:51 am 23. Poor Citizen:

I really dont care if they ban it or not. Personally, I think its a silly costume, but I am not a muslim woman. And I do not like the fact that women are beaten for not wearing them in public in the Mid East. But I am told the women over there are beaten for just about anything and they do not complain much. So, its their problem, not ours. As long as western women dont have to dress up in them and I dont have to wear one, they can do what they want.

Oct 8, 2009 - 11:07 am 24. Proud_Kafir7908:

As Pat Condell said on his video Apologists for Evil, the purpose of the burqa is solely to make a political statement similar to the one made by those who put a black swastika in a white circle over a red background, or to those made by those who wear KKKlown suits with pointy hoods, and whose absence over a woman is supposed to “legitimize” rape (since true practicing mahoundian males, those that strive to be like their perfect model of conduct, the pseudo-prophet genocidal pedophile mahound, aren’t expected to control their sexual urges in the presence of unveiled women. The reason for that being that glory-ass quran/Mein Qurampf 33:59 tells them that only mobile-tent-wearing females are off limits for rape.)

Oct 8, 2009 - 12:09 pm 25. Marina:

Dear Phyllis, please, be very careful with Egypt and the like. Remember how Turkey has banned hidjabs from its public places? And now, when the wind of islamistic change has come, everything is turning back. But let’s hope at least in Europe the process will be permanent, ’cause the people seems to be really fed up.

Oct 8, 2009 - 12:30 pm 26. Dr. Bukk:

If Tunisia can ban the veil, then what is the West hesitating about? It is a proven method of weeding out extremists. Tunisia is enjoying an economic boost in tourism because of this.

It hurt my heart when Obama said in Cairo that we in the West had some work to do on women’s rights, such as letting women freely wear the veil. How STUPID can he get?

The veil is also an insult to men, as it implies they cannot resist raping exposed “meat”.

Oct 8, 2009 - 1:38 pm 27. wondering:

This is the garb and costume of the muslim men’s sex slaves.
They like to parade their sex slave in public to show how ‘manly’ they aren’t.

Oct 8, 2009 - 2:42 pm 28. Kathryn:

Ban the Burka. Move humanity forward!

Oct 8, 2009 - 2:55 pm 29. MiamaMan:

In Londonistan the Burqa is very common. Hotel across Hyde Park in the Middle of Middle East neighborhood, not London, English not very spoken, Tabbouleh, Hummus very available, could not find fish and chips. English girls probably the tallest in Europe, tall like the late Princess Diana, common. Burqa very, very, common, like hens covered with a bag surrounded by many chicks, the “pious” Muslim women proudly walk along the crowded streets of Londonistan, now their home, streets that once were proudly walked by Gladstone, Disraeli, Winston, Nelson. On Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park, lone Englishman on stand ranting against un-assimilating Muslims surrounded mostly by smiling Muslims men from the Middle East neighborhood across the street. Bobby watchful nearby. Surrealism in the air.

Oct 8, 2009 - 3:03 pm 30. spindok:

I dunno.

My inner libertarian protests against a government law banning certain clothing.

I agree with the concept that this is a practice which places women in an unacceptable social position. I hestitate when the government gets involved except when she doesnt want it. At that point she should be protected with a full set of of legal and civil rights to dress however she wants.

I am an American Jew. My sister is orthodox and wears the ’shaitel’ (wig) or other head covering. Don’t get me wrong – it is not a Burqa, or worse, which happens in some Islamic communities. These are vibrant and involved women, but dont even tell me that their lives and expectations are the same as the men.

These are matters to be addressed. The problem I have is when we get the government involved in what are essentially matters of faith.

Spindok

Oct 8, 2009 - 3:54 pm 31. Coren: Threats for Westergaard interview « Snaphanen:

[...] [...]

Oct 8, 2009 - 8:32 pm 32. Omar:

David S. said:

“The right wing Western politicians who want to ban this piece of clothing are the same folks who want it to be mandatory in the Middle East. Abandoning our freedoms to preserve them is pure foolishness. . . .”

