Jihadi Du Jour: A Veiled Threat

The culture clash between Islam and the West has been front and center for many years. The recent niqab, or full face veil incidents seem to have brought the issue to a head. An English teaching assistant was recently fired for refusing to remove her niqab when in the presence of men. A Michigan judge threw out the case of a woman who refused to remove her niqab while testifying in court.

Naturally, what followed were claims of racism, discrimination and suppression of freedom of religion. As usual, the Moslem voice had no time to take into account the rules or norms of the society in which they are living. We must tolerate them while they are forbidden to tolerate us. This precedent was smartly summed up by Mike's America; "By tolerating the intolerance of Muslims, so we don't offend them, we've allowed them to set the terms for the discussion."

I bring to you Anne Applebaum from today's Washington Post:

Critics call the veil a symbol of female oppression or rejection of Western values. Defenders say that it is a symbol of religious faith and that it allows women to be "free" in a different sense -- free from cosmetics, from fashion and from unwanted male attention. Debate about the veil inevitably leads to discussions of female emancipation, religious freedom and the assimilation, or lack thereof, of Muslim communities in the West.

And yet, at a much simpler level, surely it is also true that the full-faced veil -- the niqab, burqa or chador -- causes such deep reactions in the West not so much because of its political or religious symbolism but because it is extremely impolite. Just as it is considered rude to enter a Balinese temple wearing shorts, so, too, is it considered rude, in a Western country, to hide one's face. We wear masks when we want to frighten, when we are in mourning or when we want to conceal our identities. To a Western child -- or even an adult -- a woman clad from head to toe in black looks like a ghost. Thieves and actors hide their faces in the West; honest people look you straight in the eye.

If Western tourists can wear sarongs in Balinese temples to show respect for the locals, so too can religious Muslim women show respect for the children they teach and the customers they serve by leaving their head scarves on, but removing their full-faced veils.

Many years ago my father taught me that one person's rights end where the next person's nose begins. Freedom of religion is not a sweeping exemption from compliance with the laws or established culture of a given society. No one is forcing this woman to be a teacher. She is not being forced to be in a situation which would compromise her religious beliefs. She must adapt to the society that she has chosen to live in. She must double check, and be damned sure where my nose begins. With every passing day, incidents like these are going unchecked. Many have come to accept that the Moslems are different and must be catered to for lack of offending them. It's time to put this practie to bed. Can you spell dhimmi?

From: The American Israeli Patriot

Labels: dhimmitude, Islam in America, Muslim Veil