Reading the excerpt from Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book "Nomad", published in the National Post, it reinforces my belief that to NOT ban the burka is a travesty:
The Muslim veil, the different sorts of masks and beaks and burkas, are all gradations of mental slavery. You must ask permission to leave the house, and when you do go out you must always hide yourself behind thick drapery. Ashamed of your body, suppressing your desires -- what small space in your life can you call your own? The veil deliberately marks women as private and restricted property, nonpersons. The veil sets women apart from men and apart from the world; it restrains them, confines them, grooms them for docility. A mind can be cramped just as a body may be, and a Muslim veil blinkers both your vision and your destiny. It is the mark of a kind of apartheid, not the domination of a race but of a sex.
That is a compelling indictment of the burka and the traditions that surround it.
The argument that it breaches the religious freedoms of Canadians is surely misapplied.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ensures equality and justice for peoples of all races, origins and genders, is based within the framework of the Judeo-Christian tradition from which Canadian culture and laws have been developed.
Religious freedom is not absolute. For example there were many religions which included child-sacrifice in lands surrounding ancient Israel. Obviously, the murder of a child for relgious reasons would not be protected under the Charter. Therefore it is clear there are limits to what the Charter can protect, and what it can not protect.
The Charter is not absolute in that sense; on the contrary it preserves Canadian values of justice - not to protect traditions that are in opposition to our values. The walking coffin that is the burka and the surrounding traditions of the cultures which demand it be worn, are values that are opposite to the very values that the Charter protects. The burka is a custom that is from a tradition that is totally foreign to our values, and therefore to the Charter.
When I read passages from the New Testament which illustrate Jesus' relationship with woman, I see a respect and evidence brotherly-sisterly love which is foreign from this absolute mastery over woman that comes from Islamic traditions.
Read the excerpt from Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book "Nomad: 'Allah brings the rains and Allah makes the sun shine'
Gurth Whitaker
Calgary, AB
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ReplyDeleteI removed Anonymous from Sweden's comment because of foul language and discussion that it is OK to kill Muslims if they kill "us".
ReplyDeleteHowever there was a reference to Mohammed's marriage to Aisha when he was 50 and she was only 6, the marriage consummated when Aisha was 9.
The precedence of Mohammed's marriage to Aisha and subsequent deflowering when she was only 9, is used frequently by Islamic scholars to justify marriage by men of all ages, to young girls of 6 and upwards.
The writer called this rape, which is what it is by our standards in Canada. However as mentioned it is not regarded as rape by large portions of the Islamic world. This supports my assertion that veiling and the burka are fundamentally not appropriate in Canada, because the burka goes hand-in-hand with Islamification.
In reading your comments Gurth I am reminded that in Ephesians 5.21ff there is a very different model given by the Apostle Paul on how men are to treat their wives. They are called to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Even more importantly, they are called to love thier wives as Jesus loves the church. This is something that speaks to the very essence of the incarnational nature of Christianity. The God of the Christian Scriptures loves matter. Although infected by the Fall, all of matter is being redeemed in and through Jesus Christ. The way we treat our bodies, and the way we treat our wife's body is a sign of the redemptive and restorative work of Christ.
ReplyDeleteThere the body is to be treated with respect. I Peter 3 speaks about modest dress but now where in the New Testament is there the dictate that women are to hide their bodies.
There is always a respect for the beauty of the body and the call to treat it as the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Biblical Christianity instructs us to relate to our bodies in this way and for men to love their wives as Jesus loves the Church because Jesus loves us totally; our mind, soul, body and spirit.
I do not know enough about the burka issue to comment on it directly. What I will says is that Ephesians 5 gives a very different way to relate to women from the one governing the burka practise.
Thank you for your thoughtful post.
Jonathan
Thank you Jonathan for focusing on the love and respect that men and woman should have for one another shown to us through Jesus Christ, and His messengers Peter and Paul. This is the model that is to be followed by all true Christians.
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