| FrontPageMag.com | By Robert Spencer | By Hugh Fitzgerald | Books | Jihad Watch | Robert Spencer | Islam 101 | Qur'an Blog |  |
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
Of course, the "right" to wear hijab is just the proverbial camel's nose under the tent. This "right" rather quickly becomes a grim requirement -- as women in Iran and elsewhere have discovered. It is just like conversion: one is free to convert to Islam; one is not free, however, to convert from it. Women in the UK must be free to wear headscarves. All right, but how long will it be before they are not free not to wear them? From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with thanks to Sharon:
London, 20 July 2004 -- A newly established group in the United Kingdom aims to protect the right of Muslim women to wear traditional Islamic head scarf, or hijab.The Assembly for the Protection of the Hijab was created in July by the U.K.'s Muslim Women's Society and the Muslim Association of Britain.
It vows to fight bans on wearing the hijab in schools, as well as the impact such bans have on communities in Western Europe. It has even declared 4 September, the start of the new school year in Europe, International Hijab Solidarity Day.
"I think it shows how concerned the Muslim community is about the whole issue of dress, and how much emphasis is being placed on how Muslim people dress," said Shabana Khan, a spokeswoman for the Muslim Council of Britain, which is affiliated with the Muslim Association of Britain.
Khan pointed out that two recent events acted as a catalyst for the group's formation.
One is the ban on hijab in state schools in France that comes into force after the summer school holidays.
The other is a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights to uphold the decision of a university in Turkey to force a female student to stop wearing the hijab.
Khan said both decisions represent a basic violation of mainstream Muslim views[.]
"The mainstream Muslim or Islamic view is that for men and women there is a dress requirement, and I think that the covering of a woman, including her hair and her body, is part of that requirement," Khan said.
This woman's language betrays the unilateral nature of her quest. If a "dress requirement" is part of "mainstream" Islam, what will prevent it from eventually being required of everyone?
Posted by Robert at July 21, 2004 9:57 AM
Print this entry
| Email this entry
| Digg this
| del.icio.us
This has nothing to do with Muslim women wanting to wear headscarves but has everything to do with
Muslim proganda fuelled by clerics.It is also a determined attempt to flout Western norms. Go to just about any Islamic site and you will find the
Hijab is a BIG issue.They are literally 'spoiling
for a fight.'
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 21, 2004 11:14 AM
A couple of excellent articles about why the hijab should be banned:
http://www.middleastwomen.org/html/hejab.htm
http://www.middleastwomen.org/html/againsthijab.htm
Posted by: Ali Dashti at July 21, 2004 11:46 AM
Covering their hair is supposed to protect their virtue and make them less attractive to men so the weak willed muslim men can keep it in their pants....I saw a woman wearing a pair of very tight jeans, a shirt that was quite tight and high heeled sandals....and you guessed it a headscarf...nice going, cover that hair, never mind that your clothes are painted on, no guy would look because your hair was covered. (the girl was about 17 or 18 I would guess)
Then there are the ones wearing a hefty bag and all you can see is the face, then the extreme hefty bag with eye holes....they sad part is that these women are convinced that being told what to wear by "men", being slapped around and the "man" having other wives is respectful and loving...and that is the threat of the west...if these women get even a small taste of what love and respect REALLY are the sad, pitiful muslim men will have nothing...and they know it.
Posted by: USAgirl at July 21, 2004 12:02 PM
What bothers me is the full body covering and the veil. There is no way of knowing who is in there, what sex they are or what they are hiding. Paranoid, maybe - but it's denying the right of a unique creation to be unique, if you can do that legally you can hide anything.
The hijab is not that traditional anyway, according to some. I have read somewhere (Amir Taheri? Benador Associates? - I think ) that it is in fact based on the traditional garments of Christian Nuns!
Can anyone confirm this?
at July 21, 2004 6:29 PM
It is only a matter of time before this debate reaches the United States.
Posted by: Christian at July 22, 2004 1:44 AM
Has it ever occurred to anyone that some-one could rob a bank wearing a burqa or a chador?
It would also be easy to shoplift and put things under your chador without anyone noticing it.
at July 23, 2004 8:00 AM
Yes it has occured to law enforcement officials, however police have had to endure 'sensitivity' training especially in regards to the holier than thou, untouchable, submissive muslim female. Police are to make every attempt to have a femal officer handle a female muslim. In addition it would be very easy for a muslim man to wear the black circus tent and hide any weapons that he chose, and while police are running around trying to get a female officer on the scene so as not to offend her highness, he could kill them all...funny how they never had to take 'sensitivity' training regarding christians, jews, bhuddists, scientologists, jehovahs witnesses, etc....are the muslims a special group..or do police expect that they will have to new honor of committing the majority of crimes now?
Posted by: USAgirl at July 23, 2004 8:46 AM
And it wouldn't even have to be a muslim man who wore a chador.
Any young kid who wanted to commit a crime could do so, wearing the chador or burqa. In fact, I'm really amazed that that hasn't happened.
Think about it: a mafia hitman could carry out a contract killing wearing the chador. The possibilities are endless.
Posted by: Voltaire at July 23, 2004 6:31 PM
(Note: Comments on articles are unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dhimmi Watch or Robert Spencer. Comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying may be summarily deleted. However, the fact that particular comments remain on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Robert Spencer of the views expressed therein.)