Well iman2000_us, I'm glad you can appreciate my somewhat quirky sense of humor. Hope you join us on the blog more often, insightful commentary is always welcomed here.

N

@iman2000_us OK, compromise is an option, maybe not my proposal, but something.

Here in the west the majority of women cover their faces with a paint like substance to distort their features, but my understanding is that is done so to accentuate, exaggerate or just plain disguise their natural look. (Yes I'm kidding around here.)

How people present themselves has never been of interest to me, I personally don't wish to dictate to anyone what they should/shouldn't wear. I'm also wary of anyone or any book that deems it necessary to do so. If someone wishes to completely cover themselves, or walk around completely naked, I ultimately don't care, however since I rarely see either extreme, I may find it difficult not to stare, whether to my pleasure or horror.

N

Makes sense doesn't it, such dogs must be on the Cat payroll.

N

@harry, I'm thinking the dogs are mercenaries for hire by either side. KBR or isit BaRK?

N

re: #32: dogs play the "straight man"...

Hello everyone - I would like to clarify one major misunderstanding regarding the covering of Muslim women. I am a practicing Muslim woman who chose to cover after understanding the reasoning behind the command to do so. It has nothing to do with the woman having super sexual charges as some author claims or anything else. First and foremost it's an order from God that is to be obeyed. Simple as that. You will find the same order in the Bible/Corinthians. I don't recall the exact verse number, but I believe it does state for believing women to cover themselves or to shave their heads if they are truthful or something to that matter. Contrary to popular belief, Muslim women are not forced by the men to cover. Does it happen in certain areas? Yes, of course. Unfortunately, not all Muslims have the correct understanding of our religion, and thus misinterpret and behave in a way that has nothing to do with the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet.

Aside from the covering being God’s order, one can go into further argumentation in support of it such as:

· The cover is a protection for women as well as men. For women, from their own desires and vanity to compete for better looks and for men, it protects them from behaving in a way that is not appropriate.

· Let’s be honest, women are objectified as sexual beings, feminism and all, we have not really evolved. The cover provides respect and dignity for the woman, as it forces others to deal with the women’s intellect, rather than her physical appearance.

· Men are visual and are attracted to what they see. When women parade in front of them wearing clothing that is revealing, it causes them to have a sexual reaction. This is a biological reaction. Mixing of genders freely in that state can cause marriages to break up, affairs outside of wedlock, and lots of other illicit behavior.

· It is the woman’s choice to show her beauty to whom she chooses as a partner, instead of having everyone appraise her like some object on the market. Of course, that means marriage and not anything else.

There are many other points as to why more women choose to cover. Believe it or not, but most of the converts to Islam are women, as they like the freedoms given to them by the religion, which I know is never being mentioned by the media, as the portrayal of Muslims in general is one as terrorist, infidel hater, women basher etc. We hardly ever hear all the good, which is 99% vs. the 1% that wrecks havoc.

I sincerely urge everyone to get a better understanding of the things that we fear or bother us before passing judgment on them. If nothing else, we all should be able to agree to disagree in a respectful manner. There is so much good that can be done in the world, yet sadly all of us humans always hang on to the negative aspects of it, instead of cherishing the vast beauty and mercy of God bestowed upon all of us.

I just wanted to state the facts. Feel free to disagree with me. Thank you for your time. Salam, Peace, Shalom

The difference regarding the burqua as opposed to other clothing is that is hides a person's face, making it very difficult to identify the person not only if they have committed a crime, but also if they have been a victim or a witness to a crime. This is not the case when someone wears a suit or t-shirt (I'm not very familiar with polynesian clothing or costumes, but if an article of the clothing hides a person's face, I would support a ban on the wearing of it in public, also.). Exceptions could be made for someone who is participating in a public religious ceremony or rite, while they are actively participating in it.

Of course the ban would not eliminate terrorism from the face of the Earth. However, permitting the wearing of the burqua in public COULD certainly aid someone in getting away after they have committed a terrorist attack.

Regarding the fact that males called in to comment on the subject, I did not hear a single caller discuss what a woman should or should not wear based on the fact that they are a woman. It surprises me that, apparently, you are either unaware or OK with a woman being forced to wear a burqua by her husband, which is more often than not the case.

The Burqas I saw in Afghanistan were very difficult to see into.

Nils, Wel the chatroom is somewhat addictive. Though this format is easier in which to post coherent remarks on.

As to the Cat comment, yeah well when I got my "member of the day" notice, it was for a quote on pidgeons from Jim Hightower, not one of my own obvious brilliance. ;^)>

ps Have patience and email Shawn...

More and more people are coming down with auto-immune disease and lupus and cannot tolerate sun exposure.

Will banning the burqua and such coverings make it impossible for these folks to protect themselves from the sun and fluorescent lights?

Sort of strange criminalizing clothing. Where will it stop?

Hi Maxrot - parts of the facial coverings are transparent. In fact there are two layers, one transparent, and one more solid.

More burqua thoughts:

:: The desert peoples have excelled in artistic creation of textiles and the use of them in garments. To criminalize a garment like the burqua for religious and political reasons is an authoritarian (even imperialistic?) repression of ethnic and artistic expression.

:: Is the future the place where the Ruling Class wears suits and the wage slaves wear t-shirts? The world that lets the Corporate sector alone decide what we can wear is a drab and uncreative world.

:: Terrorism is NOT going to be stopped by banning the burqua. Terrorism has been with us a long time; it is a law enforcement issue, NOT an issue about dress and ethnicity. To criminalize dress is as goofy and draconian as any of the other removals of freedoms of speech and privacy in the name of SECURITY!

:: It would be a much more interesting world if we could be cosmopolitan and allow everyone to dress as they please ethnically and practically. That's diversity. But this rush to SAMENESS is anti-diversity and therefore anti-creativity and anti-expressiveness. We see it in the use of plastic surgery -- used to cut people up and make people look as much like something standardized as possible. Strange and unnecessary practice that says alot about this unhealthy desire to REDUCE differences amongst humans and REDUCE human variety.

:: I think nothing was more BIZARRE and obscene than making the Polynesians wear western costume. How is this any different?

:: All males calling in to comment on this? The usual patriarchal control? Let women wear what they want to wear. Let all people express themselves via their clothing choices.

re Burka, how about if you stipulated that the facial part of the Burka to be semi transparent, enough to obscure the face from distance, yet transparent enough for features to be recognizable up close? Compromise, has that completely gone out the window of modern society?

N