By: Michaell Lange,
London, 02/02/17 –
Austria has banned full face-veil in public places following similar decisions in France and Belgium. The Dutch parliament is analysing similar action, and in Germany, Angela Merkel is in favor of the ban. But, what is really behind this measure and why Europeans feel so threatened by a woman wearing a burka or Niqab? Fear of multiculturalism seems to be one of the reasons, and the rise of far-right politics in Europe is surely another clue. In Austria, the reasons given by the government to justify the ban was that, the veil stood in the way of an open communication, interfering on the process of an open society. How contradicting is that? The same rule can be interpreted exactly the opposite way. An “open communication” means that what you wear can tell about who you are, or what is your faith. It’s not different for Nuns, Priests, Rabbis, or a Punk or a hippy. However, only the burka has been affected by the ban. It seems that fear might be the main reason behind these measures. If that’s the case, we should hold our heads in shame. Fear of terrorism is the most shallow of all arguments to ban face-veil. Most of the terror attacks in Europe and indeed in the US, were carried out by men wearing western clothes. So what the Burka has to do with it? Ban the Burka is clearly a discriminatory action. European governments are supposed to combat discrimination, but they are in fact promoting it, and that’s utterly unacceptable! Muslim women are very vulnerable. They have little or no rights in many Middle East and Africa countries. In many cases they are forced to marry and are subject of exploitation, and when they come to the “free world” the discrimination continues. It must stop!
Europe is giving in to the same far-right ideas that caused so much destruction in Europe in the past. politicians like Angela Merkel from Germany, should never agree to ban the burka. She might be going against her own ideals and values to counter the rise of the far-right in her country, but this decision will come back to haunt her in the future. For those playing the argument that multiculturalism has failed, it’s important to remember that Europe today is a big pot of mixed race, religion and culture. It seems however, that what concerns Europeans is fear of Islam. Yet, fear of Islam was not caused by terrorists, but by the Western media propaganda. Americans for instance, should be more worried of toddlers than Muslims. Young babies cause more death by fire arms accidents in America than Islamic terrorism. That’s not to mention the Islamic State that have killed far more muslims than any other people put together. So what is this fear about?
Nick Ferrari, a LBC radio presenter based in London, has said in the past that he would not allow a doctor wearing burka to examining him. I ask why not? What is his fear all about? Did he ever asked a doctor to provide a doctor certificate before he let them check him up? have anyone of us done it before? isn’t it a doctor certificate more important for you to worry about than a face-veil? So why Mr Ferrari would ignore the dangers of a possible false doctor exam him and instead, fear the burka? He also said in the past that a person facing a panel of judges should never be allowed to wear a burka so the judges could see his/her face and judge his behaviour. Well, I thought the judges should judge the evidence not the person. So, maybe all people facing trial should actually use burka, so the judges would have to judge the facts and the evidence only instead of the colour the skin or how the suspect behave in court. After all, we all know that black people are more likely to be convicted of a crime than a blue eye white person. So please, burka for every person facing trial!
I can only see one reason for the ban on the Burka in Europe, and that’s discrimination! States are promoting discrimination which goes against European values of liberty, freedom of expression and tolerance. When the state starts to dictate what kind of clothes we should wear, it’s time to be scared and worried. We must not forget what happened to the Jews in the 30s and 40s, and we must not allow anything like that to ever happen again. Muslims in Europe are in a path very similar to that of jews in the 30s, which tragically ended with the holocaust. European people should not allow their governments to pass laws or regulations designed to discriminate people or their culture and religion, unless we want the horrors of the past to become the horrors of the future. I don’t believe anyone wish that. So, we should not fear Islam or muslims. But, we must fear people willing to hurt other people just for the sake of their ignorance and hatred. We should fear people who doesn’t like other people just for what they are. I’m not afraid of Europe been taken over by islam, but I’m really afraid of Europe been taken over by the same radical people who caused the worst humanitarian disaster in the history of Men kind. We should not fear a face-veil, but we must fear hatred. We should not fear people just because they are different, but we must fear people disliking others just because they are different.
Since the end of World War Two, Europe has become a place of refuge for freedom and democracy, where people from all back grounds can exercise their beliefs freely and in Peace. Europe has also been an example in the fight for women equality as well as for the protection for minorities and vulnerable people. We cannot allow European leaders to promote hate and endanger everything Europe has achieved in the fields of human rights since the holocaust. No country has the right to dictate the way you should dress or live! If that is happening in Europe today, it’s time to act quickly and stop these radicals from steer Europe back to the 1930s again.
Michaell Lange 