Burquas - the Hidden Threat

astrojax said :

dungfungus said :

Rustygear said :

Grimm said :

I’m gonna try getting about in a balaclava and see how that works out for me. I’ll wear it in banks and when I go to the petrol station.

Surely it would be bigoted for anybody to react poorly to not being able to see my face….

Exactly. It should be a good look on the bus too. If anyone objects just say that they’re being racist for not respecting your minority religion.

If we don’t ban the burka now we will not be able to challenge the IS “freedom fighters” in their black robes and masks when they set up bases in Australia. Even their AK-47s will be deemed to be culturally acceptable.

and you lambast those who justifiably acknowledge the science on climate change as ‘alarmist’ – oh, the irony…

This security thing is a bit like religion, where we’re expected to blindly accept the word of ‘experts’ 😉

dungfungus said :

Rustygear said :

Grimm said :

I’m gonna try getting about in a balaclava and see how that works out for me. I’ll wear it in banks and when I go to the petrol station.

Surely it would be bigoted for anybody to react poorly to not being able to see my face….

Exactly. It should be a good look on the bus too. If anyone objects just say that they’re being racist for not respecting your minority religion.

If we don’t ban the burka now we will not be able to challenge the IS “freedom fighters” in their black robes and masks when they set up bases in Australia. Even their AK-47s will be deemed to be culturally acceptable.

and you lambast those who justifiably acknowledge the science on climate change as ‘alarmist’ – oh, the irony…

dungfungus said :

astrojax said :

Ben_Dover said :

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

uurgh, who made you arbiter of our norms? i’d rather hope the ‘aussie norm’ encompasses freedom of expression of others, no matter who they be…

Do you agree that female genital circumcision is “freedom of expression” also? This still happens to the majority of young girls in Somalia and Ethiopia (both Muslim and Christian).
The point is that while me may have been regarding the burka as a novelty until now, when the Muslim colonists to Australia become the majority then their norms will be compulsory FOR EVERYONE.
Please do some research.

what, like the purported chinese colonists, or vietnamese colonists or..? grow up.

Postal geek, what a rubbish attempt at refutation. Sunnies, hoodies, beards etc
don’t cover the whole face and hence do not cause instinctive fear like masks or, eg, a burqa.

Rustygear said :

Grimm said :

I’m gonna try getting about in a balaclava and see how that works out for me. I’ll wear it in banks and when I go to the petrol station.

Surely it would be bigoted for anybody to react poorly to not being able to see my face….

Exactly. It should be a good look on the bus too. If anyone objects just say that they’re being racist for not respecting your minority religion.

If we don’t ban the burka now we will not be able to challenge the IS “freedom fighters” in their black robes and masks when they set up bases in Australia. Even their AK-47s will be deemed to be culturally acceptable.

bikhet said :

dungfungus said :

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie public life?
Halal labelling.

Do you object to kosher labeling too?

No, Kosher labelling does not have latent issues.
Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZbC0zPoX2I

I’m just so over the Leftie attitude – particularly in Canberra. It is becoming far too conciliatory – which is actually seen as a weakness to be exploited by others. “We shouldn’t dictate what people wear”, “trippling in annual Rates is the best decision the ACT Gov’t has made”, “the Light Rail is a good thing”, “Im happy to pay heaps more for electricity than I need to because of the ACT Gov’t 90% sourcing from renewables policy”, “I should be able to drive at 10-20kph or more under the speed limit – stuff the rest of you”, etc, etc.

However, the decision to put Burka wearers behind glass at PH is just plain stupid, dumb, inflamatory, etc. If injections happen and its thought that it comes from Burka wearers, they take the appropriate actions. Not before.

Grimm said :

I’m gonna try getting about in a balaclava and see how that works out for me. I’ll wear it in banks and when I go to the petrol station.

Surely it would be bigoted for anybody to react poorly to not being able to see my face….

Exactly. It should be a good look on the bus too. If anyone objects just say that they’re being racist for not respecting your minority religion.

astrojax said :

Ben_Dover said :

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

uurgh, who made you arbiter of our norms? i’d rather hope the ‘aussie norm’ encompasses freedom of expression of others, no matter who they be…

Do you agree that female genital circumcision is “freedom of expression” also? This still happens to the majority of young girls in Somalia and Ethiopia (both Muslim and Christian).
The point is that while me may have been regarding the burka as a novelty until now, when the Muslim colonists to Australia become the majority then their norms will be compulsory FOR EVERYONE.
Please do some research.

Ben_Dover said :

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

uurgh, who made you arbiter of our norms? i’d rather hope the ‘aussie norm’ encompasses freedom of expression of others, no matter who they be…

fabforty said :

Burkas are not a threat to anyone.

No one is claiming Burkas are a threat. They are however a visible and tangible reminder of an repressive ideology.

fabforty said :

If those opposing the burka want to turn this into a women’s rights argument, then ask yourselves “which is less empowering for women – forcing them into a burka or forcing them out of it ?”.

What is empowering is letting women know that they live in a free society, one in which such forms of subjugation are considered unnecessary, and that, should they choose to adopt the norms of dress that all Australians consider their right, they will be supported in that.

