like many other countries britain allows its citizens to wear any kind of religious clothing, unless in the case of the burkha it is percieved to limit a persons ability to undertake a particular profession, but then that kind of stipulation only applies to the workplace. however, should we as a secular nation take the same steps france did to ban the wearing of any religious clothing in all schools/universities/and public work places. in my opinion the wearing of religious clothing divides a society, it seperates people instantly and colours people's opinions of someone based on what they wear. it also denotes a reluctance on the part of the wearer to respect the nature of the secular country in which they live. i do not belong to any organised religion but have nothing against those who wish to practice any kind of religion in britain, however, i do have something against those who must 'wear' their religion in the streets and in schools/universities and public workplaces. it is interesting to note that in turkey where the main religion is islam there is a ban on the wearing of religious clothing similar to the one in france, due to the country having a secular government. i am all for calling for a similar ban in britain, what are your opinions on this?
of course a complete ban would be crazy, but in france and turkey they operate a ban on the wearing of religious clothing in educational establishments and public workplaces, this i believe is a reasonable request to make of an individual living in a secular society.
If the religious clothing is excessive then sure ban it but I would let the Jews wear their beenies and the Skiks their head dress
am not sure how france and turkey deal with the wearing of religious headwear. but if the hejab is banned, which i know it is, then i suppose they could insist that other types of religious headwear be banned as well. though personally my beef is with the kind of religious clothing that is really up front and in your face, like the burkha or black chador, to my way of thinking it is just too over the top for functioning normally in educational establishments or public places, and does not inspire trust in pupils or fellow workers.
I'm for a ban, though if it come in then it should be a blanket ban on any religious clothing or symbolism. Any grey areas will just lead to people ignoring it completely.
i know for a fact that ten or fifteen years ago i would rarely see a young muslim woman wearing the burkha or any other type of religious covering, when i was at university there were very few dressed like that and they mostly came from arab states. however, now there are a growing number of young women in britain who are adopting this dress wear, quite often against their parent's wishes, for the older generation can see that it is not so much to do with religion but more to do with lashing back at what young muslims perceive to be the enemy - the west. which is another good reason for the british government to ban this kind of religious wear and discourage the growing radicalism of muslim young women.
So you think by singling out muslim women you'll stop them feeling alienated? Personally I don't give a toss either way, but if you're going to ban it then you have to ban all religious symbols otherwise you may as well start to write blank cheques for all of the 'human rights' lawyers.
i was just expressing my feelings on the matter matt not saying how a secular society like britain would tackle this effectively. as i mentioned earlier we need to learn lessons from france and turkey, to see how they managed it. but just for the record i think that those religious persons (and ok i won't say muslim women just to show that i am not singling them out) who go out of their way to seperate themselves from the rest of society by wearing a religious uniform - whatever that may be - are alienating themselves, it is nothing to do with those of us who express our opinions about it, it is to do with the fact that they WANT to look and be different. and just to clear this up before it arises i do not think that there is anything wrong with dressing differently as long as what you are wearing is not making a religious statement that others find hard to overlook when dealing with you on an everyday basis.
I agree, though if we are to effectively stop people from wearing religious symbols then it has to be all encompassing otherwise I'll take to wearing a hijab and then sue the government when I'm prevented from doing so. That's very tounge in cheek, but you can bet that some people will be thinking along those lines.
I think people are only concerned about religious clothing if they fail to recognise that the harmful thing in religion isn't what people wear, It's what they think. I have no problem with people wearing burkas, crosses, turbans or magic underpants. people can wear what they want, it doesn't harm me. Though i do think that all religious items should be banned from schools (especially knives) and if a religious item prevents someone doing their job effectively their employer should be able to make them remove it.
i know what you are saying stOx and i agree to a point, for i am arguing for a ban in schools and public workplaces not an all out ban. however, i do not see the wearing of religious uniforms as harmless, for though it is indeed what religious fanatics THINK that causes real difficulties, when people wear the clothing or emblems of that religion they are indirectly supporting those fanatics, just as those ordinary germans who wore swastika armbands during hitlers day were supporting hitler's germany. they equally may not have known about the concentration camps or the final solution but by wearing those emblems they were indirectly supporting such vile acts.
The ban should be limited to the point it is not offending.Wearing skull caps , nose rings , scarfs etc. should be allowed. Wearing burkha where a person does not know who is below that should be banned for sure.Hizab can be allowed.....
Depends on which society. Imagine wearing a Cross or the Star of David in Saudi Arabia at the local mall. Life expectancy would be rather short, resulting in your head being divided from your body.
i agree GTech, but that is in saudi arabia, an unequal religious country run by a tyrannical royal dynasty, and ok i admit britain has royalty, but aside from that like america we allow people to wear what they want in the street and at home, but as a secular society i feel it would be wrong to allow people to wear religious clothing in educational establishments or public work places. if i had my way i would ban it altogether but i recognise that then i would be as bad as the reigning royal family in saudi arabia, by enforcing my will on others. the fact is that when anyone is faced by someone wearing religious clothing, either an orthodox jew complete with ringlets and big hat, or a muslim woman in a full burkha, it is divisive in that it prevents other people from integrating with them, and creates an almost 'tribal' hostility, with the religious garb replacing the tribal face paint. it does not convince me that these people are closer to god, but that they are possibly fanatical and definitely elitist, and so i do not really want to get to know them better.