Mohammed has nothing to do with demanding that women wear a tent AKA burqa. The Koran advise both sexes to "dress modestly". The burqa is a cultural mode of dress primarily from the Middle East, many predominately Muslim nations do not have such regressive dress codes for women.

Hence a tiny proportion of a tiny proportion of Muslim women wear this unhealthy, constrictive, demeaning form of dress. Determining if this mode of dress is donned willingly is near impossible. It is not just the men, some Muslim women put as much pressure on their sisters to wear the burqa otherwise they are treated as sluts. Much like some westerners do when our women bare their midriffs in public places.

As Bagaric says, "The stock-in-trade reasons that are given for banning the burqa are demonstrably flawed and are often no more thinly veiled anti-Muslim rants. There are no proven cases in Australia of criminals using burqas as disguises. Hence it is nonsense to challenge burqas on security grounds."

One point I rarely hear is that women may well feel safe under all this clothing - I remember my kid sister and her first bikini, it never even saw daylight the first time she wore it to the beach, she loved swimming but remained wrapped in her beach towel for the most of the day, until she finally caved due to soaring temperatures and plunged into the ocean with the beach towel on! She got over it, but then she was from a culture that accepts budgie smugglers and g-strings.

The burqa is part of a primitive culture supported by a literal interpretation of a religion and will go the way of the scarf that Christian women used to wear in church - without needing authoritarian measures taken against a minority of people.

I would like to suggest that the burqa hysteria is driven by the fear and discomfort of Westerners confronted with a cultural custom that is very different from our own.

If the anti-burqa proponents are so concerned about women's rights, in particular women's right to live free from oppression and fear, then you could start in your own back yards and address the fear and oppression suffered by many Australian women who are victims of domestic violence. These women do not wear the burka, because it isn't our custom to display symbols of oppression violence and fear. Rather, they are kept silent and their suffering hidden behind closed doors.

If you want to fight against the oppression of women, you can start at home. Domestic violence stats will convince you that there is a need.

In the meantime, maybe the anti-burqa crowd could take a good look at what their discomfort is really about. I'm willing to bet it isn't about what the women wearing it might be enduring, but rather about their own discomfort, and inability to cope with a woman who's face and body are hidden from view.

Before we start telling Islam what to do, we probably need to do something about our own rather hideous mistreatment of women in this country.

Pericles

You have more faith than I do when you say

" Continuing to protect Australia's reputation as a tolerant, easy-going nation that values freedom above all else, will eventually solve the problem. Without it even needing to be a problem in the first place".

Islam is very adept at taking advantage of the freedoms that we have and will use our tolerance to project their own intolerance.

They have made great strides in all the European countries and are a safe an secure voting bloc in the UN.

They came very close to shutting down freedom of expression, ( ie not being able to criticise religions, namely their religion)....
in those appalling Durban 1 and 2 Conferences.

The Organisation of Islamic Countries is extremely well funded by the whole block, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia and under the direction of that completely odious nonce named Ekmelledin Ishanoglu,whose brief would include to exand the ummah..by any means.

The burqa issue is the same as sharia ..its all part of the slicing and dicing us back to their stone age delusionality..a bit at a time.

..aided and abetted by our own tolerance and apathy and pushed along by left wing do gooders of various types, and dumb politicians.

If you doubt any of this just go to UK and wander around.

Stock in trade Anti Muslim.....rants ? "YEP" chirps Pericles.

Of course..there is no reason on Gods earth 'why' any person might be 'anti Muslim' or.. anti "Islam" is there ? of courseeeeee not. Perish the thought.

Let the Quran answer this issue.. what better source could we ask for ?

Surah 9
29. Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah[] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

30. And the Jews say: 'Uzair (Ezra) is the son of Allâh, and the Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allâh. That is a saying from their mouths. They imitate the saying of the disbelievers of old. Allâh's Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from the truth!

Let's see.. any basis for being 'anti Muslim' or...'anti Islam' there?

-Global holy war to impose Islamic rule *tick*
-Including over Jews and Chrisitians *tick*
-Jews and Christians are morons and cursed because of their core beliefs *tick*

Well.. that was easy.. nothing there to worry about..not a thing.

(Any bright spark who wishes to debate the contextual basis for the above.. is welcome to start a thread called "AGIR and OTHERS debate Hermeneutics" and I'll be there in a millisecond.)

Of course if leading Muslims were to stand up in public and denounce such things.... I'd put my arms around them and say "welcome to Aus cobber" because they would need some protective friends if they denounced those sentiments.

So...given that the Burqa symbolizes those hateful, vile, aggressive and loathesome imperialistic religious values..... I'd say ban it forthwith...

But then....Mosques and...Islamic schools also symbolize those values..hmmmm.... *wanders off*

cj - whoops sorry - it was Tuesday, not Monday

Why Australia needs a ‘burqa ban’
By James Mangisi - posted Tuesday, 24 August 2010

awesome boycott!

Do these woman a favour and ban the burka in public. You are expected to remove a m/bike helmet on entry, so wheres the diff.