France’s ban on the burqa
Today France introduces a ban on the burqa. A similar ban is already in operation in Belgium, likely to be implemented in the Netherlands, and under discussion in Canada, Denmark and Spain.
Bizarrely, in a French population of 64 million, the number of women who cover their face is a tiny figure estimated at between 350 to 2,000. Many Muslims, therefore, see such ban as Islamophobic which I believe it is.
I am a libertarian. I believe that people should be free to behave as they wish unless their behaviour curtails the freedoms of others. The burqa is no threat and the banning of it threatens community relations.
As the British politician Ed Balls, once put it:
“I wouldn’t want to be part of a religion myself where we said to women and girls, ‘You have to wear a veil.’ But I also would not want to be in the kind of society where people were told how to dress when they walked down the streets.”
April 11th, 2011 at 10:19 am
The French Government are a load of burkes!
April 11th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Re: “I believe that people should be free to behave as they wish unless their behaviour curtails the freedoms of others.”
I think you’ll find it’s a bit more complicated than that, Roger. We don’t allow people to walk naked in the streets, for example. We don’t allow people to eat endangered species. We don’t allow them to have sex with animals (as far as I know). I’m sure you can think up dozens of other examples.
We cannot escape having cultural norms for all sorts of things. And these are based on our values and beliefs about what’s right or wrong. And at times the law is used to enforce those norms.
There are plenty of religious principles which the laws of Britain forbid. Sky burial comes to mind (leaving dismembered corpse to be eaten by birds). And suttee (where a wife immolates herself on husband’s funeral pyre). So we inevitably HAVE to draw lines. The question is where to draw them.
The example of suti is quite a good one to compare with wearing burqa. Let’s say in each case the woman believes whole-heartedly it is right and proper. We (western liberal democrats) see it differently. How do we decide when to use laws to intervene?
April 11th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
‘Re: “I believe that people should be free to behave as they wish unless their behaviour curtails the freedoms of others.”
I think you’ll find it’s a bit more complicated than that.’
Of course, it’s more complicated than that, Andy, BUT:
a) It’s a very good working principle – to which I would add “As far as practicable, try to minimise harm”.
b) Do you have a better working principle for what should or should not be acceptable in a democratic society?
Let’s take your cases and apply my working principles(s):
1) Walking naked in the street – arguably this is so offensive to many people and possibly upsetting to children that it should not be allowed since, in that sense, it limits the freedom of others to go about their lives in public spaces (I do not believe that going naked on nudist beaches should be prohibited).
2) Eating endangered species – this limits the freedom of the majority to enjoy the continued existence of such endangered species.
3) Having sex with animals – in this case, my reference to the “freedom of others” needs to be interpreted as causing unjustifiable harm or discomfort to animals (which is why we limit experiments involving animals and criminalise cruelty to animals).
4) Conducting a sky burial – in itself, I would not necessarily oppose this but, in the circumstances of modern life, it would generally be upsetting to those who came across it and probably a health and safety hazard.
5) Allowing the practice of sutte – in principle, I am not opposed to the taking of one’s own life in limited circumstances like someone with a painful terminal illness wishing to have medical assistance to die, but that is very different from a form of suicide which is culturally unacceptable to the vast majority in society and conducted in a public and painful manner such as a pyre.
In fact, if you will forgive me for saying so, I think that comparing the wearing of the burqa with self immolation on a public pyre trivialises the value of human life. There is simply no comparison.
April 11th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
People who haven’t travelled a lot tend to have some very funny ideas. Life is short. Chill. Relax. Tolerate. Differences are fun. Everyone is the same under the skin. Don’t believe Hollywood. Don’t believe politicians – they are dangerous. Accept. God does not differentiate between good people from any and every country. Nor does he differentiate between bad people from any and every country.
Alex Weir, London, Harare and Gaborone