See Through This

We often hear about a matter which is so often talked about in the Western Society. We hear phrases such as: ‘If we remove it will liberate the Muslim woman’ or ‘This is the only way of granting back the rights of Muslim women’ I am talking about none other than the Burka, or more islamically defined, the Niqab (face veil). The issue of Niqab has been popping up in our newspapers, TV, and the Radio for almost a decade now, if not longer. The Western government deem the wearing of the Niqab to be of a backward custom which has no place in this century we live in. So often we hear that prime ministers and presidents are calling for the ban of the Niqab within their constituency, each claiming that they are forced to act in that manner due to the betterment of their society. Belgium is now the latest European country to vote in its parliament to ban the Burqa. The Belgium government are now introducing plans to prohibit the wearing of the Niqab in public places. These latest outbursts and controversy of the banning of the Niqab in Europe, stems from the proposal of the French President; Nicholas Sarkozy, in relation to completely banning the Niqab from public places. He describes the Niqab as “un-French” and “un-acceptable” to the French society. Despite his ongoing campaign in favour of banning the Niqab the French Catholic Church have also recently addressed this issue by stating that France should respect the rights of the Muslims just as they would want Islamic countries to respect Christian minorities. Bishop Michel Santier, a French Catholic official, also stated: ” If we want Christian minorities in Muslim majority countries to enjoy all their rights, we should in our country respect the rights of all believers to practice their faith.”

In all honesty, this hot topic debate does not look like one that will cease to exist in the near future. The issue of Niqab has gone beyond differences of opinion amongst the Muslim scholars but has now turned to the differences of opinion of the wider world. One question we need to ask ourselves is, whether the common people, or laymen agree with the wearing of Niqab being a given right to the Muslim woman or whether it’s an obstacle to all.

No government should be in a position to legislate what women should and should not dress, especially one that likes to pry into the wardrobes of women. One thing we should expect from western nations is to uphold their democratic values and promoting freedom.

By N. Adan