Dress Codes, Threats, and Common Sense

Al Qaeda never seems to run out of things to threaten its perceived enemies over. Today, according to this article from CNN, a branch of al Qaeda has threatened to "take revenge on France by every means and wherever we can reach them" for the heinous crime of debating whether or not the burqa should be permitted to be worn in France.

The horror!

In case you aren't familiar with the term, a burqa is the robe worn by some Muslim women which covers them from head to foot, leaving only the eyes exposed. As it is worn in Afghanistan, even the eyes are hidden, covered by a mesh window. Here is a picture of two Iranian women wearing burqas -

The debate over wearing of the burqa has many aspects. Some fundamentalist Muslims believe it is required by Koranic verses which require female "modesty," while others settle for a similar robe which exposes the face, and others for a simple head scarf which hides the hair and neck.

I personally believe the burqa is stupid and without social or religious justification, but my opinion tends not to carry much weight with those who believe women are a deadly threat to men's morals and need to be completely hidden so that they do not provide a temptation to evil thoughts and a distraction from prayer.

But should its wearing be illegal?

The short answer is no. Wearing a burqa may be silly, but if silliness were illegal, there wouldn't be enough people left outside of jail to guard all the inmates. A woman should be allowed to wear what she choses to wear.

Of course, in the case of the burqa, it isn't the woman who is making the decision in many - if not most - cases. It's the religious leaders (all men) who are making the rule, based on their varying translations of Koranic verses. There's a very good discussion of this - including a rundown on the various forms of burqas and the issue of what the Koran actually says in translation - in this Washington Post article by Pamela K. Taylor.

There are good reasons of public safety and security for banning wear of the burqa - not the least of which is that it offers an excellent way to hide weapons, explosives, or other contraband, and that one never can know exactly who is underneath. The most silly recent argument on the subject concerns Muslim women who insist on having their drivers license pictures taken while wearing burkas that reveal only the eyes, if that much. This one goes, in my humble opinion, far beyond the bounds of common sense and reflects an utter lack of willingness to balance their desire to be "modest" with my desire not to be blown up.

Yes, that was an oversimplification, but I think you get my point.

Ladies, if you wish to be modest, by all means, be modest. But I don't think a burqa is a sign of your modesty - if anything, it's telling me you think you're so sexy that you have to completely hide yourself or you'll drive the rest of us so wild with lust that we will forget everything else.

Modesty doesn't require hiding every bit of your body from the world. Wear a head scarf if you want. Fine. But please lose the burqa. I doubt that a God who made you in His (Her?) image is very pleased if you think that image must be hidden away from the world.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo