Strangelet
New Member
I have heard it stated many times that the Burqa is not a Muslim custom, but was an older cultural practice which integrated into Musilm communities after the death of the prophet. The Burqa, I am told, has absolutely nothing to do with Islam. Actually, I believe that this line of reasoning is likely to be true.
I have also heard it said many times that people who support banning the Burqa are being intolerant, racist, Islamophobic, are indulging in refugee-bashing, and the list goes on. Of these labels, I am only concerned here with the Islamophobic one. I am puzzled because it seems to me that if the Burqa has nothing to do with Islam, then banning the Burqa should also have nothing to do with Islam.
So we have Muslims claiming that the Burqa has nothing to do with Islam, and we have Muslims claiming that banning the Burqa is an attack on Islam. Are these two groups made up of different people? Or do we have the same people making both claims? How could both claims both be simultaneously valid? They seem to me to be mutually exclusive.
I realize that even if the Burqa is purely a local custom, banning it could still easily be seen as racist and wrong. I do not wish to argue the ethics of such a ban. That would, in my opinion, be very boring.
I have also heard it said many times that people who support banning the Burqa are being intolerant, racist, Islamophobic, are indulging in refugee-bashing, and the list goes on. Of these labels, I am only concerned here with the Islamophobic one. I am puzzled because it seems to me that if the Burqa has nothing to do with Islam, then banning the Burqa should also have nothing to do with Islam.
So we have Muslims claiming that the Burqa has nothing to do with Islam, and we have Muslims claiming that banning the Burqa is an attack on Islam. Are these two groups made up of different people? Or do we have the same people making both claims? How could both claims both be simultaneously valid? They seem to me to be mutually exclusive.
I realize that even if the Burqa is purely a local custom, banning it could still easily be seen as racist and wrong. I do not wish to argue the ethics of such a ban. That would, in my opinion, be very boring.