Excellent article, but.
In response to “The Niqab Debate: Integration vs. Alienation (Oct. 14, page 7) I’d like to say that this is excellent well-written article, but misses a few points. How can you communicate with a faceless person, facial expressions are important for meaningful communication, it s part of being human. How can you trust people when you can’t see their faces. By choosing to wear the niqab they are alienating themselves. Also there are the security issues, what good is a driving license photo if you can t show your face, not to mention peripheral vision, or are they above everybody else. It s not the niqab it self that I m against, but the way of thinking behind it. It s a leap backwards for women and society in my opinion.
Who has the right to tell others what to wear?
In response to “Confronting the Niqab (Oct. 10, page 7) I’d like to say that people all over the world have the right to wear or do what they want as long as they are not hurting others.
What [Azhar Sheikh Tantawy] did is ignorant. Women are allowed to wear bikins and to ban it (God forbid!) will be interpreted as a step backward and complete craziness. Everyone is responsible for their own choices, the same goes for wearing niqab. Who has the right to tell a woman not to cover herself up if she chooses to out of her own free will; she is not harming anyone. We as humans have the right to choose what we want. I can’t believe he took such an ignorant, irresponsible decision. Open-mindedness is accepting people as they are. Isn t this what Islam has taught us? Since when does what wear speak for who you are as a woman . everyone should be FREE to do or wear what they WANT. It’s only a piece of cloth. Open up your minds for tolerance and acceptance.
Necessities make the forbidden lawful
This is a response to “The Niqab Debate: Integration vs. Alienation (Oct. 14, page 7). Necessities make forbidden things lawful. I do not believe that Islam forbids revealing a woman’s face to strangers, but even if it did, necessities require that people in public spaces should be recognizable. For this reason, most countries forbid the wearing of masks in public, except on special occasions (carnival parades, for example). Similarly a doctor cannot treat a masked patient adequately, a government office must be able to check an identity, a teacher cannot properly teach masked students. In all these cases, the necessity of the situation requires people to show their faces, and in some cases also to show a corresponding identity card. These points apply equally to men and women
Niqab
Referring to “The Niqab Debate: Integration vs. Alienation (Oct. 14, page 7), nice article but I was wondering why some Muslim women feel the need to wear a Niqab in the first place? Is it because of their own choosing? Is it because society demands it as in the case of some Islamic countries and enforced by the Taliban or is it to do with societal pressure from peers, parents, family, husbands or even neighborhoods? I wonder also why it seems to me that women from poorer educational and social backgrounds tend to wear the niqab predominantly more than educated women?
Define freedom
In response to “Confronting the Niqab (Oct. 10, page 7), freedom is having the right to exercise whatever practice you deem acceptable as long as it does not negatively affect the society and people around you. You don’t have to accept the niqab but freedom means don’t force others into your own beliefs. like you said choose the correct battles to fight and really how a woman dresses is her own personal decision. The man (Tantawy) openly criticized (the young girl’s) appearance to me that’s reason enough for me to choose to cover my face … whether its religious or not is not the issue its the freedom of choice.
Would you still say the same?
This is a response to “The Niqab Debate: Integration vs. Alienation (Oct. 14, page 7). Let me first congratulate you on your argument structure; very well-said. However, let me ask you this: you say regardless of anything the society should be more tolerant and integrate all members to live harmoniously. Sounds good, but would you have said the same if Sheikh Tantawy told a girl wearing hot shorts to put on something decent?
I don t think so because then you would be saying that he is protecting vice in an institute teaching religion: but isn t it the same personal freedom and freedom of belief you re rooting for? Should we be tolerant of prostitutes? Not that I am comparing women wearing a niqab with prostitutes but you get the idea! My point is: it isn t always about living harmoniously and integrating all members of society, the society draws a line at many times.
And do they want to be integrated? How can someone be integrated when they re hiding behind a black shield? Doesn’t one s freedom of choice or belief end when it threatens others security? Even if we worked something out in institutions, how secure would you be being stuck in the underground s women s carriage if you don’t know whether the niqab-clad woman sitting next to you is a in fact a woman or a man? Bottom line is: if they don’t want to integrate we can’t integrate them. If they don’t respect others security we can’t respect their freedom of choice.
Misses every important point
This is a response to “The Niqab Debate: Integration vs. Alienation (Oct. 14, page 7). Well-written of course, but I was hoping the arguments presented would be more insightful. You can t compare the niqab to much else because of security reasons and because it gives a certain group so many more privileges than the rest for no reason. What s the difference between someone behind the niqab and someone behind a big brother screen? Why should I be at a disadvantage? How can you integrate with the unknown? Freedom of belief stops when it starts hurting society and whether we admit it or not, this kind of veil between people hurts society.
