Ban the burqa? Is the yarmulka next ?

Yashwata, that's all well and good until the man cites the Koran as allowing him to beat, nay, kill his wife, daughter, sister, mother or female cousin for any reason or none.

The government needs to admit that Islam is inherently violent and advocates violence against women and those who aren't Muslim.

Those who say that we should ban the burqah for security purposes have shown no evidence that banning the burqah (or niqab) will actually help fight terrorism! The only connection people make between the burqah and terrorism is through the racism and stereotyping in their heads!

This year alone, two white Christians have attacked government buildings: one flew a plane into an IRS building and one opened fire on Pentagon security guards. As a federal employee, what should we do to keep me and my coworkers safe from radical white Christians? I've got an idea! Let's ban crosses! Do you see my point?

Mr. Hecht, comparing identity concealing robes implicated in terrorist activities to small hats is ridiculous.

We adopted anti mask rules in the era of the KKK for good reasons. Racist domestic terrorists concealed their identity under conical hoods and robes while intimidating, abusing, and sometimes murdering other citizens. There is a clear social good served by prohibiting the use of face masks for this purpose.

Furturalogic raises an interesting point about the use of Burqas to transport fugitives and weapons, as well as to conduct terrorist strikes. Certainly in theaters of war where there are terrorist insurgencies the parallels to the KKK terrorist robes are striking, and a prohibition of makes sense.

The primary purpose of the burqa is not to conduct suicide bombings or transport terrorists who would otherwise be apprehended by police. But they are used to subjugate women by limiting their access to society in general, to education, and to employment opportunities. Thus I can't really fault European countries that ban their use in public.

You should read up on Ataturk's Reforms in Turkey. They were designed to bring Turkey out of the middle ages, and included reforms on the burqa.

Modest dress and a head scarf would compare to your yarmulka. That is different from masking your face in public, or being forced to mask your face in public.

Dear Rabbi, Pakistani Islamic terrorists sneaking into India routinely dress up in Burqa to hide deadly arms and ammunition. Anyone wearing a Burqa is a walking explosive in the long run, curtailing this is a smart move! If that does not convince you, try this. Click on the Pretty face to see 12 faces of Living Dead! http://victimofprejudice.blogspot.com/

Now, tell me you are going to justify this barbarism?

Compare and contrast the clothing restrictions with the ones that prevail in the land of the two holy cities.

This not an assualt against religion. Its about public saftey and identification. If any other religion had a full fasce covering it would be banned as well. Since the yarmulke does not obstruct the view of a persons face or really have any possibility of restricting vision, it is not en even comparison. These muslim women are not being prevented from wearing a hijab if they wish, just from covering thier faces. Most countries have laws that prevent people from purposely concealing their identities, ie a mask. This is no different and should have never really been allowed in the first place.

So the so-called secular Europe is now going to liberate muslim women by putting them in Jail for wearing a Burka~!

Europe is the birthplace of Facism and Nazism. There is an ever present undercurrent of violent anti-semitism, anti-Islam and basically unacceptance for anything thats unlike them. European people should never be allowed to decide on matters pertaining to minorities through vote for we know that Germans stood in unison behind Hitler, as did the Italians behind Mussolini and more recently Serbs behind Milosevic when it came to impose inhumane sufferings on the minorities.

Perhaps, if you wore the yarmulka over your face you'd better understand what is at issue.

This is one question that men, frankly, should stay out of.

If I wear a burqa (or a yarmulke) I am harming no one but myself. Therefore, it would be wrong to ban such clothing. However, the burqa is devastatingly harmful for the woman who is forced to wear it. Therefore, it should be illegal to force a woman to wear one. But how can we tell when such coercion is taking place? Easy! It almost always involves violence. And violence is almost always wrong. So, when a husband beats his wives or daughters, he should be arrested. And at that point, it doesn't even matter why he did it! You don't get to hit the people in your family FOR ANY REASON. End of problem.