Should the Burqa be banned?
Should the burqa be banned?
Founding father, Patrick Henry exclaimed, “…give me liberty or give me death” in a speech to fellow Virginia colonials in 1775. His words are just as pertinent now as they ever were. Countless news stories over the past year about France and other European countries outlawing burqas in public have left me conflicted. The burqa is a long, head to toe garment worn by many Muslim women in public. These bans also include the niqab, which covers the face, and is part of the hijab, which covers the head and hair. Part of me agrees that the wearing of this garment is unnecessary, if not a security concern; another part of me feels that no government should be telling its citizens what they can and cannot wear. Can we balance personal and religious freedom with civic and national security in the age of global terrorism? Some say Muslim women are forced or brainwashed into wearing the burqa. They are subtly coerced into this tradition. Proponents of a ban assert that burqas are covering up literal and figurative scars of domestic violence. Society would lead us to believe that every Muslim woman chooses to wear a burqa of her own free will, but we know this is not the case. The burqa wearing women in Muslim society represent a small percentage of the religion as a whole. Wearing the burqa has become mostly an extreme practice that modernizing Muslim countries have moved away from. Most religious scholars believe that the Quran requires women to dress “modestly,” and that face veiling is a leftover teaching from the 7th century. Like it or not, we live in a world of surveillance these days. Public safety officials suggest that we can’t afford to have anonymous, veiled people walking around in public. The secrecy provided by the burqa makes the potential for a suicide bomber increase. Terrorist groups’ jihads against the west have put every nation, and citizen, on notice. Government has an obligation to protect its citizens
Founding father, Patrick Henry exclaimed, “…give me liberty or give me death” in a speech to fellow Virginia colonials in 1775. His words are just as pertinent now as they ever were. Countless news stories over the past year about France and other European countries outlawing burqas in public have left me conflicted. The burqa is a long, head to toe garment worn by many Muslim women in public. These bans also include the niqab, which covers the face, and is part of the hijab, which covers the head and hair. Part of me agrees that the wearing of this garment is unnecessary, if not a security concern; another part of me feels that no government should be telling its citizens what they can and cannot wear. Can we balance personal and religious freedom with civic and national security in the age of global terrorism? Some say Muslim women are forced or brainwashed into wearing the burqa. They are subtly coerced into this tradition. Proponents of a ban assert that burqas are covering up literal and figurative scars of domestic violence. Society would lead us to believe that every Muslim woman chooses to wear a burqa of her own free will, but we know this is not the case. The burqa wearing women in Muslim society represent a small percentage of the religion as a whole. Wearing the burqa has become mostly an extreme practice that modernizing Muslim countries have moved away from. Most religious scholars believe that the Quran requires women to dress “modestly,” and that face veiling is a leftover teaching from the 7th century. Like it or not, we live in a world of surveillance these days. Public safety officials suggest that we can’t afford to have anonymous, veiled people walking around in public. The secrecy provided by the burqa makes the potential for a suicide bomber increase. Terrorist groups’ jihads against the west have put every nation, and citizen, on notice. Government has an obligation to protect its citizens