AnudduhMom

That's why I brought up Orthodox Jewish attire, Pizzagirl. It is a form of separatism that you find in some cultures, both internally in the U.S. and elsewhere. But I don't think you can paint every "separatist" culture with the same broad brush. If you try to engage a woman wearing a sheitel in conversation, I don't think it's the same thing as trying to communicate with a person whose face is entirely unseen in a burqa.

We live in a culture that works on a currency of communication, verbal and otherwise. People dressed like the Amish or Hasidim or Catholic clergy or in hijabs/niqabs or any other "religious" dress may be "separate" and live with different mores, but I think we can all agree that this modified dress still leaves open the possibility of communication with the wearer, wheras the burqa rather obviates that.

binx

I'm too lazy to look it up now, but I remember there being an issue with the outfit because of it covering identity completely. I think it had to do with someone refusing to take it off for a passport photo or TSA or something. Don't remember how it was resolved.

NuclearPakistan1

A lot of Scandinavian countries are also very secular, to the point where they condemn Islam because of its nature. As a Muslim who has been raised in America, I feel as though I am the "bridge" in-between, choosing whether I adopt a secular lifestyle or a religious one. There is no doubt that my decision among millions of others will have a direct affect on the future of Islam in western society. Having a fundamentalist mother, and a liberal father, I have been raised with polar opposite views on a lot of issues. While my mother wants me to get an arranged marriage, my father's only requirement is that my potential wife has an open mind and a prestigious college education. ( *sigh* Pakistani parents lol) I just feel at loss sometimes when I try to weld western ideals with traditional ideals.

The burqa should not exemplify Islam as a whole, rather a discreet paradigm of one country, where women certainly cannot choose the path they with to take. My cousin's wife works at Goldman Sachs and wears a hijab everyday, and she never receives any problems whether it is from her boss or from her colleagues. Sarkozy is a little naive to think that eradicating the pious act of wearing a hijab will ameliorate the problems associated with organized religion. There is no qualm in my mind that this will supplement the problems there already are with organized religion. Of course, the fact that I don't want my wife to wear a hijab confuses me, certainly multifarious beliefs have created my confusion of who to believe. My mother tells me to marry a "hijabi" while my friends and colleagues are totally unrestricted in their choice of who to be with and pressure me to have pre-marital relations. Should I believe my own fundamentalist mother or follow the footsteps of the likes of Sarkozy and my colleagues?

RebelCats

Where I live there is a very large Muslim population, also a lot of Mennonites. There are a few Muslim women in my college as well some Mennonites. The Muslim women in my school and around town dress like this:
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8...f46aa5ebw8.jpg

I never once thought to ask why they would do that here. Really none of my business and I don't think if you live in another country you have to dress like the people of that country you are now living in. If you feel more comfortable dressing in your native country (or religious) trends or whatever fine. Who am I or anyone else to say no one can't.

One of the women in my school is married and expecting a child. I have no idea if she is married to someone in the same religion as her or not. But she is always happy and smiling no matter where I see her at. We are majoring in the same thing so we have many classes the same and she is a very smart student that works very hard.

Why are so many governments so hell bent on dictating every aspect of people's lives. What people wear is none of the governments business as long as they are not breaking any laws. And the country in this article sounds like they will be regulating what people wear.

razorsharp

Exactly. How about if men start being required to wear burkas? Let's see how many seconds it takes to end the burka practice.

geek_mom

Whether or not you're right about the "coercion" factor... try swimming, running, crossing the street, or even just walking around on a summer day while wearing first a purity ring and then a burqa. Then I think maybe you'll see the difference a little more clearly. You won't see it through your peripheral vision while wearing the burqa... but all the same.

Also, geek_son just pointed out that none of his evangelical Christian friends have been beaten in the street for not wearing a purity ring....

LongPrime

Perhaps she is a pious and observing Christian?

1 Corinthians 11.

Northstarmom

"The burqa is fairly unique in its level of public obnoxiousness."

All a matter of opinion. Women who wear burquas probably think that wearing shorts and halters is indecent.

BuddyMcAwesome

France can blame Charles DeGaulle for this whole problem. If he hadn't let the Algerians into France there wouldn't be any burqas to ban.

tennisplayer121

I fail to see how this is an immigration issue, as some posters in this thread seem to suggest. Not all Muslims in France come from outside. This should be considered an internal cultural issue.

Hunt

Do you think we should in general ban things that cut people off from the broader community, like the burqa does? How about homeschooling....?

Pizzagirl

And many ultra-Orthodox women would not communicate with a man not-her-husband except in cases of necessity. They certainly wouldn't be open to small talk. And? So? They're still allowed to live like that, if that's how they like it. You couldn't get me to live like that for a million bucks, but so what?

So it is necessary for our dress to communicate openness-to-communication? What if I wear a t-shirt that says "Don't talk to me"? Same difference, no? I am not obligated to want to talk to anyone I don't want to, and neither are Muslim women wearing the hijab.

Pizzagirl

Exactly. Part of freedom is the freedom to be left alone.

Hunt

I don't see how the burqa is much different from going off and living in a walled compound in a remote area. Is that banned in France?

expatme

RebelCats and NuclearPakistan thank you for your thoughtful and inclusive posts.