Banned? That is a little much for a free society. Why? There are lots of cities in the U.S. that ban full-face coverings of the sort shown to the left.
Posted on 10/17/2006 9:54:24 PM PDT by MadIvan
Britons gave overwhelming backing last night to a call for a ban on full-face Muslim veils.
Ninety-eight per cent of Daily Express readers agreed that a restriction would help to safeguard racial harmony and improve communication.
Our exclusive poll came as ministers stepped up the pressure on Muslim leaders to demonstrate "real leadership" in the fight against extremism.
Thousands of readers registered their alarm amid mounting concern that the veil is a barrier to good race relations.
The controversy was underlined by yesterday’s Daily Express revelation that bosses at a medical school have barred Muslim students from wearing the veil. Instead, they must show their faces when talking to patients and in meetings with colleagues.
The debate – sparked when the Commons Leader Jack Straw said he had asked women to remove their veils during meetings – continued yesterday as two Cabinet ministers joined the row.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly dismissed claims that the Government was "demonising" Muslims, insisting everybody had a part to play in responding to the extremist threat.
"This is not just a problem for Muslim communities. The Far-Right is still with us, still poisonous, still trying to create and exploit divisions," she said.
"Extremism is an issue for all of us. We all must play our part in responding to it."
Councils will have to set out how they intend to prevent radicalisation in their communities. After talks with police chiefs and local authorities, Ms Kelly said: "We really have to raise our game. We have to work in a new way to face up to the size of the threat."
She refused to back down on moves to withdraw support for Muslim groups that failed to take a leading role in tackling extremism but said the Government was "absolutely committed" to working with organisations with a "genuine commitment" to pluralism.
In a letter to Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, she rejected claims that ministers would not work with those who disagreed with Government policy.
But she added: "I don’t accept that those in leadership positions can be passive in tackling extremism and yet expect government support. The question the public are not unreasonably asking is why should any organisation object to taking a leadership role in tackling extremism?"
Her letter followed Dr Bari’s claim that ministers were "marginalising" Muslims with comments such as Mr Straw’s suggestion that Muslim women should remove their veils.
Dr Bari said: "What is happening… has been a barrage of demonisation of the Muslim community to such an extent that the community is now scared and feels vulnerable."
The decision to ban veils was taken by Birmingham University school of medicine. In the Daily Express poll, 98 per cent of readers said veils should be banned from all hospitals.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said women who covered their faces were failing to take their full place in society.
"The veil is a symbol of women’s subjugation to men," she said. "Women who are heavily veiled, whose identity is obscured to the world apart from their husbands, cannot take their full place in society."
But one Muslim Labour MP accused colleagues of playing into the hands of racists. Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, warned that "hype" over a small number of people encouraged "Muslim-bashing".
"The only people this will benefit is the Far-Right BNP," he warned. "It will also encourage extremists from the Muslim community who will say, ‘We told you so’."
Labour former Home Office Minister John Denham said ministers’ comments were exacerbating matters.
"In a situation where there is too little understanding between the Muslim community and the wider community, and vice-versa, it seems to be producing a defensiveness and lack of willingness to debate on the Muslim side and in the majority a sort of generalised feeling that Muslims as a whole pose some sort of threat to our entire way of life," he said.
Tory leader David Cameron said everyone in Britain had a right to wear what they liked although Mr Straw had "raised a legitimate issue".
the thing is, it is illegal to wear a mask in some states. so...how are muslims getting away with it? i actually remember hearing a cop stop a guy walking down the street in Washington state and making him remove his mask or get a ticket. it wasn't around Halloween either. lol
RACISM!
What is a "free society" exactly? Is it one where you can do anything you wish? If so, you are on the wrong planet - there isn't such a nation anywhere on earth. There are reasonable restrictions on "freedom" everywhere. "Freedom" is a nice concept, maybe it will exist someday. Until then, I say BAN VEILS.
Muslim women who wear veils are marginalizing themselves in modern society, no matter what they may think. For instance, by the mere fact of wearing such a veil, she indicates that she is a nothing more than a chattel of her spouse like a pig or a dog, and does not have independent judgment.
If you're wearing a sweatshirt in Miami in July and you have a skinny neck with what appears to be a 200 lbs gut, I may shoot and ask questions later.
Confronting the Suicide-Bomber Threat
Among the warning signs that reveal a suicide bomber are unseasonable garb, obvious disguises (such as a police uniform with a security guard badge), and profuse sweating...Another sign is a well-coiffed, perfumed appearance, which Nance calls "ritualistic hygiene" in preparation to meet one's maker.
Banned? That is a little much for a free society. Rest assured that muslims, if they get their way, will tell you what you can wear. It will be a burka and you will be beheaded or stoned if you are caught not wearing it. That's just the way it is under shiara law. It's not anything harmless like Gothic expression or punk or anything along those lines. It's an expression of a dangerous cult that believes it must rule the world.
These people who raise silly arguments to everything - "maybe we should ban jackets" and so forth - probably don't want someone walking in their front door and shooting them with impunity. But that would be part and parcel of a "free society." Why shouldn't the murderer be free to do his thing? How dare society curb his freedom with a law prohibiting him from doing as he pleases? Freedom - bah. Ban the veils, stop some terrorists.
If she is not married, a Muslim woman wearing a veil is broadcasting that she is a chattel of her father or whatever male authority figure is available. In other words, she is telling the world she is not really a human being in the Western sense.
Try walking into a bank with a ski mask on. Wearing a disguise should apply equally to Burkas as well.
This isn't the 7th century, and totalitarian Islamic laws have no place here. It is not a 'freedom' to wear a Burka, it's oppressive sharia law FORCED on women. A Muslim woman caught in public without one on in some backwards Islamic countries is stoned to death. Is that FREEDOM?
Who cares about Amish women or men? Especially after what we saw of them last week. They are beautiful human beings (far better than I) Compare them to members of a violent cult that follows the teachings of a murdering pedophile thief named mohammed.
It already exists partly. California Penal Code Section 185:
Section One Hundred and Eighty-five. It shall be unlawful for any person to wear any mask, false whiskers, or any personal disguise (whether complete or partial) for the purpose of:
- One--Evading or escaping discovery, recognition, or identification in the commission of any public offense.
- Two--Concealment, flight, or escape, when charged with, arrested for, or convicted of, any public offense. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
i think the veil held her back in her career but that was her choice.
She never saw eye to eye with her boss, right?
Such veils show that these women consider themselves chattels and do not consider themselves entitled to the rights that the West believe inheres in adult human beings.
But close. IAC, your photo looks like a roadside scene on garbage collection day!
Yeah! And all these American women should stop being so ashamed of their chests, and bare them like the men do!
But all this controversy over concealing identity with a veil will be irrelevant once we're all chipped and tracked by the BBC (Big Brother Computer). :-)
Or the one the man and woman in this video wear?
http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/video/stoning_video_100kbps.wmv
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