The only way anyone can tell if a women is a Muslim is the hijab!

And they will insist it's worn by choice and not as a submissive subservience to a religious directive? Well if it were, they would say that wouldn't they?

And one is not too surprised if a young Muslim woman leaves the house wearing the headscarf and upon entering a public amenity at say, a railway station, emerges minus the traditional dress and wearing makeup and revealing attire; and more common than some parents would know?

Surprisingly it does not turn the resident male population into gibbering idiots unable to control their reflexes!

Suggesting as a quite common outcome, a certain amount of quasi religious coercion in approved dress code.

And if that appears to be a result of paternalistic parental power?

One needs to remember these men were once boys having their approved beliefs and attitudes inculcated at their mother's knee!

Simply put,there is undeniable truth in the expressions, give me the boy and I'll give you the man! Or she who rocks the cradle rules the world? Or a teaspoon of honey attracts more flies than a whole barrel of vinegar!

Stop complaining about how your world has turned out and set about changing it; as some of your less brainwashed daughters are apparently already doing?
Alan B.

Hi Alan (and many others),

I don't understand this confected issue of the tearing off of a hijab. It happened once in Melbourne, by some half-wit (well, that's Melbourne for you), but I've certainly never witnessed it. I saw a pretty woman today in a nikab (the eyes !) and smiled at her but she didn't respond. Ah, youth, where have you gone ? I tried smiling at another pretty Malay or Indonesian girl in a hijab but she looked away. I mentally practised my Bahasa - 'Selamat siang, bagus, apa kabar ?' but had no opportunity to inflict it on her. Another fantasy down the drain.

As an atheist and post-Marxist, I have to believe that most believers, of any religion, are most likely fairly casual believers, they don't read their books (which may be in another language anyway) but go along with whatever is the convention, for the sake of peace and quiet, since only fools or charlatans could believe all of that rubbish. So leave Muslim women to wear what they like, it isn't hurting anybody else.

When I ever see anybody on the bus or in the street harassing a Muslim woman about her attire, I'll be the first to let you know.

Cheers,

Joe

How clever of you Joe to work out I'd already posted on this thread four times in one 34 hour period and therefore was denied the right of reply to your allegation

! The only confection on display here is the affected outrage over the Hijab or burka, neither of which are universal symbols of Islam!

Just symbols of the subjugation of women by their lords and masters!? With the more powerful the denials simply underlining and reinforcing a perception of a level of control or brainwashing?

Whereas in Christianity, given even more versions than occurs in comparative Islam; the Christian Cross features everywhere! Even so I'd prefer to be a Muslim in a christian world than a Christian having to tolerate the treatment meted out to christians in almost any part of the Islam world!

Oh that it could be limited to the occasional ripping from head of head covering and or being spat at!
Alan B.

Hi Alan,

Sorry, I don't know what you're on about in that first sentence.

Also sorry, what allegation ? That ripping off hijabs is so rare as to be a confected issue ? If I ever see it happening, I'll be the first to come to the woman's defence, no matter what the consequences. Seriously.

You've seen it happen ? Ever ? So what did you do about it ?

I'll repeat it slowly for you: " .... leave Muslim women to wear what they like, it isn't hurting anybody else."

Sorry for those multi-syllable words, Alan. Still, confect outrage if you wish, on OLO you're entitled to your opinion, no matter how cooked-up, that's the nature of OLO, and long may it be so :)

Cheers,

Joe

Loudmouth:

The author herself alluded to the removal of the headscarf. That is not really the point though. The point she was making was that such an act is or would be seen by some Muslim women as equal to rape in terms of violation. This shows a very distorted sense of human values. Muslim women are free to wear what they like and they should not have their head dress removed by strangers but to equate that with having a stranger violently enter the intimate regions of your body is just ridiculous.

A violation by rape is universally unacceptable – this is a fundamental value for all societies. The removal of a head dress is not a universal violation it is only a violation for a small minority of women. If a Muslim woman was given a choice between being raped and having her head dress removed which would she choose? We would then see how ‘equal’ the two things are.

It is the values of these women that are under question – not their right to keep their head dress on their heads. They do not have the same values as most women in western society. They seem not to value their own bodies if this example is anything to go by.

Hi Phanto,

Perhaps, in Cultural Studies or something similar, they run courses in how to confect an issue. First, put forward two Premises as if they are rock-solid, then draw a far-reaching Conclusion:

Premise # 1: That forced removal of the hijab is akin to rape, if not worse.

Premise # 2: That the forcible removal of hijabs is rife in Western countries.

Conclusion: That Muslim women are effectively being raped in countless numbers by having their hijabs removed. Western bastards !

As you suggest, Premise # 1 is probably not valid. Premise # 2 could easily be checked by any journalist worth her salt, but so far, doesn't seem to be valid either.

Hence the Conclusion is pretty much up the creek. But there is no doubt that it has its ideological uses, especially on the Opportunist Left and their mates on the Islamo-Fascist Extreme Right. Keep confecting, boys !

Joe