Burka Rage Begins in France: Two Women Try to Rip Burka From Muslim Woman

Totally agree with you

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In the Koran it says a man may beat his wife as long as it it is with a stick no thicker than his finger. it is my contention that the reason women are encouraged to wear these things is to hide the bruisings from the wife beatings. Don't tell me that these people who practise so called honour killings and want to behead those who say islam is not the religion of peace also are totally kind and loving to their wives all the time. Especially as the koran likens women to possesions and chattel.

Regardless of what they claim here is the reality http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

choice empowers women.

if a woman choses to wear a burqua she is empowered by it, if she is forced to wear a burqua it is oppressive.

the reverse is also true.

if a woman choses not to wear a burqua that's empowering, if the burqua is ripped from her body, that's oppressive.

CoffeeJitters.net ( http://coffeejitters.net/blog )

It is absolutely time for people to step up about such persecution.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

Absolutely -- and that diversity is something that people in the west often misunderstand.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

You're absolutely right that there is no uniform standard of anything for Muslims. I know Muslims from Malaysia, India, the UAE, Canada. There's no single identity that fits them all. Personally, I'm perfectly fine with that. There are differences among individual Jews, Christians, agnostics, and atheists, so why should Muslims be any different?

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) ] Photos by LMAshton ( http://photos.lmashton.com ) |

I'm completely horrified that two women violated another woman. As a female, it's disconcerting enough to try and navigate what is mostly a male-centric world (and I cringe as I even type that, because it sounds all feminist-screechy, and a lockstep feminist I am most assuredly not), where you might be conscious of an attack that could happen at the hands of a male.

It's a given that this lady was violated; I imagine she felt doubly so (and was completely blindsided) by the fact that it occurred at the hands of females. This had to have compounded the impact of the attack.

I'm disturbed by this no-burka law in a way that I can't adequately convey. My faith is a huge part of my life; it makes me very, very nervous that this may be the beginning of a terrible downward trend if the world community doesn't step up and demand ANY form of religious persecution be stamped out.

[All blogged up and nowhere to go.] ( http://www.decablog.com/jett/blog.php )

Following rules and dealing with xenophobia are very different.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

"Hands off" is the right guideline!

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I agree -- there is no justification for religious persecution. Ever. Regardless of the "reason".

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I'm no fan of burkas, but I'm equally opposed to the newest trend I see on the streets of NYC in which women wear short shirts with essentially no pants. (And sorry, leggings are not pants, particularly if you crotch is not covered by your shirt.) Still, it is awful that women would attack one another because someone else's clothes or the reason she wears something offends another's sensibilities. If this was a situation in which Western women were attacked in a Muslim country for not dressing "appropriately," I can only imagine the outrage that would follow. That people somehow justify this equally offensive attack as helping "women's rights" makes me sick. This is not showing solidarity with the sisterhood or support for female self-determination. It's a hate crime. Women have the right to be left alone. Period.

Suzanne also blogs at Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants ( http://cussandotherrants.com ) and is the author of Off the Beaten (Subway) Track ( http://offthebeatensubwaytrack.com ).

Justifying religious persecution because people are "scared of what people from that religion might do" doesn't make it any less wrong.

People were scared of witches once, too. I don't think anyone would say the Salem Witch Trials were a good or logical thing.

People also used to be afraid of Christians and Jews. The persecution of those religions isn't remembered fondly by history.

Miss Britt

http://www.miss-britt.com

"Dignity is Overrated"

I was hoping that you would chime in. I recall your comments on another post that were very helpful -- because you have such a unique view into the Muslim world. Thanks so much for giving us a real window into the reality of the burka as you have experienced its use directly.

It is far too often in the West that we assume we understand another's tradition, when in fact there are all sorts of variables attached. What is true for a Muslim in Sri Lanka may differ from Qatar or Algeria or Lebanon. In the west, our imagining that all Muslims are the same is as silly as saying that all Christians are right wing fundamentalists.

The mysterious look of the veil I think raises subconscious anxiety in Westerners -- we just are not used to a face being covered that isn't being hidden for negative reasons.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I agree with the driving issue. And with the need to take the veil of for ID photos, an issue that did hit the courts in NJ when I lived there. But while shopping? The lawyer and her daughter in France stepped waaaaay out of civilized line.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I agree -- the spaces between us all are seeming to become chasms. It is time now, more than ever, for those of us who believe in a tolerant and accepting Peace to live it, to speak it and to promote it.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I've seen plenty f women in clothing I didn't like, but I have never assaulted any of them. The burkas look mysterious to those of us in the West. But, as you said, a bomb could be hiding under a denim jacket as well.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I'm married to a Muslim and his entire family are Muslims, as are some of our friends. Some of the women don't cover their head/hair at all. Some wear scarves over their head/hair. Some wear burkas. Here, it's the whole gamut.

