Islam:veiling women!

MrPedantic wrote:

<...muslim woman may well claim that it is their right to wear a full veil if they want to, and I don't disagree with that, but if excercising their right to wear a full veil encroaches on my rights - or if I need to go out of my way to accommodate it, then that is clearly unfair...> I don't think we have any right to ask people to take off their clothes... MrP

 MrP, we most certainly do have that right. Not insofar as to make someone strip naked - the police and customs/excise have that authority, but not individuals.  Asking someone to remove a veil is not asking them to strip naked.  If the person feels that they are being asked to strip naked because they have been asked to remove a veil, then that person should reconsider why they have come to live in a country where people will expect that of them.  The idea of going to live in another country should be because you like that way of life, and want to be part of that.  It is not to transfer the current way of life to the host country then get upset about the elements that you may not like.  One cannot cherry pick, but must take the good with the bad - or in other words, accepts the elements that they may not particularly like. It is up to individuals to fit in with the country they have chosen to live in - not for the chosen country to fit in with them - if it were the case that the country should fit in with them, then there should have been no reason for them to leave their county of origin in the first place if all they want to do is turn it into wherever they came from.

But, in the UK,  "please remove your veil" does not mean "please unbutton your blouse".  It might mean that in the muslim country that the woman has come from, but it doesn't mean that in the UK.  And, as I've already said, it is up to the people who choose to come and live in the UK, to adapt to the way of life in the UK.  If anybody who comes here to live, feels that they are unable to adapt to the way of life in the UK, then perhaps they have chosen the wrong country and should think about living somewhere else.  I've lived here all my life, and I love the way of life in the UK, and it's wrong for others to come here and bring with them the way of life they've supposedly come here to leave behind.  It's wrong.  Anybody who goes to settle in any other country, should be doing it because they like that country and it's way of life and are wanting to be part of that. 

Hello Tidus

I see it, myself, as an option that's open to all of us.

For instance, would you feel the same way if a native British person chose to convert to Islam and adopt the veil?

All the best,

MrP

Mythical Lady wrote:

To Mr.Tidus, I don't know why you keep saying that anyone who goes to another country is because they like the way of life or want to be a part of it.When I was young, I'd lived in England for two years. And we went there because my father was studying. So one might go for studying others for medication or tourism and so on. During that period we spent really a good time. There was a mutual respect. But at that time, people used to look at the core ,what lies inside the veil, not a mere appearance.  Regards,

The people I had in mind are those who come here from other countries and instead of integrating into the way of life here, continue as if they were still in the country they have just left.  Can you, or anybody else, explain to me why people do that?  What attracts them here if they do not want to be part of the culture, or even learn the language -  there was a case highlighted yesterday of a woman who has lived here for 22 years - and doesn't speak a word of English. From what I can see, many people come here and cherry pick the bits that they like whilst expecting to carry on with the way of life of the county they've left behind. 

Back on the subject of the veil. It is not the Hijab that is the issue.  This type of headdress is absolutely fine at all times:

However, this type is not fine in certain situations:

If anyone wants to wear the niquab or bruka in the UK then that it entirely up to them.  However, they should respect that in certain situations it is not practical.  In the UK, we do not do business with people we cannot see, and it is disrespectful of Niquab and Burka wearers to expect otherwise.