Re: Face covering
 

The niqab has nothing to do with religion...it is all about male domination of women.
Nowhere in the Qu'ran does it tell women that they must cover their faces.
It is a throwback to Persian aristocracy...it is a tribal custom, but many muslim men have been brainwashed to equate it with the muslim religion....and pass this belief on to their women and children. The women do it out of deference to their husbands and fathers - but it is the men who require it to be done...not the religion.

You can see far more muslim women in Blackburn wearing this garment than ever you will see in a Turkish city.

It is intimidatory, anti-social and when it comes to the courts of law and schools it should be banned.

Re: Face covering
 

You need no special building to exercise any religious belief...you can pray anywhere - if you want to.

Re: Face covering
 

You need to reread my post Mrs P last sentence please.

And yes when the wearing of a veil impinges on the functioning of justice or education it can't be right that individual devotion takes priority.

Now reread my first and second sentences please.

Re: Face covering
 

I do NOT need to read your post again...as I understood it the first time.

In fact if you read my post you can clearly see it is undelining some of what you said...however, I do not believe people have a right to wear something which is anti-social and intimidatory.
Much of our perception of people is gained from facial expression(which is why the internet is such a bad way to get across certain points and nuances)....and women who say they choose to wear such a garment are denying us the opportubity to see facial expressions...and determine what they are really thinking or feeling....It also makes it impossible for those who are deaf to determine what is being said...and you do not always know when you will encounter a deaf person in your daily activities.

In this country christians are denied the opportunity to show any outward expression of their faith......I remember a man being sacked from his job for having a palm cross in his van...yet today I go into the GPO and see above the counter, something written in arabic(roughly translated it said 'God is great,...or maybe that should read Allah)....and this is permitted...so the thing about religious beliefs seems to me to be all one way.
We do not need to see a woman clothed from head to foot(in a niqab too) to know she is muslim....the rest of her form of dress already tells us that.

Re: Face covering
 

yes and although i would appreciate a weekly collection to help out with the bills and repairs etc i dont insist women cover their faces although it has been tempting to require the ugly ones do iv resisted temptation thus far

Amen :D

Re: Face covering
 

The vast majority of the 1.4 million Muslim women in Britain do not even wear the face veil, as it is not considered a religious obligation. The tiny minority that do are probably happy to remove the veil when required.

It is unfortunate that sometimes the odd Muslim woman is unreasonable and refuses to remove it. Such attitudes are contributing towards portraying their own faith negatively - Islam is not rigid and is flexible.

Women being unreasonable... nothing new there then ;)

Re: Face covering
 

Aye its a pity quite a few of em don't see it that way.:rolleyes:

Re: Face covering
 

Many find the practice disturbing and regard it as backward, but that's no justification for banning it Ol.

Re: Face covering
 

It aint backward, its the knobs that slaughter in the name of it that are, if they want to carry on like that,then sod off to where its acceptable.:rolleyes: I would ban it in certain instances no question at all.

Re: Face covering
 

A thinly veiled reply if ever I saw one Mr C ;)

Re: Face covering
 

Well, I don't know what how many muslim women there are in the UK...or for that matter what percentage of them wear the niqab...all I can say (from personal observation) is that the numbers who cover their face seem to be increasing.
You cannot walk through any of the local towns without encountering more and more of these women.

If I went to a muslim country - let's say Saudi, for sake of argument.......I would be required to cover up and dress modestly......and I have no qulams about respecting the culture of the country.......but if you wish to come and stay in this country, then you should be prepared to accept the ways of this country.
For far too long we have pussy-footed around the sensitivities of ethnic cultures, at the expense of our own.

I do not agree with women covering their faces......and driving whilst wearing a niqab should be illegal.

Re: Face covering
 

Did you never go to a wedding where the bride wore a veil Margaret???

Re: Face covering
 

Now you are just being pedantic(and more than a little silly)...and it does not serve your argument at all.

Of course I have been to a wedding where the bride wore a veil...but it is a thin diaphanous thing that leaves little to be wondered about...it is nothing at all like the thick black material which makes the niqab.......and some of these muslim veils even cover the eyes with a sort of thick net material.....nothing at all like a bridal veil.

Once a bride is married....she casts off the veil, she doesn't go about the rest of her life wearing it...and if you look at weddings..they are getting fewer, and brides are less disposed to wear a veil.

Re: Face covering
 

A cut and paste Margaret:
The veiling of the bride has origins in the idea that she's vulnerable to enchantment, so she must be hidden from evil spirits. The Romans veiled brides in flame-colored veils to actually scare off those spirits.

Perhaps the most evil of spirits, in an arranged marriage, is the threat that the groom, who is perhaps seeing the bride for the first time, won't like what he sees. The veil saves everyone some embarrassment in the short term.

Also, in many religions, the veil is a sign of humility and respect before God during a religious ceremony.

The Victorians turned that reverence into a status symbol. During Victorian times, when archaic customs were formally incorporated into proper weddings, the weight, length and quality of the veil was a sign of the bride's status. Royal brides had the longest veils and the longest trains.

In modern times, generally we have some assurance that the groom has seen his bride and won't be disappointed, and that the only evil spirits will be the ones behind the bar at the reception.

That's how it's evolved into a diaphanous bit of kit.

Re: Face covering
 

well, I wasn't around in either Roman or Victorian times, but whatever...it still doesn't make it right for a modern world to accept that the anonymising of women is something that we should accept as normal....and even embrace.

It should all begin with the education of muslim young men.....they are supposed to be well versed in the teachings of the Qu'ran.

I am sure that I was once told by a muslim colleague, that women attending the mosque were not permitted to retain their niqab...... if I have got this wrong there will be someone who will pop up and tell me.