Banning The Burqa Ban

There has been debates about whether the Islamic face veil should be banned in countries. The arguments that governments of countries that have banned the Muslim face veil (France, Syria, Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium) argue that the full-face veil is oppressive, degrading towards women, and goes against values of each country. However, many Muslim women believe otherwise and strongly disagree with the banning of the veil. I strongly believe that the Islamic face veil should not be banned because it is a complete violation of religious and expressive freedom and forces them to conform to an alternative culture.

Since the incident of 9/11 occurred, many people have debated over the Muslim faith and its practices. Muslim extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS have affected the name of Islam causing majority of Muslims to be blamed. Recently, a tragic event that occurred in Paris killing over a hundred people left the people of France shaken with fear and anger. These events have lead to an increasing amount of hate and tension towards Muslims all over the world from protests at mosques, where Muslims go to pray, and anti-Muslim rally’s. Islamophobia is a massive issue that has steered European counties like France to enforce laws that ban religious garments that Muslims wear such as the niqab and burqa. Some people perceive these garments to be

Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that the women wear a veil or hijab, which is a headscarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Qur’an, an Islamic scripture supports, and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “Let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments.” (Qur’an). Muslim women, instead of feeling oppressed, view this as a positive aspect in their lives, influenced by their devotion to Allah. Their acceptance could be influenced by their

. The wearing of burqa has become contested in European nations for reasons of security and identification but also as a challenge to women's rights from both sides of the fence . Opponents argue that it is from an oppressive patriarchal culture that makes women cover up, though for many Muslim women they feel it is their choice to wear it for religious reasons and stopping them doing so is impacting their rights. Groups both in the West and those that oppose the west have presented ideas about the nature of Muslims to support their cause, this comprising of being highly aggressive, opposed to liberty,unafraid of death being prepared to go to any lengths to achieve their objectives. These ideas mean immigration within the west has become highly contested especially since the recession for economic , social and security reasons, and a fear about immigrants has been created that is not beneficial to moving forward . An article in the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) polled attitudes towards muslims and found that they were more favourable when groups met and discussed their points of view, they found that it led to a greater understanding and reduced

Politicians in Quebec have passed a controversial religious neutrality bill which would require people receiving and giving services to expose their faces and could mean that the Muslim niqab or burqa could be banned in public.

The article Behind the Ban by Ash Garton Timothy argues in his opinion women in France should be able to make their own choice of wearing burkas even though it is unnecessary. Ash states three arguments in his article which are that burkas are a threat to public safety, criminals can be wearing burkas to cause harm, and burkas attract voter back from the xenophobic far right. Many people may think that these women fathers and husbands make them wear these to not show anything, but in reality the women feel more comfortable with them. Ash explains that a study done by the Open Society Foundation, “Report in-depth interviews with 32 women who wear the full- face veil in France. All but two say they are the first members of their family to do so, and almost all insist this was a matter of free personal choice” (Ash). Almost all the women in France say that they wear the burkas for their spiritual journey; it is their way of protesting for their sexuality. Ash states from Vivi, 39, South of France, “‘For us it’s a way of saying that we are not a piece of meat in a stall, we are not commodity’” (Ash). Getting treated like a product is something really hurtful. No matter what race you are everyone should have respect for each other. Concluding he say “Let us defend free speech against violent Islamist intimidation” (Ash). If someone is not white it does not mean that they are criminals or are capable of cause

The banning of the burqa has become an issue in many places, including France. The French Parliament has decided it is time to ban the burqa in public. They believe is a sign of the subjugation and submission of women to males. Some believe it is used to cover up abuse and they also believe it is unfair to the public that citizens cannot see the women’s faces. However it is unfair for these women to be banned from wearing what they choose as just everyone else does.The banning of the burqa should not be allowed because it is discriminatory towards Muslim women and violates their freedom of religion and their freedom to express themselves.

In the article,” comment”,Pat Lancaster, an editorial writer, argues let them discard that they should have the choice to do so but a personal one,as well as needing to uphold personal freedoms. She believes that without liberty,egality and fraternity France wouldn't be the same. She or he supports the claim by giving evidence about equality and emancipation. People culture and who they are being taken away by the government and people of the same culture supporting the ban. She follows this with reasons why they shouldn't ban the hijabs and how other ethics including muslims contribute leading european power .

