Word: veils
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...promised Dutch ban is only the most recent and bizarre in a spate of assaults by European democracies that appear to be targeting the veil as a proxy for what they see as a dangerous spread of Islamic culture in Western Europe. In Britain, former Foreign Minister Jack Straw last month groused that the niqab created unnecessary barriers between people, and prevented communication because meaningful exchange "requires that both sides see each other's face". Prime Minister Tony Blair later added that it created a divisive "mark of separation." Wearing the hijab in schools is against the law in certain...
...this fact, that both in France and much of the rest of Europe the veils in question are worn by such a small minority of Muslim women, that makes the crackdown seem downright obsessive. Supporters of such action counter that veils symbolize a subordination of women, and that they challenge or threaten more progressive Muslim women who decline the veil. Such arguments might sound convincing until one bothers listen to women wearing those same veils, and their earnest explanations that the coverings symbolize modesty, humility, devotion to their faith, and subservience to no one but their god. Unless all these...
...great point. One shouldn't doubt the concern and good intentions of progressives and secularists calling for Muslim women to resist socio-cultural coercion and shed the hijab and niqab as an impediment to full integration into European society. Still, those same opponents of the veil shouldn't presume they can dismiss as misguided or deluded the conviction of women who say they wear hijab by choice, and who argue that the only coercion they feel is coming from opponents of these symbols of their faith...
Europe's traditions of secular tolerance appear to be haunted by the Islamic veil. Every week seems to bring new headlines announcing moves to crack down on the wearing of what critics appear to deem this most alienating symbol of Muslim faith, whether in French public schools, British government buildings or out in public in the Netherlands...
...disgusted to learn that I.J.T. members have been known to physically assault students for drinking, flirting or kissing on campus. Any group that uses thuggery should be banned and the culprits penalized. A university campus should be a place that encourages free speech. If students want to wear the veil, then so be it. But if they do not, then they must be accommodated as well. However, in my view, Pakistan is becoming more liberal, especially on college campuses. All my friends and family who live there paint a picture that is very different from the society I left barely...