Banning religious garb is all the rage these days. The secular order must be maintained at all times.
The banning of Burqas and full face veils has become so popular, in fact, that even some countries you wouldn’t expect are getting in to the act. Recently, another country has banned the niqab, the full Islamic veil that reveals only a woman’s eyes, at all universities. Has Islamophobia taken over? Not quite.
The country that is doing the banning? Syria.
Let the outrage commence! Oh yeah… Nevermind.
Let me go on record stating that while I do not care for the niqab, I do not support any government action to ban any kind of religious garb. Whether it is in France or Syria. That said, I do not expect to find outrage over the banning similar to what we have seen on European countries. Standards are so awesome, why not have double?
Further, I find that there is a refreshing honesty on display by Syria in issuing the ban. Countries around Europe have taken to banning or at least considering banning the niqab on the pretense that the garb is degrading to women. The list of countries promoting this lie includes France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Yes the Netherlands, where young women are legally exploited every day in the oldest profession in the world, is worried that too much clothing is degrading to women.
Syria, as wrongheaded as they are, at least has the courage of its ungodly convictions. They come right out and say that the ban is intended “protect Syria’s secular identity.”
This is equally true in European countries. The niqab is an offense against secularism.
So too the crucifix. European courts, at the behest of secularists, have ruled that crucifixes may not be displayed in the classrooms of traditionally Catholic countries. This time Europeans do not pretend to be protecting women, but rather the delicate sensibilities of non-Christians.
Different excuse, same offense: Unacceptable public display of religious belief.
The only blasphemy left in Europe is secular blasphemy.
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France banned the burkas as well as crucifixes and medals… any item worn that is religious. We cannot have true religious tolerance, until we tolerate people wearing symbols of their faith that are meaningful to them or displaying religious items.
Pat Archbold, these are very shallow comments. Your blanket statement: “I do not support any government action to ban any kind of religious garb”, requires explanation. Religious garb from a Catholic perspective is more of an identification of a person as a member of a community that is part of the Catholic world. Catholic religious communities and the Catholic Church itself percieves itself to be a part of a social political world. The Catholic perspective is that we must be obey the just laws of our countries and participate as peaceful good citizens. Religious/social dress in Islam identifies the person as obedient only to Allah and under no encouragement to obey secular laws.
Contrary to the impression you might get by reading superhero comic books, in New York City it’s also illegal to cover your face with some kind of mask—because long before they worried about Muslim terrorists they worried about hoodlums.
Sorry Pat,
I have to disagree with you on this one.
The banning of burkas and full face veils is not done BECAUSE they are a religious symbol; it is done BECAUSE it hides one’s identity.
I live in the frozen north. All the gas stations up here have signs in the winter time stating that all snowmobilers coming into the gas station to pay for their gas must remove their ski masks, and snowmobile helmets. It’s only common sense!
Banning religious garb that DID NOT hide one’s identity would deserve the condemnation you describe.
Kathy,
Just shootin’ from the hip here, but are teachers in France worried about someone in their daily classes hiding her (or his) identity? What threat is this in a classroom?
d.h.
I regularly sub at our local school. It’s a small town, and the kids are pretty well behaved - BUT…
Can you honestly say that you think it would be OK for kids to come to class with everyone wearing a mask?
You couldn’t predict problems with one student taking another’s exam, or a similar situation?
As a teacher or a sub, the ability to identify a student is a basic necessity.
Kathy,
That is true.
But if you had only one or even two students in a class wearing a burka, it may not be an issue. I suppose that two students would be enough to pull a stunt like that, though….
All the same, maybe the whole scenario is best addressed by the individual teacher rather than a country’s government. Even if some government *had* to get involved at some point, it seems that (from what I’ve heard), the French are approaching the issue from an uninformed angle. The French seem to be less concerned with supporting classroom logistics than they are with institutionalizing a religiously sterile environment.
Delicate sensibilities of non_christians?
Wow, that is one of the most absurd statements I’ve heard in while - not that non-chritians see anything on the history of religious domination to be sensitive about - it’s not like Christians or Muslims burned unbelievers at the stake, beheaded, imprisoned or tortured them - not a thing to cause a unbeliever concern there…
Perhaps you and your ilk should pause to consider that the only legitimate realm of religion is personal, not public - every religion I am aware of teaches that salvation is had by what the individual does, not what he forces on others or how much he displays his “faith” publicly…
Governments are charged with providing a stable and reasonably safe environment for everyone, not just those that happen to agree with your church’s interpretation. Government should be absolutely secular - for the protection of people like you, and for protecting me from people like you - so that each can pursue what truths we find compelling without forcing our viewpoint on the other. How you choose to express your beliefs on your time and in your domain is not up to me to object to - by how each of us behaves in space we must share with the other is…...
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