A bit of light relief from the daily shenanigans on Syria. The Burka has raised its ugly slotted head again in the UK. One of the best comments comes from a Muslim woman, Julie, writing on the Humanitarian Intervention Centre site:
Moving on, Cowell believes that terrorism is somehow the fault of the west: "... young descendants of immigrants from former colonies drawn to radical Islam as they turn against societies from which they feel alienated". So, Alan: wearing a burka will help to reduce alienation?
Cowell concludes his dithery piece by noting that there are more important things than debates over the burka. Like his resounding support for Islamic victimhood, as voiced this time around by the "mainstream" Muslim Council of Britain:
The "sharp increase in anti-Muslim" episodes was much overplayed, surely to be understood, and in any case quickly subsided.
Cowell calls the MCB "mainstream". This is unwittingly revealing for the MCB is "mainstream", but not quite in the "moderate" and nicely tolerant way that Cowell would assume:
Consider:
The RT reports that "Demographers say that if current trends continue, Islam could eclipse Christianity as the dominant religion in the UK, in as little as a decade". If that happens, then Islamisation and Sharia law may be implemented in the UK much sooner than expected.
Burka, niqab, death penalties and all...
27 Jul 2010: Saira Khan (a Muslim) on why she wants to see burka banned from UK streets.
01 May 2011: Muslims practice double standards on the burka.
10 May 2011: Rooshanie Ejaz (a Muslim) says burka and niqab are abominations.
01 Jul 2011: Burkas and niqabs as security threats.
05 Jan 2012: Douglas Murray on the illiberal burka.
30 Jan 2012: Clair Berlinski calls to "Ban the Burka".
17 Sep 2013: Julie Bindel: Why are my fellow feminists silent over the tyranny of the veil.
The Burka: trapped in a mobile prison
Progressive Muslim women speaking out against a culture of oppression, whilst privileged Western men defend it or hide behind dubious double standards, naively fooling themselves into thinking they protect something noble
I wore a burka only once and would not wish it on my worst enemy. I borrowed it from an Afghan friend whose mother fled from the wrath of the Taliban when she was forced to ditch her Western-style school uniform for a black prison garment which covered her from head to toe and erected a wall of withdrawal between her and the rest of society. From one day to the next, she was deemed a second class citizen by reactionary, fanatical zealots.
A burka obstructs the most basic interactions and natural senses: you cannot breathe, see, walk, sit, eat or speak normally. It is the worst expression of gender apartheid and misogyny; the ultimate cultural medium of oppression and submission; an artefact of slavery and instrument of dehumanisation, a gross violation of inalienable human rights. The rest is here.Alan Cowell buys into the burka-ban argument with a flaccid "should-we-shouldn't-we" article in today's Herald Tribune, "Balancing religion and integration" [pdf]. He ends up with no real conclusion on the burka whereas a conclusion ought to be clear: Ban the Burka. The arguments overwhelmingly support a ban.
Moving on, Cowell believes that terrorism is somehow the fault of the west: "... young descendants of immigrants from former colonies drawn to radical Islam as they turn against societies from which they feel alienated". So, Alan: wearing a burka will help to reduce alienation?
Cowell concludes his dithery piece by noting that there are more important things than debates over the burka. Like his resounding support for Islamic victimhood, as voiced this time around by the "mainstream" Muslim Council of Britain:
The attack last May in southeast London on Lee Rigby, an off-duty British military drummer, provoked a sharp increase in anti-Muslim episodes by small far-right groups, arguably presenting far more of a challenge than the debate over the niqab. “It cannot be right,” said Farooq Murad, the secretary general of the mainstream Muslim Council of Britain, “that a minority community is allowed to be targeted in this manner.”But let's get this right: Lee Rigby was not simply "attacked". He was brutally murdered. His head was hacked off by a Muslim who justified it to passers-by in Islamic terms.
The "sharp increase in anti-Muslim" episodes was much overplayed, surely to be understood, and in any case quickly subsided.
Cowell calls the MCB "mainstream". This is unwittingly revealing for the MCB is "mainstream", but not quite in the "moderate" and nicely tolerant way that Cowell would assume:
Consider:
- MCB has said that veiling the face: "is not open to debate". Not to do so is equivalent to apostasy, for which Islamic law requires death
- MCB has supported the entry to the UK of hate preachers like the oleaginous Zakir Naik(*), the anti-semite Sheikh al Sudais and the terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki
- MCB has called for attacks by Muslims on the British Navy
- The MCB is connected to the hardline terrorist-supporting East London Mosque.
The RT reports that "Demographers say that if current trends continue, Islam could eclipse Christianity as the dominant religion in the UK, in as little as a decade". If that happens, then Islamisation and Sharia law may be implemented in the UK much sooner than expected.
Burka, niqab, death penalties and all...
******************
Related:27 Jul 2010: Saira Khan (a Muslim) on why she wants to see burka banned from UK streets.
01 May 2011: Muslims practice double standards on the burka.
10 May 2011: Rooshanie Ejaz (a Muslim) says burka and niqab are abominations.
01 Jul 2011: Burkas and niqabs as security threats.
05 Jan 2012: Douglas Murray on the illiberal burka.
30 Jan 2012: Clair Berlinski calls to "Ban the Burka".
17 Sep 2013: Julie Bindel: Why are my fellow feminists silent over the tyranny of the veil.
(*): Zakir Naik: I mean seriously creepy. You want to see the creepy, YouTube Zakir Naik. He's a first-order bigot (eg, would ban Christianity if he could). But they love him, his acolytes; moderate, mainstream Muslims, all. [though he's often plain wrong]
