Comments Related To: Religious vs. Secular Arguments

France and every other country in the world should ban the burqa because that is degrading to women. The Koran is full of statements in which women are brainwashed to be subservient to the man in all facets of life. The burqa is primarily worn in areas where radical Islam thrives. However, over the past week, the clerics could not even hold an election without everyone knowing that it was rigged. Islam has proved over 1,200 years that it has been ineffective since the Battle of Tours was lost in 732. The problem is not whether or not someone should be allowed to wear a burqa; the problem is figuring out why so many people follow Islam, the most ineffective religion ever created.

Mr. Ahol888! This is not your choice to think this way, the problem is that you have learnt only to curse others. I am not a psychiaterist, but can figure out, may be your surroundings, your society has made you to adopt such a biased way of thinking. I don't know if you live on the same planet or what. The statistics show that Islam is the most effective religion at least on this planet. According to "The Almanac Book of Facts", the population increased 137% within the past decade, Christianity increased 46%, while Islam increased 235%. In a recent poll in the (US), 100,000 people per year in America alone, are converting to Islam. For every 1 male convert to Islam, 4 females convert to Islam, Why? It is because they find something for them, security, respect, rights, or whatever they come looking for. Go through the teachings of Islam with a liberal approach, putting aside the cursing expertise you have developed, rest assured that your point of view will change. In Islam even a dwarf like you has an equal standing in society. They become a respectable part of community not a cursing machine. Please rise above your 47 inches and be reasonable. This is absolutely not a way to comment on somebody's beliefs on such a forum. One has to have respect for humanity before commenting on the beliefs of other fellows. No one coverts without a brainstorming or a profound study of whatever religion he or she is converting to. Try to think like them, try to find out the truth for yourself and make an independent decision for yourself.

Keep it up. I do not know what you do for a living. You have presented your case like a good lawyer. It is said that a good lawyer should hammer the law if he is strang on law; hammer the facts if he is strang on facts; and hammer the table if he is strong on none. You have indeed used secular arguments very efficiently to put across your point of view.

And by the way, I agree completely with your line of argument.

Thanks you, Sir.

Swinginjazz! I do agree with you my friend! You have put the matter very logically and with a very down to earth approach.

Thanks for the kind words.

A burqa is designed to obscure identity. A man loaded with explosives could very well be hiding under one. Would you feel the same way about a group of people who insisted on wearing ski masks in venues other than windy ski slopes in the dead of winter? Most people would react very strongly to a person entering a store or a bank wearing a ski mask or even a rubber mask of some prominent character.

The Germans in the 1930's may have reacted strongly to seeing an Orthodox Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. This does not make it right to discriminate against Jews in Germany.

A yarmulke doesn't obscure identity. Neither does a turban or a beard. I like to see whom I speak with except at a costume ball, of course.

Like I said in the article, if it's a situation that makes it necessary for you to have to view the lady's face the she should reveal her face. But aside from that, I think that ideally a multicultural society should value and respect cultural diversity.

Like I said in the article, if it's a situation that makes it necessary for you to have to view the lady's face the she should reveal her face. But aside from that, I think that ideally a multicultural society should value and respect cultural diversity.

Unfortunately, we live in a much scarier world than we did 50 years ago. For example, I wouldn't have any objection to the head scarves that muslim women wear, nor do I have any objections to the robes that some monks wear, the saris that Indian women wear, turbans or beards. I'll bet, however, even your adrenaline would spike if you were standing in bank and a couple of men came in wearing ski masks. On the other hand, Sikh military personnel want permission to wear their turbans and beards even though both are prohibited by military regulations. Is this a violation of their rights? When a person enters the military, s/he knows uniforms are required. The word "uniform" implies sameness. My aged mother used to say "Your freedom ends where the other fellow's begins." She embraced diversity, as do I. Another unfortunate aspect of today's world is that sometimes when we wait to determine whether we "need" to see another person's identity, s/he has already blown up a restaurant. Of course, most of those suicide bombers didn't obscure their faces. I would be equally wary of a person wearing a bulky sweatshirt or jacket in very warm weather. The worst part of our terrorist ridden society is the fear they have instilled in people who actually DO embrace diversity. The behavior of some Americans after 9/11 was abominable. They were incredibly cruel to anyone looking even vaguely middle-eastern. There were also Americans who stepped up and protected their immigrant friends and neighbors. This is why I'm not in politics; I would find decisions such as Chirac's very hard to make and would end up a ditherer.

Unfortunately, we live in a much scarier world than we did 50 years ago. For example, I wouldn't have any objection to the head scarves that muslim women wear, nor do I have any objections to the robes that some monks wear, the saris that Indian women wear, turbans or beards. I'll bet, however, even your adrenaline would spike if you were standing in bank and a couple of men came in wearing ski masks. On the other hand, Sikh military personnel want permission to wear their turbans and beards even though both are prohibited by military regulations. Is this a violation of their rights? When a person enters the military, s/he knows uniforms are required. The word "uniform" implies sameness. My aged mother used to say "Your freedom ends where the other fellow's begins." She embraced diversity, as do I. Another unfortunate aspect of today's world is that sometimes when we wait to determine whether we "need" to see another person's identity, s/he has already blown up a restaurant. Of course, most of those suicide bombers didn't obscure their faces. I would be equally wary of a person wearing a bulky sweatshirt or jacket in very warm weather. The worst part of our terrorist ridden society is the fear they have instilled in people who actually DO embrace diversity. The behavior of some Americans after 9/11 was abominable. They were incredibly cruel to anyone looking even vaguely middle-eastern. There were also Americans who stepped up and protected their immigrant friends and neighbors. This is why I'm not in politics; I would find decisions such as Chirac's very hard to make and would end up a ditherer.