France’s burqa ban: Good idea? Bad Idea?

I can’t decide where I stand on the ban of the burqa (full veil) in France. I want to be against it — on the grounds of religious and personal freedom — but I see the challenges the niqab (face veil) poses to national security.

Pretty much sums up my feelings, too. It all comes down to this:

How much personal freedom (and specifically religious freedom) are we willing to give up for security?

Even more importantly, will this actually work? I speculate that the security gained by eliminating the full veil will be more than balanced out by the Islamic backlash that might happen in the ban’s wake. I’m not even talking violence by most. I mean how such rules and perceptions can instigate people to join more radical groups.

The final question I have is: what if France banned the cassock in public, for fear of concealed weapons? Would we Catholics be justifiably outraged?

I remember vaguely, that some orders of nuns had to modify their habits because the starched coifs cut off peripheral vision. The DMV wouldn’t give them drivers licenses until they did. I have no problems with a head covering, but a face covering creeps me out. It is such a negation of personhood.

The full burqa is associated with the most radical forms of Islam, which, as we know, are also the most militant and dangerous. So, while the dress in itself is not dangerous, it is a sign: When you see the spread of the burqa in any Western territory, you can be damn sure that radical Islam has “come to town” in your part of the world. And then you have a problem. (Unless you happen to want Sharia Law become dominant in your land, as it is in England presently.)

The comparison to the cassocks would hold true if Catholics were known to be spreading guerilla warfare all over the world. Any clothing associated with a benign group is not a threat. Clothing associated with militant groups is a sign that danger lurks in your town.

I think Mr. English is partially right in his analysis about French society… EXCEPT covering of faces really is a security nightmare. Can you imagine wanting to fly next to someone who’s identity cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty? Will they be required to strip down before boarding? What about passport pictures, drivers’ permits? Don’t think so. This radical islam will get much worse before it gets better and I think the burqa issue plays right into their hands. I hope France just says “NO” to face coverings.

Crosses , cassocks, habits etc don’t obscure identity. This ban shouldn’t be made into anything remotely religious.

“Courious how the Western Nations are vilified for promoting their own culture whether it be for security or for their own self identity. Let France be France.”

If Western Nations care so little about their culture that they fail to produce children to carry on that culture, then those Western Nations deserve to disappear. Trying to force immigrants to become the children you never had is pathetic.

Just to throw more fuel on the fire, it looks like Syria has just passed a similar law banning the niqab on its college campuses…

http://tinyurl.com/2feg62b

Anent your rules
“3. Don’t make judgments about the other person’s sinfulness or salvation. You are not the Inquisition”.

Despite Protestant propaganda, the Inquisition was the beginning of the necessity of the rules of evidence. We know a great deal about it, and about the trials, because careful records were kept. The Inquisitors were harsh on those who made false accusations. They were soft on those accused of heresy if the person relented and repented.