I've had a lengthy conversation with one of our Muslim friends, female, who is a convert to Islam and who wears a burka. In the beginning, she did not, but has gradually changed her attire to being more and more covered until she reached the point of wearing a burka. She is not married, so has had no spousal pressure to do so. Her family is not Muslim, so has had no familial pressure to do so. Her friends are from a wide variety of religions. It has been her choice solely.

When I asked her why she chose to wear the burka, she said it's because she feels much freer. No sexual harrassment, no lewd looks, no one hitting on her, no one staring at her chest or checking her out. She is free to be herself without all of those other distractions that she does not want.

I've discussed this issue with my husband, and his opinion is that it's different interpretations. The basic idea is modesty, but how people interpret that varies.

With most women here, it seems to be an individual choice. My mother in law covers her hair, both sisters in law do not. Most aunts cover their hair, but a few wear a burka. Of those in my generation, there are fewer burka-wearing women, but most cover their hair. Of course, their husband or parents/family will influence what they do to varying degrees.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that burka or not should be left to the individual to decide. If it gets in the way of performing certain functions, like driving or having official photographs taken or... then that's another issue that's separate, in my mind. But I certainly do have a very big problem with anyone telling me what I can or cannot wear, and that extends to telling other people what they can or cannot wear.

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate ( http://food.laurieashton.com ) | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court ( http://srilanka.laurieashton.com ) ] Photos by LMAshton ( http://photos.lmashton.com ) |

There is no excuse for abuse.

Not from strangers assaulting fellow shoppers, regardless of how the shoppers are dressed.

Not from males assaulting females, regardless of how the females are dressed.

And every society has unique rules. When we choose to live in a society that is not of our birth place or religion, we choose to live by rules that are not of our birth place or religion.

One Friday night, I loaded up my life and headed out... ( http://isledance.blogspot.com )

Attaturk banned the wearing of the veil for a reason. It is actually a holdover from tribal traditions that are not grounded in Islam. As a matter of fact, every Turk I know had to take religious education - if they, weren't Moslem, they took their version of it. You can hardly say Turkey is an anti-Muslim state.

I live in an area where there are large numbers of Arabs of all backgrounds. My only issue with Burqas and Niqabs is that NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DRIVE IN THEM. You cannot see properly when wearing one. Sorry, if you want to wear one, no driving.

MLO / Melissa

Books, Movies, Games, Ovarian Cancer, and Life in General at http://www.mloknitting.com/

I do see both sides of the issue up to a point but there is no excuse that justifies what they did to that poor woman.

What I don't understand is why we seem to be moving further and further away from empathy and understanding of each other's beliefs and traditions. What ever happened to "Live and let live"? Whatever happened to "do unto others as you would have others do unto you."? Fear and distrust are more often than not the watchwords of today. If world leaders are talking about "reciprocity" for sanctions against clothing, for goodness sake, this world is really in big, big trouble.

There isn't a more beautiful phrase than "Peace on Earth." Why does it seem more elusive than ever?

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere"

Lake Mary Musings ( http://www.lakemarymusings.com )

This is obviously a sensitive issue, but I'd say that no one has the right to rip off another person's clothing. You'd think a lawyer would know better.
The use of demonizing language/imagery (Belphegor) is inexcusable, too. It dehumanizes the woman inside the garment.
I'm wondering if the lawyer would rip the wimple from a nun's head if she didn't agree with the teachings of Catholicism. Probably not, because the social structure in which she lives would vilify her for it.
Burkas bother me, too, for the same reasons that Avidd cited. Well, except for the bombs part; I know that a burka COULD hide a bomb, but a denim jacket could hide one, too.
That said: The way I feel about a burka does not give me -- or anyone -- the right to assault a woman who's wearing one.

You are so right that all Muslims should not be punished. Are they also telling nuns not to wear traditional habits in public? If it is cold out, can you not wrap a scarf around your lower face? Is it illegal to wear sunglasses and a turtleneck sweater? Muslims are clearly being singled out.

~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool ( http://timesfool.blogspot.com )

I think the band is absurd, but I understand why they want to do it. In some Muslim countries women are required to cover themselves more than they would in their native country, so is this the same thing?

But here's the real issue: terrorism is rampant, people are scared and don't know what to do to stop it. But I will say this, no ban on outer attire will stop extemists from bombings and hijackings. And the same way the French don't want to be blamed for what their colonial ancestors did to people in other countries is the same way all Muslims don't want to be punished for the actions of a small few.

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