Promiment Canadian Muslim group wants to get rid of the burka

The irony is sweet with this story, in that it’s something you simply wouldn’t expect to hear, ordinarily. An influential group of Muslims in Canada, the self-explanatorily-named Muslim Canadian Congress, is asking that the Canadian federal government ban the burka and the niqab. They state the reasons for doing so that not only are they “medieval and misogynist symbols of extremism” (which I mostly agree with, though I don’t think the are necessarily “extremist” in nature), but that they don’t even have any basis in Islam to begin with and are counter-productive to a society which prides itself on equality and acceptance such as Canada (which I do agree with).

They do not ask to ban the hijab, though, and frankly, I wouldn’t, either. I don’t really have anything against wearing a traditional scarf over one’s head; my real concern are those long, ghost-like cloaks of death (that’s what they strike me as when I see them, anyway).

Frankly, I have to admit that I’m fairly torn here in between principles. Half of me, the strictly utilitarian and coldly logical half, knows that whilst banning these garments may infringe upon the rights and liberties of those women who do want to wear them, a “cold weaning” of the garments from our society would eventually be a better alternative than otherwise, as it would force the image of cloaked women out of the common mind and render such garments obsolete, even unthinkable, in a much shorter timespan. However, the other half of me, the one concerned with individual rights, decries the potency of an all-out ban on a garment, regardless of its nature, telling me that if someone wants to wear something as stupid, archaic and controversial as the burka or niqab are, then it's their right, regardless of what others think.

But, all in all, I do believe that purging such garments from any society could only be a good thing, down the line, regardless of any frazzled feelings that might arise as a result. After all, many were offended when slaves in America were liberated; the point is that if people always stop progress for the sake of fearing to hurt others’ feelings, then nothing would ever get done, anyway.

Technorati tags: Islam · burka · niqab · Muslims · Canada · Muslim Canadian Congress