to burqa or not to burqa

[hughie]

it would seem we are heading toward a burqa ban eventually. As some entrepreneurs find other uses for this style of dress.

ABC The Drum Unleashed - Burka bandits justify a burka ban


Burqa ban is 'un-Australian' say Muslims | News.com.au

[wheelinround]

I cast your minds back 30+ years where we used to see many a Nun wearing this garb.Priests and Monks not far behind.


I must admit I became annoyed due to religious discrimination, back then on ordinary people. Standing in shopping checkouts watching them walk away with a bundle of groceries FREE because of who and what they were. Similar of CofE or any minister wearing his cloth.

I agree with the sentiments of motorcycle riders having been one, I have seen security guards escort a fellow straight out of a shopping mall while still trying to get his helmet off.

How can it be un-Australian they have forced an un-Australian law upon us, discriminating against all Australian's who do not wear this. They have set themselves apart from Australian laws.

[jimbur]

Not too keen on those hoodies either

[Master Splinter]

Just because you believe in an invisible sky friend (jesus, allah, jehovha, santa claus or the easter bunny) doesn't mean you should be treated any differently (despite my opinion that adults who do believe in such things should be treated as slightly less than fully mentally competent and in need of psychiatric help).

I have no problems with people wanting to conceal their identity while out in public (for example, a great big bushy beard, oversize dark glasses, big hat), but there are the occasional places like banks, where for security reasons, you may be required to expose your face for identity validation; but in public spaces - or the equivalent privately owned spaces such as shopping malls - you should be free do do as you damn well please.

[bsrlee]

For many years - possibly over 100 - in NSW, it has been illegal to wear any disguise between the hours of sunset & sunrise in public.

So that would include 'Beagle Boy' masks, burqa's, cowboy reversed bandanas or other head coverings that make it impossible to see the wearer's face. Go directly to gaol, do not collect $200.

So, end of problem, just keep the women locked up inside from sunset to sunrise, should keep the more eccentric mullahs happy too.

[funkychicken]

Just because you believe in an invisible sky friend (jesus, allah, jehovha, santa claus or the easter bunny) doesn't mean you should be treated any differently (despite my opinion that adults who do believe in such things should be treated as slightly less than fully mentally competent and in need of psychiatric help).

You're right, we are just dirt beneath your mighty boots

[lesmeyer]

Just because you believe in an invisible sky friend (jesus, allah, jehovha, santa claus or the easter bunny) doesn't mean you should be treated any differently (despite my opinion that adults who do believe in such things should be treated as slightly less than fully mentally competent and in need of psychiatric help). ....

A little prejudiced methinks...
Kind Regards
Les

[cultana]

Just because you believe in an invisible sky friend (jesus, allah, jehovha, santa claus or the easter bunny) doesn't mean you should be treated any differently (despite my opinion that adults who do believe in such things should be treated as slightly less than fully mentally competent and in need of psychiatric help).

What is wrong with easter bunny?? I get a visit from her every easter.

[jimbur]

What is wrong with easter bunny?? I get a visit from her every easter.

Beat me to it lol

[hughie]

and the plot thickens..

Muslim group alleges 'misuse of religion'
Postbulletin.com: Rochester, MN

[Master Splinter]

A little prejudiced methinks...
Kind Regards
Les

Not prejudiced, just stating that I don't give religion any special status over and above other belief systems that are equally ungrounded in reality.

I have no doubt that a devout christian sees a scientologist's belief in xenu as totally bizzare, or that an orthodox jew sees a christian's belief in jesus as heretical.

To me, it's on par with wearing a tinfoil hat to protect against mind control, or believing that people get abducted and probed by aliens; these beliefs too, have people who are just as convinced of the 'reality' of their world view, despite the lack of (or even contrary) objective evidence.

After all, your average adherent to (insert faith here) generally has to disbelieve the tenants of every other faith in the history of humankind; I just extend that a little further to see that it is impossible for all religions to be simultaneously true, but that they can be simultaneously false.

[hughie]

After all, your average adherent to (insert faith here) generally has to disbelieve the tenants of every other faith in the history of humankind; I just extend that a little further to see that it is impossible for all religions to be simultaneously true, but that they can be simultaneously false.

We digress I fear. The Burqa is not necessarily a Koranic emblem or requirement. It may although be part of the Hadith in some areas. But a lot of Moslem scholars agree for the most part that it pre-dates Islam.

The point is that some have taken the burqa for other means ie stealing.Also in this society we recognize each other by our faces and are wary of those who hide from this basic recognition point.
Its not a case of if this is right or wrong, but simply this is our culture and as such we have the right to defend it as we see fit.

I suspect for most Aussies assimilation is the name of the game and if you cant or wont assimilate then....cop the flack on the chin.

[Master Splinter]

You're right, we are just dirt beneath your mighty boots

No. You have a byproduct of the cognitive modules in the human brain that arose in our evolutionary past to deal with problems of survival and reproduction.

I can no more imagine being religious than you could imagine being a cargo-cultist or a member of the Skinheads of the Racial Holy War.

[Rattrap]

WELL SAID MASTER SPLINTER!!!!!!!
I have very much the same thoughts on the shear stupidity of religion, all religions.
On the subject of Burqas i strongly dislike them. I like to be able to see the face, the eyes of the person i am talking to. When outdoors i prefer to remove my sunglasses when talking to others.
However i am also a strong believer in personal rights & i don't believe it is the place of governments to legislate away our free will - even tho its being done every year by all political parties - it still doesn't make it right.
But then again, our great country has become great because of the blending of so many different cultures into the great melting pot that is Australia - but how can a group of people 'blend' into our society, adding to its depth & diversety when they so completely separate themselves from all the rest of us with such a socially outrageous costume?
Clearly they can't.
On the one hand we have individual personal freedom of rights(including the right to believe in ridiculous 'sky voices'), on the other hand we have the good of the nation. Since the banning of the Burqa won't actually hurt a person & will infact aid in their assimilation into our Nation, which is what all immigrants coming to Australia wanted when they came here - or they shouldn't have come here in the first place, then as much as it hurts me to say it - ban the Burqa. I have no problem if they want to dress in a fully covering costume of just about any design, as long as their faces are completely uncovers.

The hands & mouth can lie with the skill of a concert pianist but the face, the eyes never lie.

[jimbur]

No. You have a byproduct of the cognitive modules in the human brain that arose in our evolutionary past to deal with problems of survival and reproduction.

I can no more imagine being religious than you could imagine being a cargo-cultist or a member of the Skinheads of the Racial Holy War.

I agree pretty well with your sentiments and my differences are hardly enough to start a schism. As an aside, cargo-cultism is alive and well in Australia lightly disguised as credit.

I am willing to accede to religious sensibilities in the place of religion. I would cover my head in a synagogue, take my shoes off in a mosque but really it should end there.

However, when these religious sensibilities interfere with the operation of our open, secular society then I draw the line, putting them in the same league as refusal to take a helmet off in a bank etc. You cannot interact with other members of society when you have the same amount of contact as you have with an automatic teller machine.

Rant over,
Cheers,
Jim