Ban the Burkini

[Regina]

I think it's silly, purely on the basis that it's no different (in terms of what it covers) to a scuba-diving costume.


It's just the meaning behind it people don't like.

I support niqab and burka bans in public, face coverings. Western culture is a culture that values showing your face and being identifiable. We would look at a group of non-religious young people with suspicious glances if they were walking down the street with hankerchiefs tied around their faces, call it "religious" and suddenly we respect it.

When it comes to the hijab (hair covered but not face) I don't respect a ban. In terms of what it covers, it's no different to me wearing a hood or a hat. I can also buy the idea that there actually are many women who genuinely do choose to wear it, looking at the growing "hijab fashion" movement that's appearing among younger Muslim women.

I think people get too lost in the trivial shit, which is a point Ayaan Hirsi Ali made once that I thought was good. Rather than getting lost in banning "Islamic symbols" thinking that it's a solution to Islamism, we should be focusing more on combating the overall Islamist movement head-on by closing Sharia Courts and religious faith schools (all religions, not just Muslim ones), and promoting counter-narratives for European Muslims.