by Marzouk Ahmed
A sociologist in Quebec carried out a experiment at university where a male wore a niqab and gloves (usually worn by the most extremist/fundamentalist Muslims around the globe) for an entire day. He was able to go in and out of female restrooms, shop in lingerie stores, and go in a few banks. A few minutes later after each visit, the Sociologist went into the banks and asked if anyone had seen a man fitting his description. No one saw him. Can you imagine how dangerous this could be?
Face veils (niqabs) are dangerous. Adult men can hide their identities in them as well as women who will never be integrated into society. If these people want to live in Western countries per se , they need to realize that covering their face in public areas is as unacceptable to us, as a western citizen walking into Mecca in a Bikini would be for muslims. Now a lot of muslim activists and liberal thinkers have constantly argued that the free West should not be compared with the backward Muslim states where these people come from. Once again we let the Liberal Media derail us from the major issue here.
The United States criticizes the laws against the burqa in France and Belgium
The United States on Monday accused Egypt, China and European nations of harming religious freedom, citing a rising tide of anti-Semitism, laws banning Muslim veils and attacks on Coptic Christians.
In its first report on religious freedoms since the start of the Arab Spring uprisings, the State Department warned that: “In times of transition, the situation of religious minorities in these societies comes to the forefront.”
“Some members of society who have long been oppressed seek greater freedom and respect for their rights while others fear change. Those differing aspirations can exacerbate existing tensions,” it warned.
The report which details the situation in 2011 noted that in Egypt, although the Arab country’s interim military leaders had made gestures towards greater inclusiveness, sectarian tensions and violence had increased.
It denounced “both the Egyptian government’s failure to curb rising violence against Coptic Christians and its involvement in violent attacks.”
Ambassador at large for religious freedom, Suzan Johnson Cook, acknowledged that places like Egypt were “still in transition” as new governments are installed following uprisings in 2011 against autocratic leaders.
“We’re looking, as they form new constitutions, it’s a wonderful opportunity to include… religious freedom,” she told journalists presenting the report.
Governments should also hold accountable those carrying out violent attacks against religious minorities, she added.
Jewish Burqa Trend: The Frumka
A Jewish type of burqa, called a ‘frumka’, is a growing trend among Ultra-Orthodox Jewishwomen, although the Jewish version is more extreme than its Muslim equivalent, with women wearing up to 7 veils, 10 skirts and also gloves.
- The Jewish equivalent of the burqa – the ‘Frumka’, photographed in Jerusalem, April 2012.(Photography by Eduardo Castaldo)
More on the “Jewish Burqa”
French police injured in row over burka
The officers ordered the 18-year-old called Marie-Louise to produce her identity card around midnight outside a mosque in the southern French city of Marseille, which has a large Muslim population.
She was wearing the niqab that leaves all but the eyes covered in contravention of a 2010 law banning wearing any face-covering veil in public.
The woman refused, saying: “I don’t obey the laws of the French Republic” and allegedly bit one of the officers. Scuffles then broke out with around 50 people present including the woman’s partner. Three officers were lightly injured.
Reinforcements arrived and four people, including the woman and her partner, were arrested and taken to a police station. But they were released shortly afterwards “in a gesture of appeasement during Ramadan”, according to the public prosecutor.
Around 300 women have been issued fines of up to 150 euros since the face veil ban took effect on April 1, 2011. Anyone found guilty of forcing a woman to wear a full veil faces a 30,000-euro fine and a year in prison.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy who backed the ban described the full veil as a “sign of enslavement”.
Police estimate that around 2,000 women among France’s five-million strong Muslim population wear the full Islamic veil.
Northern Mali: Our Observers report on their first Ramadan under Islamist rule
Local residents had feared that the Islamists who now control northern Mali would make their lives difficult during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims enter a fasting period. However, our Observers in Timbuktu and in Gao report that markets have remained well-stocked, and that the Islamists have been relatively lenient.
Since they first took control of northern Mali, two Islamic groups – the Unity Movement for Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and Ansar Dine – have imposed their strict version of sharia law, or Islamic law, on the population. There have been several reported cases of people being whipped for behaving in ways considered deviant, for example by consuming alcohol or tobacco and by having children out of wedlock.
Wearing a veil has now become mandatory for women in Timbuktu, and leisure activities such as watching television or listening to the radio are forbidden in the region’s major towns.
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