Often women were abused by their husbands and the burka would hide the damage the husband did to his wife. Since the only way for women to get out of a relationship was through proving they were abused it was nearly impossible for them to prove they were abused. But if a woman felt that she could prove her case she would go in front of a court to prove her circumstances. The man’s word was thought to be more reliable, however, so the woman would not be allowed to get the divorce unless her case was proven. Even in some cases when the woman proved her abuse the court would side with the man. This just goes to show just how much power a man in Muslim society had over his wife. If a woman tried to beat her husband, however, they would get in trouble with the law. They would often be beaten to death if these rules were not satisfied. The man was also able to divorce the woman in these circumstances as well because the men’s wishes were granted in many marriages because of their superiority. When a man would divorce his wife though it was a major issue for the woman because she would be left with no land and

A nun can be covered from head to toe in order to devote herself to god. But when a Muslim woman does the same she is being oppressed. It may be argued that wearing a burqa benefits only a few and brings more harm than good to society. The real question is who does it harm? That should be the basis for banning this piece of clothing, not one based on fear or an arguably feeble argument that the women do not have a choice. To say that a ban on a specific item like this is undemocratic is an understatement. Following the French senate’s unanimous vote in favour of banning the burqa in late 2010, many European and western countries including Belgium and Spain have made the decision to take the

Among the Islamic community, there is a wide range of views from those who believe that head and face covering is required, to those who believe it is un-Islamic. This is due to individual’s interpretation of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Sura, a chapter of the Qur’an calls for “the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close around them”. As this phrase is somewhat unclear, traditionalists believe that women should cover their face and head whilst from the same passage Moderate Muslims believe that it does not explicitly dictate that women should cover their heads and faces. Another phrase from the Sura also causes divergence amongst Muslims followers as it tells “believing women to lower their gaze and be modest and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent and to draw veils over their bosoms”. Again, moderate Muslims believe that this passage only refers to the covering of the breasts. There is no unified position in regards to the veiling of women because of multiple and individual interpretations of the Qur’an and different cultural expectations. Because of this, there are a range of options of veils, from covering just the head to cover the face and body. The most commonly seen veil is the Hijab which covers the shoulders and head, opposing this is the Burqa which is a full body veil where the wearer’s face and head are covered and one sees through a mesh or grill over the eyes. It is important to note that it is not

At a peak in time where the Muslim population in Europe felt most discriminated, the ban on the hijab was declared in France in 2004. This piece of religious clothing was no longer allowed inside public work settings

Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that women wear a veil or hijab, which is a head scarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Qur’an, an Islamic scripture, supports and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments.” (Qur’an). It could be inferred that women wear the burqa and veil willingly because of their geographical location. However, when Muslim women are withdrawn from the Middle East, and are placed

The wearing of a hijab or also known as a veil has lately become a problematic issue in numerous locations around the world, in particularly the Western part of the world. Hijab or veil is a headscarf that is regularly worn by Muslim women. Muslim women will wear a veil as a sign of favor to their faith. On the opposite side, others will wear it because they have no other choice from the pressure of their family members and religion. Individuals will even argue that the wearing of a hijab is a spiritual liberation. Other individuals will have a difference in opinion by saying that by wearing a hijab is an unjust to women, they believe that the wearing of a hijab is part of a Muslim system that brings women under command and control.

The idea of ‘covering’ was mentioned another time in the same chapter commanding the Prophet’s wife, as mark of high distinction, to speak from behind a hijab (meaning a curtain). These verses are very broad and can be interpreted in many ways. The verses don’t prove that women need to cover their faces. France utilized this verse to make it appear as though it is prohibiting something embedded in culture rather than religion itself. In an article in favor of the ban written by Dr. Qanta Ahmed (a practicing Muslim) he says, “because of the Burqa, Muslim women generate attention, rather than deflect it – the exact opposite of the principle of veiling. They obscure the long-forgotten ideal of Islamic veiling that extends well beyond either clothing or gender, foolishly relegating a rich philosophy into mere cloth.” Also Dr, Qanta Ahmed states, “Islam mandates modesty of the male Muslim as much as of the Muslim woman, through conduct, not necessarily specific garment – a principle smothered in today's revival of rote ritualism.” This argument is speaking for many others in favor of this ban. A woman wearing a Burqa may attract attention, but not the kind of attention the Burqa is trying to avoid. Men are less likely to look at a woman wearing one in a sexual manner. There are many things that attract attention such as being naked, wearing exposing clothing, and having hundreds of piercings all over your face, however, that doesn’t make it logical to ban something that