France to ban veil says Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France will ban the full Muslim veil.
The move would protect the dignity of women, the president added.
“The full veil is contrary to the dignity of women,” he said. “The response is to ban it. The Government will table a draft law prohibiting it.”
The president gave no further details during his address to the nation following a heavy defeat in regional elections for his ruling Union for a Popular Movement party.
Speaking from the Elysee Palace Mr Sarkozy gave no indication as to how an outright ban would be imposed and policed.
France is home to six million Muslims.
No doubt this will prove popular with the public, who quite rightly perceive Islam as a threat to their traditional French values and culture. They perhaps believe that banning the veil will help thwart the growth of the most orthodox strain of what is an aggressive and oppressive religion, in their country. It is my belief that such legislation would be equally welcome in the United Kingdom, too, and Jack Straw's remark back in 2006, that the veil is a "visible statement of separation and of difference", suggests this is something our government may also consider.
To be perfectly honest I find this quite frightening, and not because I believe this is simply a cynical ploy by Sarkozy to win back some of his previous supporters who deserted him in favour of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has recently done very well in the elections in France. No, it is because in my opinion there are other far-reaching implications of such intrusive legislation, which I shall attempt to explain.
Personally, I believe that banning the veil (burqa) is not in the interests of the British people. The most fundamental reason being that the government should not be able to dictate how one dresses, for that would spell the loss of one of our most basic freedoms of expression.
Just suppose a bill is proposed in Westminster, which would 'ban the veil', would it be so narrow that it fails to preclude alternative attire that can conceal the face, for example a balaclava? I don't think it would be. Firstly, because some Muslim women would simply wear such clothing instead of the burqa, and secondly because it would be seen as discriminatory. Therefore any legislation would be broad and would essentially criminalise the covering of one's face in public, and of course that would mean that the authorities would find it far easier to identify and monitor people using CCTV. It's my belief that this is simply another step towards a surveillance state.
The argument proposed by 'liberals' for banning the burqa is that it oppresses Muslim women. Whilst I'm sure some are forced to wear it by the familial patriarch, it is equally true to say that many hookers are probably forced to wear short skirts by their pimps, should they be banned too? Of course they shouldn't. The fact is that some Muslim women probably do want to wear the burqa, so why should they be denied the fundamental right to dress in the fashion that they choose? What if Mohammed down at the local halal butchers is a lecherous old git, and a young Muslim girl feels more comfortable visiting the shop dressed in a burqa? The argument is spurious because whilst it may be 'liberating' some women, it is curtailing the freedom of others, and more importantly, of us all.
8 comments:
Banning the burqua is bad for us, too...
The same holds true with the Minaret ban, or laws which prohibit the mocking of the national anthem/French flag...
How can you expect the public to react to Islamification and the lack of integration if they can't see it?
When a separate, self-interested Islamic society is growing within our society with the intention of taking over, the last thing we want is the Islamic society being forced to put up smoke and mirrors which give that community a respectful and unthreatening appearance.
I tend to agree that a ban would be setting a dangerous precedent, however it would be quite helpful if the Muslims who do sport the Burqa would voluntarily opt-out of wearing in non-Islamic countries.
The Hijab is more than sufficient for the purpose of protecting modesty. I have no problem with foreign Muslims who wish to integrate with their host community but importing tenants of Islamic fundamentalism is something that the UK (and other western nations) could really do without, imo.
Armed With Knowledge,
That's a good point, that I am ashamed to admit I hadn't considered.
I think that when Muslims decide to reside in our country, they should abide by our rules, and adopt western dress. I also think that mosques should be limited to one in each country of the United Kingdom. If they do not conform, they should be repatriated. Why, should we as indigenous Britons tolerate their dowdy attire. By giving in to their wishes, we allow ourselves to be slowly Islamified. The only solution is zero tolerance. Ask yourself, would we be able to dress and practise our faith in their homeland? I very much doubt it.
Jade,
I agre with your sentiments, however forcing Muslim women not to wear the burqa impoverishes us all. The legislation will basically prohibit the covering of one's face in public. It is part of the apparatus being implemented to spy on us. That's the reality.
It is the pain which seeing the Burka wearing Moslems, and hearing the call to prayer which reinforces that the virus of Islamism is riddling the body politic and social.
Interesting to know that you haven't thought of that. I truly wonder how many have. It would be a good point for discussion, maybe even a good topic for a post.
AWK,
I would like to think it is because I am not as cynical as you! ; )
Seriously, I consider myself a libertarian and an ethno-nationalist. I believe the latter is required in order to achieve a free society. Competing and antagonistic ethnic groups or religions will cause tensions that will deprive people of their freedoms. Northern Ireland is a good example of this, for example internment.
So I merely looked at the issue from the perspective that it is eroding liberties, which is something I hate. Though I dislike Islam, I hate the erosion of freedom more. One may argue that, paradoxically, stifling Islamic freedom helps to ensure that society as a whole resists the grip of Sharia and thus safeguards democracy. However, I believe that oppressing any movement is likely to make it more extreme and radical.
What was the biggest cause of unnatural deaths over the last century? I'll give you a clue - it wasn't war, and it wasn't Islam. It was at the hands of one's own government - in gulags, concentration camps, deliberate famines or massacres.
That was my perspective, and how I arrived at my conclusion. Happily, you and I are in agreement regarding the legal status of the burqa, however.
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