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Separation Of Religion In Australia

Decent Essays

In 2017 Pauline Hanson entered into the Australian Senate covering herself with a Burqa, ridiculing Muslim’s all over Australia and mocking their religious garments. This is certainly not the first time Australian Muslims have been mocked, discriminated and harassed for their faith and it was certainly not the last. The Burqa is a full face covering, which is chosen to be worn by a minority of Muslim adherents in Australia. If the burqa is to worn in public places within Australia (e.g. shopping centres, schools) it inhibits the ability of the Muslim adherent to fully function in Australian society. This may occur for a number of reasons including harassment, discrimination and cultural differences. For this reason divergence is created in …show more content…

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

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