RIP

Our mini fox terrier passed away this morning.

He was a grouchy, yapping, pain in the arse but he was a good dog

SCAMP 1991-2006

Veiled threat

From ABC News online, Saturday 7 October:

There has been a heated debate in Britain after a senior Cabinet minister suggested that Muslim women covering their faces causes division in the community.

Jack Straw, who is a former foreign minister and now the leader of the House of Commons, has called on Muslim women to remove their veils.

"Communication in face-to-face meetings require that both sides are seeing each other's face [to] not only hear what people say but see what they mean," he said.

Mr Straw says the veil is causing division in communities but he is not demanding rules that ban women from wearing it.

"I'm not talking about being prescriptive," he said.

"But with all the caveats, yes I would rather (women did not wear full veils)."

Mr Straw says he has received a positive response when he asked women to take off the garments when they came to see him about issues in Blackburn.

His remarks have sparked an angry backlash amongst Muslim people, particularly those in his electorate of Blackburn, where Muslims make up one-third of his constituents.

But Ruquyyah, a 23-year-old British Muslim who wears the full veil, says it should be seen as a sign of religious devotion rather than female oppression.

"I wear the veil because for my understanding of the religion of Islam, the teachings of Islam, for a Muslim woman and how she should cover, this is the conclusion that I have come to, that this is the best way for me to cover," she said.

"I'd say to Jack Straw that by asking me to take off my veil is like asking me to take off a piece of my clothing."

The British Prime Minister's has tried to distance himself from Mr Straw's comments.

His office says Mr Straw is expressing a personal opinion that does not reflect Government policy.

I believe such comments are divisive. People wear clothes that reflect who they are, their moods, and their faiths. Christians wear little crosses, Krisnha's wear those orange robes and some Muslims wear the veil. Expecting people to take off such items to talk to them is insulting.

While we're at it, if you run into a person on the street and they're wearing sunglasses, which hides their eyes, should they take them off? What if they prescription sun glasses, or those transitional lens. If the person takes them off then they might not see your facial expressions. Beards can hide many facial expressions. Should all men shave?

Come to think of it, since I consider Mr Straw's comments to be concerned only with musilms then I suspects he thinks all men should shave, since most muslim men have some form of facial hair.