Putting the burke in burka
There has been a lot of comment on dear old
So what is next? We don’t like Muslims wearing burkas, what about T-shirts? What if we start telling Muslims what T-shirt they are allowed to wear.
I know what you are thinking -“Bomber you wanker, that’s ridiculous, no one would tell a Muslim what T-shirt to wear, you’re just taking things to a ridiculous extreme to win the argument, you tree-hugging lefty muesli munching pinko wanker, we are Jokers and we are fair minded blablablah”
Hmm, yes well this in the news today from the BBC
Arabic T-shirt sparks airport row
An architect of Iraqi descent has said he was forced to remove a T-shirt that bore the words "We will not be silent" before boarding a flight at New York. Raed Jarrar said security officials warned him his clothing was offensive after he checked in for a JetBlue flight to California on 12 August. Mr Jarrar said he was shocked such an action could be taken in the US. US transport officials are conducting an inquiry after a complaint from the US Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. JetBlue said it was also investigating the incident but a spokeswoman said: "We're not clear exactly what happened." Mr Jarrar's black cotton T-shirt bore the slogan in both Arabic and English.
What is next you
posted by Bomber @ 9:22 am
3 comments
3 Comments:
And surely we have a freedom in NZ to wear what we like - If I want to walk around in a massive Banana costume, who the fuck are you to tell me otherwise? What about Seikh’s who wear turbans?
Sounds like you're wearing a massive Banana costume right now in fact. Seikhs don't wear turbans on their faces. Do you think muslim women should be allowed to have the burqa on their driver's license? What's next, should those that commit crimes be allowed to wear it for their mugshot?
Shouldn't we listen to what the woman want first before passing judgment in an environment which is already anti-Muslim
Well, if you say they will post here (pardon me for sounding doubtful), then I'm happy to wait for them to put their POV across. If someone posts a link here to the views of muslim women, then I'll definitely read it. But otherwise I'm not going to shut up, and why should I? The covering of the face is something that needs to be condemned, end of story.
now that's not to say there aren't sexism problems in the Muslim religion, but they also exist in Christianity and with our domestic violence rate in this country we can hardly take the moral high ground can we?
Ok, personally I just want to get rid of the burqa (and purdah), but I was particularly hard on Islam in my previous post, so I guess we have to have the wider discussion as well. Am I anti-muslim? Muslims and Christians are just people, same as everyone else. I'm anti-Islam, that's for sure. More to the point, I think that Christianity and Islam are just part of the same fetid carcass. There are loads of Christian wankers out there who love to control women, and most of the extreme Christian sects are all but based on rules for women (my wife was brought up as a baptist). When was the last time you heard from a woman who was part of the exclusive brethren? Can women even join it?
external pressures on Islam forced it to radicalize
And internal pressures. Whatever the source, it doesn't excuse it. I don't mean to say that Islam is the only religion that treats women like crap, it isn't. I definitely don't want to compare it to Christianity, because it might make Christianity sound like it's a viable alternative. Arguing which side of the carcass is less rotted is stupid. Islam is clearly better in some areas than Christianity and clearly worse in others - who cares? As long as they are religions and bring god into it, you can't sort the wheat from the chaff. Most often you're not even allowed to try. God just means "I'm always right, listen to me, do as I say". My advice, avoid comparisons, just be aware that women's lib has never been tolerated in Iran or Saudi Arabia, and that it's the extremists, not the moderates, that have control there.
And just for the record, for any idiot who got the wrong message about me when reading the above, I remain completely opposed to the war in Iraq (unfortunately, mostly on principle now because it no longer makes much difference: US forces staying on only delay the inevitable, which is civil war), and I think if Israel only showed some human decency towards the palestinians that their problems with terrorism would take care of themselves.
- Nobody
Having said that, I will just add that any muslim should be able to wear any T-shirt he or she likes, barring only the ridiculous exceptions. I agree that to forbid "We will not be silent" is just bigotry.
- Nobody
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Dear Nobody - you make some very good points, and to be honest they werethoughts that I myslef used to hold re the burka, BUT I've read and watched a lot of Muslim woman who give a very different version of the burka, that for them it is an empowerment (they words. not mine) and it did make me step back and wonder if I should listen to what they want before enforcing my cultural norms on them - don't get me wrong, I'm no cultural relativist, I wouldn’t listen to a woman who was singing the praises of genital mutilation, but what you want to wear really is a personal choice – and as long as Muslim women are ‘choosing’ such a decision on their own (ie not some paternalistic enforcement) then I don’t think it has anything to do with me. Perhaps the Burka should be a an age restricted thing – if your fear is overt sexist pressure forcing women into burkas that is.
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