In Europe, there are varying degrees dealing with Mohammed’s madness:
France is pushing ahead with plans to introduce a law banning women from wearing full-face Islamic veils in all public places.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet has approved a bill making it
illegal to wear in public clothes designed to hide the face, and the
measure is now awaiting a vote in parliament.
Parliament has already passed a non-binding resolution condemning
the full Islamic face veil as "an affront to the nation’s values of
dignity and equality".
Mr Sarkozy has said veils oppress women and are "not welcome" in France.
A French parliamentary committee earlier recommended a partial ban
inside public buildings – such as hospitals and schools – and on public
transport.
The State Council – France’s highest administrative body – warned
that such a law might be unconstitutional and violate European human
rights laws.
However, a ban in public places such as schools, hospitals and law
courts could be justified for security reasons, to combat fraud and to
meet the needs of some public services, it added.
A ban on Muslim headscarves and other "conspicuous" religious
symbols at state schools was introduced in 2004, and received
overwhelming political and public support in a country where the
separation of state and religion is enshrined in law.
Opinion polls suggest a majority of French people support a full ban.
Now, if we were talking about a law that forbids wearing specific
articles such as say a bomber jacket (because it might make the wearer seem
dangerous – don’t laugh, I used to have one, and was told as much), or
a hat from Beach Blanket Babylon (for something outside of a
copyright/trademark infringement), or carrying a parasol of a
particular color, well, that would smack of Orwellian overtones, and
I’d be on my cyber-stump trumpeting away about the invidious efforts of
governments trying to conformitize us (yes, there’s no such word, spare
me please, I’m playing). However, when we’re speaking of a religion
that has a proven track record of persuading people to strap bombs onto
themselves (and other family members!), that ‘martyrs’ people for some
reified value that only has value in the eyes of the converted, that
slaughters their womenfolk for no better reason than some archaic
belief system that’s long since been proven valueless, then out it
goes I say. I’m all for diversity in culture, I’m a raving
xenophile (within reason of course), I enjoy multicultural diversity as
much as the next liberal, but a custom that can shield a potential
suicide bomber has got to go.
Belgium has smartened up quite a bit:
The lower house of Belgium’s parliament has passed a
bill to ban clothing that hides a person’s identity in public places
such as parks, buildings and on the street.
The bill still needs approval in the Senate.
Although the legislation does not specifically refer to full-face
Islamic veils, it would outlaw the use of garments such as the niqab
and the burka.
The bill enjoys cross-party support and is expected to be passed,
which would make Belgium the first country in Europe to ban the wearing
of such Islamic garments.
Currently, the burka is banned in several districts under old local
laws originally designed to stop people masking their faces completely
at carnival time.
In Antwerp, for example, police can now reprimand, or even imprison,
offenders. They say the regulation is all about public safety.
Spain is dancing around a bit with the concept, and are including other forms of headwear:
Though there are no plans for a national ban in Spain,
the city of Barcelona has announced a ban on full Islamic face-veils in
some public spaces such as municipal offices, public markets and
libraries.
At least two smaller towns in Catalonia, the north-eastern region that includes Barcelona, have also imposed bans.
Barcelona’s city council said the ban there targeted any head-wear
that impeded identification, including motorbike helmets and
balaclavas, rather than religious belief.
It resisted calls from the conservative Popular Party (PP) to extend the ban to all public spaces, including the street.
Britain is of course somewhat divided on the issue:
There is no ban on Islamic dress in the UK, but schools
are allowed to forge their own dress code after a 2007 directive which
followed several high-profile court cases.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said in January 2010 it was "not British"
to tell people what to wear in the street after the UK Independence
Party called for all face-covering Muslim veils to be banned.
Ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who leads UKIP’s 13 MEPs in Brussels,
said the veils were a symbol of an "increasingly divided Britain", that
they "oppressed" women, and were a potential security threat.
UKIP is the first British party to call for a total ban, after the
anti-immigration British National Party had already called called for
the veil to be banned in Britain’s schools.
Surprisingly enough, the Netherlands is less than decisive:
In 2006, the Dutch government considered but abandoned
plans to impose a ban on all forms of coverings that obscured the face
– from burkas to crash helmets with visors – in public places, saying
they disturbed public order and safety. Lawyers said the move would
likely be unconstitutional and critics said it would violate civil
rights.
The government suggested it would instead seek a ban on
face-covering veils in schools and state departments, but no
legislation has yet been passed.
Around 5% of the Netherlands’ 16 million residents are Muslims, but only around 300 are thought to wear the burka.
Of course, the battle rages on in Turkey:
For more than 85 years Turks have lived in a secular
state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who rejected headscarves as
backward-looking in his campaign to secularise Turkish society.
Scarves are banned in civic spaces and official buildings, but the
issue is deeply divisive for the country’s predominantly Muslim
population, as two-thirds of all Turkish women – including the wives
and daughters of the prime minister and president – cover their heads.
In 2008, Turkey’s constitution was amended to ease a strict ban at
universities, allowing headscarves that were tied loosely under the
chin. Headscarves covering the neck and all-enveloping veils were still
banned.
The governing party, with its roots in Islam, said the ban meant
many girls were being denied an education. But the secular
establishment said easing it would be a first step to allowing Islam
into public life.
The picture in this post is of the notorious ‘Burkini’-
because of course the sumptuous curves of a female might drive a man
wild, cause him to commit all sorts of heinous acts, which under more
severe Sharia law, would make the woman culpable, not the
man. I don’t even need to Google that, or provide a link. It’s common
knowledge for anyone with even the cursory knowledge of this nonsense.
That anyone could treat another human being in such a manner is
appalling. That a woman is treated as such brings my good Irish
upbringing into a frothy boil. Without women, there’d be no species, no
humanity. The mind boggles.
Women have rights. You crazy assholes don’t like it? Move back into caves.
I say nix the niqab.
There’s my nickel’s worth.
Till the next post then.