From the website of
"British Muslims for Secular Democracy." http://www.bmsd.org.uk/articles.asp?id=34bmsd?s position on the wearing of the burka and niqab in Europe
08/10/2009
Introduction
President Obama, in his seminal speech in Cairo on 4th June 2009, acknowledged that: ?Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one?s religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the US government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.?
How different from French President Sarkozy?s approach on 22nd June 2009, when he declared: ?In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. The burka is not a religious sign, it?s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement ? I want to say it solemnly, it will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.?
This document sets out British Muslims for Secular Democracy?s position on the wearing of the burka and niqab in Europe, in light of President Sarkozy?s comments.
1. bmsd notes that there is often an obfuscation of the terminology used in the debate on Muslim women?s dress, and that further clarification is required on the definition of various terms:
-Purdah is the institution of segregating and concealing women.
-Afghan burka is the full one-piece garment which has a cloth grille stitched into it to obscure the whole face, including the eyes.
-South Asian burka is the two-piece full-length garment, similar to a nun?s habit, which can also have the added facility of a niqab.
-Niqab is the veil that conceals the face, except for the eyes.
-Hijab is a regular headscarf that covers the hair.
-Chador is the flowing, shawl-like covering worn by Iranian and many Pakistani women.
2. bmsd posits that the burka and the niqab are essentially cultural practices and do not form part of Islamic requirements, which call for modest dress and behaviour on the part of both men and women. We would encourage Muslim women to take this factor into consideration when deciding whether to wear the burka and / or niqab, as well as the practical implications of adopting these garments. These modes of dress are linked to the hardline Wahabi interpretation of Islam and its intolerant variants, which promote an ?Arabisation? of the religion, whereas in reality Islam transcends cultural practices, geographical boundaries and different periods in time.
3. There needs to be further discussion on the socio-economic dimension of purdah in a historical context. As recently as the 1920s, it was largely elite women in majority-Muslim countries who observed purdah, but working women could not afford to. This is still the case for many women in developing countries who work alongside their menfolk in the fields.
4. As the 20th century progressed, millions of women in majority-Muslim countries fought for the right to participate as equals in society, mirroring women?s movements around the world. They rejected various forms of purdah, based on the argument that these were not mandatory in Islam.
5. bmsd recognises that there is no mention of a specific dress code in the Holy Qu?ran, and that the Hadith which is used to support purdah says that Muslim women should not make themselves conspicuous. In modern times, there is a convincing argument which states that by donning the burka and / or the niqab, the wearers actually make themselves more conspicuous. This argument could even be made in countries with a majority-Muslim population such as Pakistan, where the majority of women do not wear the burka or niqab.
6. bmsd highlights the fact that during the Hajj ? the pilgrimage to Mecca and the penultimate worldly and spiritual journey taken by Muslims ? not only is there a ban on cloth touching a pilgrim?s face, but men and women are not even segregated (despite efforts by the Saudi authorities to overturn this).
7. It is vital to note that the duty to maintain high standards of moral behaviour is not just incumbent on women; it is the men?s responsibility to ?lower their gaze.? [1] It is insulting to suggest that even the tiniest glimpse of a woman?s skin renders men incapable of controlling their primal instincts, and that the woman is ultimately held responsible for this.
8.bmsd considers that the burka and niqab have become more popular in Europe since 9/11 as a reaction to the ?War on Terror,? because some Muslim women view these garments as an assertion of their Islamic identity and religious freedom.
9.bmsd supports the right of men and women to dress how they choose on civil libertarian grounds. However, freedom of expression is a qualified right, subject to limitations in the interests of (including but not restricted to): national security, public safety, the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the reputation or rights of others. [2] We believe that people who interact with public-facing workers in all sectors have the right to do so on the basis of equality. These transactions cannot be considered equal if the employee in question has deliberately concealed their face ? whether the mode of concealment is a niqab, a hood or a mask ? because the concealed person can recognise the person he/she is dealing with, yet the other person cannot see what is behind the face-covering. In terms of public security, we are aware that the full Afghan burka ? pulled down over the face ? has been used on several occasions by men to conceal their identities. We therefore support restrictions on the face-veil in particular settings such as banks, airports and any place where child protection issues are invoked.
10. However, we believe that President Sarkozy?s call for a total ban on the burka and niqab is ill-informed and possibly motivated by Islamophobic impulses. We are concerned by the French Government?s inconsistent approach towards religious expression for Muslims compared with followers of other faiths. For example, the 2004 ban on ?ostensive? religious symbols in schools masqueraded as a catch-all provision encompassing Jewish skullcaps, large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans, but it is clear that this legislation had the biggest impact on Muslim headscarf-wearing girls in practice. We question the motives behind the French Government?s curtailment of the right of Muslim girls to wear the hijab in schools, when there has been no such attack on the right of Christian nuns to wear their habits.
11. Further, bmsd notes that the tone and language that President Sarkozy used when expressing these sentiments will certainly make some people question the right of the state to tell Muslim women how to dress. In fact, many could be impelled to adopt the burka, hijab or niqab as a knee-jerk response to what is widely perceived as a growing anti-Muslim feeling. We would urge these women to be guided not by emotions, but by reason.
12. Islam as a religion empowers women with many rights. bmsd would like to move forward in strengthening that spirit. The fight against racial and religious discrimination is long and hard, and Muslim women must not fall into the trap of conforming to the stereotypes that have been constructed for us.
Topic: The Wearing of the Burka and Niqab in Europe