The wearing of such a garment is not a socially neutral event to the other women in the neighborhood, David S. It is essentially a political marker used to denote complete and abject submission to islamic law. Once it is successfully imposed on some women in an islamic milieu, pressure builds on the rest to adopt more conservative coverings as well, lest they be perceived as less pious or immodest as compared to their neighbor’s wife, sister, daughter, which will surely earn her the wrath of her own father, husband, brother. Such women often find themselves at risk of suffering honor crimes – generally short of murder, but honor crimes nonetheless. It’s also used to demark which women are protected by the social covenant of the Ummah and which are excluded. The women who fall outside the islamic social covenant (i.e. infidel women) are not entitled to the usual gender aparteid inspired so-called “protections” that muslim men are supposed to extend to muslim women, and as a result, infidel women in islamic neighborhoods find themselves under constant abuse and harassment – for simply going about their own business in a supposedly free country. (I’ve added a link below to a recent article by a liberal Dutchman bemoaning this constant abuse which first appeared in Der Standaard). In the islamic sense, such women are basically “uncovered meat” and no muslim man can really be blamed for treating them contemptuously.(See the Sheikh Hilali of Australia, Shahid Mehdi of the Islamic Cultural Center in Copenhagen, etc. etc. . . .)

This is why such issues cannot be approached from a purely libertarian perspective. Tolerating such behavior has inevitable consequences for others in the same community.

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/10/building-ghettos-for-new-belgians.html#readfurther

Oct 8, 2009 - 9:01 pm 33. Vaio:

#3 Gianni. I agree that “Women’s equality trumps all the rest” and I don’t want to see anyone with a burqa around. as you said, sexist. I have strong doubts on the fact that the solution is so simple, just ban it. For me, it won’t work. You say in that Belgian city is working: that’s good news, and I hope you are right and I am wrong. But Italy is not small, multicultural, integrated Belgium.

by the way, while I strongly oppose the burqa, I have no problem with the veil: my grandma used to wear one all the time too (and what about nuns???)

#21 Gypsy: yes often second and third generations are more radical than the parents: but why?? clearly there is something worng with how we interact. For example in the big great city of Milano there isn’t even any mosque were Muslim can go and pray! do you think that a young Muslim boy will feel part of our society or will revert to radical clerics who tell him “look,westerners don’t want you and are at war with Islam! they don’t even let us pray!”. integration + repression (of jihadi-minded people).

Oct 9, 2009 - 2:33 am 34. vivo:

18. Toronto:
Vivo:
U mean #13 . . .

Oct 9, 2009 - 3:25 am 35. vivo:

Ban the burqa and chadris in public. They can wear it in private.

Oct 9, 2009 - 3:36 am 36. Ruvy:

Spindok,

I live in a datí village in Gush Shiló. This means, among other things, that you have to observe the mitzvót – at least publicly. In other words, when outside, I wear a kippá and tzitiyót, and my wife wears a head covering.

Recently, I watched a man seeking to sell his house show his dwelling to a couple from the coast. The couple did not look datí at all. The husband’s kippá looked like something he wore for bar mitzvahs, weddings and funerals. The wife was dressed like your typical Israeli young woman, with her clothes a tad tight It was a hot day and she had a sleeveless blouse on. She wore no head covering.

I watched from my vantage point in the yard of the next house as the man trying to sell his explained all the advantages to the couple. The husband would have bought the place on the spot. The wife was not interested. At first, she said the yard was dirty and needed to be cleaned up; the seller agreed to clean the yard. Then she said it was too quiet. The husband said, “It’s noisy where you work. You can come home to real quiet. Look at this beautiful view in the mountains!” The woman then looked at the owner. “Do I have to wear a head covering like her?” She pointed to a woman hanging laundry in a yard.

The owner shrugged. “This is a datí village. We can negotiate over the conditions of the house and the sale price, but I can’t negotiate over halakhá (Jewish law).” The woman folder her arms and looked away, a deep frown on her face. The seller also walked away, realizing that this sale was not a happening deal. The husband tried to talk her into the house, but everything he said was met with the answer “that has nothing to do with it”.

All that “had to do with it” was her having to act like she was something she was not. And she wasn’t buying in.

Oct 9, 2009 - 4:18 am 37. Ruvy:

Miamaman,

The atmosphere in Israel is surreal, too. If reality seems surreal to you, that is an excellent sign. Reality is about to get one heck of a shakeup, and this sense of everything being surreal is your own recognition of reality being severed from its moorings.

