BANNING THE BURKHA

I see that the French government has joined the growing number of countries who have banned the wearing of the burkha and wondered what your views on this are. I know that legislation against what somebody can and cannot wear is heading rather quickly towards George Orwell's view of Britain in the future, but maybe it can be justified in this instance by many factors. For instance, do Muslim women wear the burkha because they are ordered to by their husbands or male members of their families or are they wearing the garb because they want to do so? If they are forced to wear it then it is only right that it should be outlawed. Of course, anybody wearing the burkha could be of either sex and could be concealing anything under the garment including bombs and not only that but it makes things extremely difficult for the security services during an emergency. I think that if we are going to permit people to wear such garments then they should have to remove the face veil section when going indoors.

I am not a racist, I love the history, culture and colour that other races and religions bring to the UK. Whilst in London the other day I enjoyed listening to music from Africa, and Latin America, whilst I was sat in the sun at the British Library.

That said, I think that we should ban it in the UK and applaud France's bold move. The reason I think we should ban it, is that when a British national visits countries where the women wear these clothes, British women are ordered to cover up.
When a British National visits Dubai they cannot kiss in public, if they do they face jail. If we are to abide by their laws and do as they say, why can't we oppose their clothing when they visit our country?

You're at home. Knock-knock... "Who is there?" Muffled response... "WHAT?" More of the same... You look through your side window... you see a dark shapeless and faceless shape... you look more keenly... the face is cowled. Maybe not a great knock-knock joke, but a fair test.
Well, who is there and what would you do?

The other day on TV,a muslim lady from Bradford visited Parkistan and was surprised to see many ladies there in European dress and no burkhas in sight.Saw a party of ladies in Burkhas on the prom in Brid the other day.They seemed to stand out a little bit.

Two got on the train to London on Saturday morning, and there was a gaggle of them on the tube.

The French President declared that the full-body religious gown is a sign of the 'debasement' of women.
'In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,' he said "The burkha is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic." In Britain.I have yet to hear any Muslim stand up,put up a valid argument and fully explain the virtues of why the Burkha is worn. Many people in Britain find its use 'offensive'.

I can understand why some women choose to wear, shall we say, less revealing clothing, due to beliefs around modesty. I can also understand why some choose to keep their hair covered, as they believe their faith dictates this. However I cannot understand at all the complete coverage of the face. This has to be totally unacceptable in this day and age where terrorism is such a threat. As I have a strong faith myself I have to respect others' beliefs but I don't believe that covering the face is a tenet of any faith.

I agree wholeheartedly with the security issue. I can also understand why some people think it is silly to want to cover your face. I admit that some women are forced to cover up by dominant male family members although every one interviewed stated that it was a personal choice and the majority were converts.
However I don`t think it`s either helpful or constructive to ridicule these women by making jokes about them or calling them a gaggle. They are human afterall and have as much right as anyone to board a train with friends.

Now Tiger, you know that our beloved leader Mr Covell is not one to throw insults about and I reckon he didn't mean to do so by referring to a group of burkha-clad women as a 'gaggle'. It's merely a collective noun after all, usually applied to a collection of geese.

....when in actual fact they look more like chubby penguins than geese. Unfortunately I am unable to recall the collective noun for penguins. Incidentally, the Quoran (Koran) makes no mention of the burkha, whch I am led to believe was a garment created well after Mohammed. Makes one wonder how anybody can claim it as a religious symbol.

These permanently strange and therefore permanent strangers in our midst, take no place and therefore enjoy no place in our open and engaging society. Strewth they manage to look both ridiculous and comical yet down right scary in the same instant that one becomes aware of them and that is no mean feat. My greatest suspicion and this goes for all of them, is that they are, at best completely delusional, but more than likely completely deranged.

My dear sir people in glass houses shouldnt throw stones, scary delusional,deranged?, I refer of course to the apparition above your profile

Unlike the bizarre garb in question, Glass-houses are easily seen through whether looking out or in. As for any references, here, to the throwing of stones at these unfortunate folk? Maybe some other thought might have proven less topical and a great deal less unfortunate. My Avatar? Tch-tch, Sir, I thought he had caught my best side.

Hello, Tony. I was under the opinion, I know not why, that your best side is actually back, but I could be wrong. Just something that Ferret said to Sergei in an unguarded moment.

What is the politically correct term for a group of Burka wearing ladies? If someone finds out I will quiet happily edit my previous post.

I will Google......

....and what do I find on the first site I look at? Why, 'a gaggle of women'! Mr Covell you are vindicated.

Is there an age to wearing it? as i can see all sorts of problems arising at a school,and also our children will ask us why these (ill say "people")as you cant tell if its a man or woman,are dressed as they are and not a lot of parents have a clue and cannot answer their childrens questions,but how can you be freindly,try to make conversation,or just generaly say good morning to a person who hides their face behind a mask and garbed in black,its not exactly easy,its hard enough trying to get communities together and speaking under normal circumstances.

I love pretending to pinch the childrens noses then using my thumb as a makeshift nose. If they were decked out in black that simple pleasure would be taken from me, but at least my children wouldn't be embarrased by me stealing their noses!

All very well, Mike, but if you steal the childrens noses, how do they smell? I suspect the answer may be: "Of sick and poo, as always".BoomBoom!

Oh dear!

And their punishment for pinching is to cut off your hand, but you may be able to claim DLA if you get past the new tough medical officer,and if he/she is muslim then thats you over and out.

I haven’t read all the posts; this is a reply to Alan’s opening post.

Under no circumstances is it justified. Prejudice people use fear as a tool. There is more to fear from “an English man in a baseball cap” then anyone in a burkha. Banning it serves no beneficial purpose. If you’d ban it on the grounds of it being able to conceal items then why stop with that? How about my violin case and Spider-man mask? And so what if a man wears a burkha? All this does is inflame hatred, create divisions and build an economy of fear. To beat fear, this hatred, this enemy(?) we need to be better than it, that’s the only way.

No predjudice intended but i cant help asking,is your spider man mask a marital aid,or for just knocking about in?

BBC news this morning ran an interview with a lady from the Muslim rights society ( I think) called Catherine Heseltine and a Muslim Iman. Guess who was in favour of the ban.
As I`ve stated on numerous occasions the majority of burkha wearers are converts, white european girls who have married into the faith and use the veil as a show of faith.
I have only ever heard of one occasion where a man has allegedly worn a burkha to avoid security. Muslim men would normally never dream of dressing as women for any reason. It goes totally against all their beliefs.
Just as an afterthought, a few weeks ago two men robbed a jewellers dressed in forensics suits. Does this mean we should be terrified of SOCO`s?