Facebook bringing out the racist Islamaphobes

[Collaborate]

Sorry - it's another Facebook one. I can't decide what to do.

Someone my wife and I were friends with around 15 years ago recently connected on Facebook.

Today he's shared an EDL posting about the banning of burqas.

Before I disconnect from him, WIBU to post a comment? My draft comment so far is:

I'm trying to detect irony, without success. On the basis that it's the EDL advocating this, I reckon we should all be required to wear one. What is their stance on balaclavas? Beards? Sunglasses? Hats? To be honest, I don't want to know. Unacceptable racist propaganda.

The cartoon is irrelevant. Nuns are adult women who choose a certain job. They don't commit until after a very rigorous probation period and they choose the extent of their veiling. (All orders are different).

Many Muslim girls have no real choice as the family, the school and their local community insist they are covered.

Don't add ignorance to ignorance. It does you no favours.

I agree with others to challenge it as it will discourage others from reading the post and sharing it further.

The message I left was this: "Given that EDL are a bunch of racist thugs, I'm quite sure we need not disseminate their bilious sputum."

The cartoon is relevant. The point is that you can't ban the burqa without banning other forms of dress that have a similar effect - like a nun's habit. It's the choice of the wearer that's of little relevance.

Unfortunately since I made my post at least one more person has commented to say that they agree - I presume agree with the original EDL post.

But a nun's habit does not cover the face.

Nope, In France we banned the burka, as it was covering the face and posed a security problem, and in France, a dignity problem.
Veils covering the hair, nun headpieces etc... are allowed, except at school.

Banning the Burqa is totally doable without having to ban religious signs.
After that, he fact that EDL said it may make it annoying, for personal distaste.

OK - so when are you going to outlaw the balaclava? Or the motorbike helmet when not sitting on a bike? Or beards? It's a question of degree. A nun's habit can be an effective disguise. Ask Robbie Coltrane, or Eric Idle.

We did outlaw the baklava, and you are not supposed to wear any face covering I a public place (unless it's Carnaval).

I don't like the burka and would support the banning face coverings in public, as many Muslim countries do. Like the EDF even less though so in a real quandary here.

Someone ought to tell Paul and Mary. Wasn't that on the bakeoff last year?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baklava

(with apologies to OfaFrenchmind2, assuming you're French)

There is actually a 'ban the burqa' community on Facebook. It's quite scary.

Poor EDF. What have they ever done to anyone besides providing domestic power?

i would prefer to see people's faces just because it's easier to communicate but I hate the rubbish that is posted on Facebook sometimes by EDL and Britain First, it's embarrassing.

OfaFrenchMind2 - in my opinion the French government have taken Muslim women's dignity away by forcing their idea of what women should wear on them. This is oppression.

Collaborate - well done for standing up for what you believe in.

Oh yes EDL not EDF

Collaborate Hehe :) Between the two bacla-something, I prefer the sugary one. I will have to look up the spelling of the scary one...

Leelu6 let's agree to disagree.

EDL are shits and I would never support any fb post by them because of their general beliefs.

BUT if your fb friend was just taking each post on it's own merits (or maybe even doesn't know much about EDL or what they stand for) then I don't see how the Ban the Burkha post shows they're a 'racist Islamophobe' at all.

I would support the banning of it myself and hope we follow suit with France. All the rubbish about 'when will you ban motorbike helmets and balaclava's' is the most ridiculous nonsense I've heard. If someone walked into a shopping centre wearing either i'm pretty sure people would treat them suspiciously and possibly ask them to remove it. I've worked in many shops in my time and would feel extremely uncomfortable serving someone wearing a helmet or balaclava.

IMO the Burkha poses a security risk and an even greater risk to integration and has no place in society.

So YABU op. And, to be completely honest, I find your message back completely cringeworthy because it's so pompous. You can say you disagree with something without sounding like an arse.

I don't favour banning the burka, but I do feel uncomfortable about women in this country choosing to wear it when so many women in other countries are forced to do so. Imagine never being allowed to go out and feel the sun or wind on your skin, or being able to eat outdoors, or move freely, or see the world properly except through a mesh. Imagine that being forced on your daughters. I don't think it is "racist" to be uncomfortable about women adopting non-obligatory religious customs that are used to oppress other women. It used to be called sisterhood.

Just realised I've completely misspelt burqa more than once. Never mind, you get the drift.

I don't consider myself to be racist and I am deeply uncomfortable with the numbers of women who are wearing the hijab and niqab in this country. It's normalising the idea that women shouldn't be seen, that it's women's responsibility to keep men from having impure thoughts. It's not about skin colour or race it's about the ideas that the piece of clothing represents. To compare it with men having beards or people wearing sunglasses is ludicrous! Unfriend him if you like but having misgivings about burqas doesn't automatically make you a racist.

The burqa is different as it is sending a message to the rest of society that the wearer does not consider themselves to be a part of that society and is choosing to withdraw.

There are lots of things you cannot do effectively while wearing niqab. It negates your existence in public life. It creates an unequal relationship between you and your fellow citizens in a way that hijab does not.

I also would like the UK to ban niqab.

I wear hijab but I think the cartoon is cringeworthy and disingenuous, feeding false notions of muslim victimhood, which does us no favours when there are genuine cases of discrimination. I also hate the winking nun, I think it fuels suspicion among some muslims that other faith groups are getting a better deal and it is really divisive and dangerous.

No, but disseminating propaganda on behalf of the EDL is.

Surely your more immediate problem is that you are behaving more like a teenager in paying so much attention to social media? Posts on fb that ignore you? Starting threads on other social media about it? Considering the amount of drivel there is on both, do you actually have time to do much else?

I suppose you must feel France is racist for banning the burka and the sensible reasons behind doing so and issues involving repression of women are unimportant, compared to being right on and being able to spout off about it on social media?

When we start treating sexism as seriously as racism and religious discrimination, we might go some way towards redressing both.