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One cannot legislate a piece of rag!

Reader comment on item: Bibliography – My Writings on Burqas, Niqabs, Jilbabs, Chadors, Hijabs, and other Islamic Coverings

Submitted by EM (Canada), Sep 21, 2007 at 10:15

You gave very little thoughts about the writing of the law you propose: how can legislators ban the burqa without banning the Catholic nun coiffe, the Sikh turban or the Jewish skullcap? And what about ordinary people who wear a scarf for practical or fashion reasons? What about cancer chemotherapy patients who wear a scarf over their bald heads?

The minute an anti-burqa law is enforced, thousands of ACLU people and leftists of all colours will deliberately walk and work with burquas, thus turning this ban in ridicule.

When calling for a ban on a piece of clothing, you think no higher than the Mullahs with their absurd rules. Instead, you should call for laws prohibiting the promotion of hate, violence and treason, including within religious meetings, and call for creating mechanisms to legally monitor speech, including private speech.

If you think such a law will be difficult to write, vote and enforce, tell yourself it will be much easier than an anti-head covering law.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Daniel Pipes replies:

My problem is not with head coverings but with face coverings. As I established at "Ban the Burqa - and the Niqab Too," these are often accessories to crime and other dangers to security.

As for laws banning the promotion of hate - no way. Fortunately, the First Amendment rules in the United States. Unlike Canada.

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Reader comments (8) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
How it started [79 words]David W. LincolnSep 21, 2007 10:29109376
One cannot legislate a piece of rag! [165 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
EMSep 21, 2007 10:15109372
Covered heads, covered hearts [265 words]LindaAug 10, 2007 00:31105814
Shades of the Klu Klux Klan [45 words]TedAug 4, 2007 09:21105472
Great Blog [7 words]owen splitorffAug 3, 2007 13:13105403
On the latest article in the Jerusalem Post Internet Edition [169 words]Noach SternAug 2, 2007 00:23105261
An advice [395 words]PeaceAug 20, 2007 05:14105261
this is a lie! [79 words]Kumbara GerdotOct 4, 2007 20:07105261

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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