Hello there again! Just a little
while ago I received another Upfront
magazine, and I happened to find an interesting article to post about. The
article, “Unveiling Europe” by Veronica Majerol, talked about the “burqa ban”
that was put into effect in April 2011. This law “forbids covering one’s face
in public”, and for religious purposes it affects about 2,000 French Muslim
women.
The creators and the supporters of
the law say that allowing people to hide their faces in public prevents them
from fully participating in French society and could enable crime or even
terrorism. But many critics believe the law stems from the increasing
anti-Muslim sentiment in France and all across Europe. The French believe in
secularism, which is the idea that religion should be kept out of public life,
and think the Muslim women should not be able to wear the religious head
coverings in public. But many of the women feel as though the ban in taking
away their right to religious freedom.
I think that the ban should be
removed, as I agree with the women in the thought that it is taking away their
religious freedom. The Muslims should be allowed to wear the burqas if they
want to; it is an integral part of their culture and important to their way of
life, so no one should be able to prevent them from wearing the coverings. If
they do not want to wear them, they shouldn’t be forced to wear them, but
otherwise they shouldn’t be restricted. Instead of protecting rights, the ban
is taking them away.
Good post Mikayla! I liked how in the first paragraph you stated both sides of the "Burqa Ban" equally and in the second paragraph, you added what you thought of the ban. The only thing I can say is to sum up your paragraphs at the end but other than that; you did a fantastic job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the authors stance that if covering ones face is part of the Muslim culture than no one should be able to take that away from them. I don't think it is a rational law for the French government to pass but terrorism is a major problem in Europe. But what if the law is repealed and an incident of terrorism does occur? It is ignorant to stereotype all muslims as terrorist but if there is just one person who does something wrong then the whole French population will suffer, whether they are muslim or French. But still, if there is that one person out there who wishes to harm people and the fact that law enforcement can't see her face helps the offender get away then what happens? However now we are asking the "what ifs". Is it really worthwhile in a real life situation to have Muslim women forego their coverings just to make those around them happy? In Switzerland the same "Burqa Ban" law was rejected in Parliament. The law was narrowly repealed, it had 87 votes for and 93 against. This small margin shows that discrimination is still living strong in this world. "Nationalist lawmakers had argued that the ban was necessary for public safety." However I believe that Muslim women are just the same as you ad me. I don't think they are any threat to public safety.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that taking away someones beliefs is wrong. Everyone should be entitled to do what they think is right. If they believe covering their body in public is the "right" way to do things, then let them do it. It doesn't affect you in any way, granted there have been numerous accounts of terrorism from Muslims over the past few centuries. Personally, I think the French have it out for the Muslims, I do not think that they truly believe that religion should be kept out of daily life. I'm sure there is people living their life with a cross tattoo or necklace and are not being harassed by the French Government. The French should not be allowed to take away the rights every man (or women) is given, such as religious freedom. That is taking away a huge part of their being and if they want to show their pride in what they believe let them. It about affects you as seeing a person you know on your way to work. You recognize them, but that just about does it. Their religious Burqa do not represent anything other than that, being a Burqa. The French are wrong in this act and I believe that this "Burqa Ban" should be repealed immediately.
ReplyDelete