But, if you must live in a surreal world, at least come here for a visit. You can get humus and falafel, of course, AND fish and chips, as well as world class cooking from around the world. Last I looked, there were no restaurants devoted to “English” cooking.

Sorry….

Oct 9, 2009 - 5:02 am 38. Parabellum:

North Carolina Law:

§14-12.7. Wearing of masks, hoods, etc., on public ways.
No person or persons at least 16 years of age shall, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, be or appear upon any lane, walkway, alley, street, road, highway or other public way in this State. (1953, c. 1193, s. 6; 1983, c. 175, ss. 1, 10; c. 720, s. 4.)

§14-12.8. Wearing of masks, hoods, etc., on public property.
No person or persons shall in this State, while wearing any mask, hood or device whereby the person, face or voice is disguised so as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the State, or of the State of North Carolina. (1953, c. 1193, s. 7.)

Oct 9, 2009 - 6:16 am 39. Lynn:

Choosing to be a Islamic believer is not a choice. It is considered a crime to leave, punishable by death or imprisonment. In this country we practice freedom of religion. Even the Bill of Rights that says all men are created equal endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights, protects those who don’t believe in a Creator by taking away their value from the judgment of men and handing it over to a higher power.

Any Islamic women or girl that lives in this country should be afforded the protection of the Constitution which guarantees that they are created equal and do not have to wear a piece of cloth to identify their lower status. That should be up to them to afford themselves of this liberty but it is the leaders job to protect them from harm if they decide to use that right. It is also the job of the elected leaders of this country to protect it’s citizens from threats of security that the burqa poses. It has been and it will be used to cover up people who want to do harm to others. For security, safety and health reasons, the burqa should be banned in the West.

Until Egypt practices freedom of religion and respect for other faiths, they are speaking in a prison to prisoners who will never be released.

Oct 9, 2009 - 8:31 am 40. John:

A burqa or hajib in a Western country in the year 2009, is fully equivalent to a Nazi armband in the year 1939. They mean exactly the same thing; defiant and unyielding support of a violent ideology that explicitly states its intention to exterminate Jews and overthrow the world order. Anyone who says/believes different is a liar or a fool.

Oct 9, 2009 - 9:41 am 41. David S:

@40. John:

A burqa or hajib in a Western country in the year 2009, is fully equivalent to a Nazi armband in the year 1939.

To the best of my knowledge, the Nazi armband was never banned. Heck, it would be nice if everyone labeled themselves so clearly.

They mean exactly the same thing; defiant and unyielding support of a violent ideology that explicitly states its intention to exterminate Jews and overthrow the world order. Anyone who says/believes different is a liar or a fool.

I think you overstate the case. There are plenty of women who wear the burqa, support peace, and also have Jewish friends. There is no basis for equating a traditional form of clothing with an ideological movement. Islam is bigger and broader than you think.

Peace.

DS

Oct 9, 2009 - 1:05 pm 42. Lynn B:

There is a large family of Somali Muslims who live near me. They wear very beautful and elegant materials draped around them for special holy days, like a ritual. I asked why no veils, the oldest sister said “what for?” and grimaced. No way is any man going to make one of them wear a burqa or veil. LOL

Oct 9, 2009 - 7:04 pm 43. Athena:

Omar, don’t waste your time with the David S troll-she’s just another DailyCommie come to lurk.

Oct 9, 2009 - 11:35 pm 44. MiamaMan:

36. Ruvy:

Thanks, BTW, your description of the unsuccessful sale in the datí village in Gush Shiló was breathtaking. She is a proud woman, and rightly so. It also goes to show the level of choice and freedom you have within your religion when compared to the rigidity in Islam.

Years ago, 1990s I lived in Netanya for a while while practicing Krav Maga, and still remember the fish fries and chips in the Promenade. Falafel also common.

I live in MiamA (Miami). Londonistan description shows shock after arriving there. Besides, I am not accustomed for people to seat unannounced in the remaining seat of a restaurant table while I have lunch with family.

Here, also, I practiced Krav Maga for a while in a Jewish library of a Synagogue around Mount Sinai hospital, Miami Beach. Highest concentration of Jews in US in South Florida (no more former famous Jew York).

The surreal reality, affirmative. There is also a level of dogmatic rigidity in all religions that is verily unnerving.

Oct 10, 2009 - 6:56 am 45. MiamaMan:

41. David S:

[I think you overstate the case. There are plenty of women who wear the Burqa, support peace, and also have Jewish friends.]

Really? Name a few, please.

You know, your farewell:

[Peace.

DS]

Smacks of the opposite.

There is rage, contempt, antagonism, in all you write, there is usually little peace. If you are in the closet, please come out of the closet. It increase blood pressure, frustration, and can even give you angina. It is like a big Burqa, oppressing. There is also treatment for it.

Oct 10, 2009 - 7:23 am 46. Indoeuropean:

I see Nothing encouraging in the Words of the “against Hijab” female Writer. What does she have to blame againt “the West”? She can shout her devoted “AlHamdo LiLah” for the West, for the Feminist Movement – just to mention an Advantage coming from “the West”.

“The West” – at the Opposite of what she’s been taught – is not a Matter of “showing Bellies”; and no One force you to show yours: you are free to wear Whatever you like. You cannot practice any Ideology you want, breaking State’s Laws – is this why she refers to “the West” in a Sort of disgusted Way?

I still don’t understand how a Woman can call herself a (sensitive) Woman and a Feminist (fighting for Females’ Rights) or even an Activist for human Rights, while still adhering to Islam (read Ahadith and Sira, and even Koran, then tell me where – eventually – is the Respect for Women/Females, for Equality and for Others: how a Feminist get inspired by Islam and its Sources?!).

Have you noticed that Islamic Feminists always talk about Islamic Women’s Condition? And they want to protect their “Sisters”? While they appearently have no Interest in Non-islamic Women’s Concerns? [Non-islamic Women are Sl***s who do aren't worth to be kindly considered ...].

Shortly: I don’t/won’t rely on Islamic Feminists – hijabed or not. Sorry.

Oct 10, 2009 - 1:27 pm 47. Cameron:

I think many of us may be forgetting that many of these women cannot choose how to dress, even in the West. The women that I know that choose to wear more than a hijab either do it out of perceived modesty or they are required to by the males in the household. You say such things do not or should not happen in America? Then work to liberate some of these women who are truly imprisoned by their culture. They do not have the skills or resources to flee on their own often. Until then, banning the veil/burqa will merely force their jail to be only their homes.

Oct 10, 2009 - 3:42 pm 48. Susan Katz Keating:

I cannot imagine our society tolerating the enforced abuse and enslavement of Western women. Why should we tolerate – for one minute – another culture flaunting that abuse within our homelands?

Oct 11, 2009 - 7:22 am 49. wondering:

Well, we will probably spend a great deal of time on the focus of women’s garb. Useless.
Anytime, in history past, when muslim women are not ‘garbed’, it is only until they are once again. They just wait for numbers and timing, and put it right back.
Let’s focus on the men. They are the real culprits. They have enough written evidence to get the death sentence and long prison terms.

Oct 11, 2009 - 11:56 am 50. Thumbnail:

We would not have to worry about whether or not these Muslim women wear the veil if we just make a swap:

We get out of Afghanistan/Iraq and M.E. and they all go back to where they came from.

It sounds like a fair swap to me.

Then what we do is encourage a Muslim only airline – Muslim pilots, crew and passengers to fly anywhere they want, except here. They can bloody blow each other up to thier heart’s content, and we can get on with our lives.

Inviting Muslims into a Western Society does not work. They are too primitive to fully understand and comprehend their newly found freedoms, and the veil is a public and profound expression of that ignorance.

Oct 12, 2009 - 3:26 pm 51. Zamira:

Although I am all for religious freedom, I am against extremist factions of any religion which promote violence and denigrate women. For this reason I think a ban on the burqa might help keep future Islamic extremists from immigrating to countries which enforce this ban. How it would affect burqa-wearing women already in those countries might prove more troublesome, however.

I think what we need more of is education regarding the true meaning of the hijab v. burqa; mainly, the realization that the burqa is NOT a religious requirement. As the writer Herman Melville said in “Moby Dick”: “Ignorance is the parent of fear.”

Oct 12, 2009 - 8:21 pm

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