Look I agree the Parliament House security issue was badly handled – and the whole issue has generally been blown out of proportion; I reckon I’ve seen the full dress in Canberra about 3 times in my whole life…

Yet I still think there’s irony in fighting for the inclusion of everyone in society, even those who intentionally exclude themselves from it.

Plus, I’m no particular fan of Abbott, but it’s fine for Plibersek and Bandt etc to turn everything into a joke over his appearance, the speedos and lycra etc. Exactly the same kind of jokes that were deemed completely unfair and off limits for Gillard. Ha ha ha – the PM wears the same thing as many other swimmers and cyclists! He is ugly! What a loser! Ha ha.

Plus, I’m tired of the articles like the Uni of Canberra student who stopped wearing the head scarf because she was afraid of being attacked. This is Canberra, lefty utopia – were you actually threatened or attacked? No.

Who exactly gets to decide what is ‘un-Australian’ and what isn’t ? . There seems to be a number of self-appointed judges on this forum. Patriotism is no excuse for racism.

Burkas are not a threat to anyone. I doubt the small percentage of women who wear the burka are ever going to turn Australia in to some kind of Islamic state. Most of them no doubt have other things to occupy themselves with, just like the rest of us.

If those opposing the burka want to turn this into a women’s rights argument, then ask yourselves “which is less empowering for women – forcing them into a burka or forcing them out of it ?”.

I agree that any person’s identity must be able to be proved by showing their face at certain times ie passing through an airport, when dealing with police etc but at other times, such as walking down the street then who cares ? A bloke with a beard, sunglasses and a hat is also concealing his identity to an extent. Do we now ban those too ?

I’m gonna try getting about in a balaclava and see how that works out for me. I’ll wear it in banks and when I go to the petrol station.

Surely it would be bigoted for anybody to react poorly to not being able to see my face….

John Hargreaves Ex MLA said :

The first is whether Oz should condone the subjugation of women and clearly we do not. If the demand to cover up is evidence of such subjugation, we should move to change that. But it is not illegal!

You clearly do condone it John, your whole post has no opposition in it to the Burka, you equate it to the dress of Catholic nuns. By not opposing it you make it accepted.

What have you done to oppose the Burka John?

John Hargreaves Ex MLA said :

People calling for the legislation are bigots and scaremongers and should be treated as bullies.

Oh, so if you support opposing the subjugation of women, by opposing the “walking coffin” mode of dress, you are a “bully” Far better an bully than to be subservient to a medieval monstrosity of a religion John.

Women’s rights John, should any woman, or young girl in Australia in 2014 be entombed in this medieval garb?

Let’s hear you say a word of opposition against it. Then I’ll give you some credibility.

miz said :

1. Humans are hardwired to respond to faces. We see faces everywhere: the moon, weird bits of toast on the internet; babies respond to faces from birth and become withdrawn if not able to do so. It is an instinctive human reaction to assess one’s safety on the basis of others’ faces. If we cannot ascertain whether a person is benign or a threat because the person’s face is covered (masked), we instinctively feel afraid. This is normal. This is why people feel truly uncomfortable when in the presence of a person in the full garb. This feeling cannot be overridden by logic or rationale – it is instinctive.
2. There is a glaring inconsistency in the claim that the persons wearing niqabs or burqas are wearing these so they do not draw attention to themselves and can ‘hide’ their modesty – given the fact that covering the face automatically draws more attention to them than if their face was not covered (see point 2 above). Cover anything else up if you must, but not your face.
3. Faces are the way humans engage. The niqab and burqa say ‘I WILL not engage with you.’ Any Imam worth their salt should instruct their congregation that wearing the niqab and/or burqa is unhelpful and defeats the purpose for which they are allegedly worn. If Muslims truly want to be trusted members of the Australian community, they should not defeat that aim by encouraging then men to tell their women they must cover their faces. Let’s be clear: it’s almost always the men telling the women they must do this.

I’m not interested in going in to bat for niqaabs in Australia and I don’t like any religion that seeks to impose its will on other people, be it a form of Islam or Catholicism.

But this whole ‘Australians value the face’ thing is laughable given the proliferation of sunglasses in this country, combined with caps, scarves, and beards. Throw in hoodies too while we’re about it. It’s a contrived, inconsistent point and deserves all the derision it gets.

watto23 said :

The irony in the ban the burqa crusaders is they are making Australia a bigger target than it is right now. I mean i’ve walked through so called muslim areas of Sydney and not seen burqas, I can’t remember if I’ve ever seen one in Australia.

Dead right, which is why the cynical such as myself quite happily call the public debate, instigated by the Liebral party for what it is, which is nothing short of a political ploy.

As mentioned above the issues in Iraq and Syria are real, and of course there are Australian residents/citizens going there to fight, but where is the evidence that anything is going to happen here? Up until 6 weeks ago I reckon no one would have even thought it possible, yet all of a sudden we are going to a war half a world away and we have all these radicals that supposedly want to commit harry caray on our turf. All the while Abbott is making himself out to be the saviour, much like Howard did.

The irony in the ban the burqa crusaders is they are making Australia a bigger target than it is right now. I mean i’ve walked through so called muslim areas of Sydney and not seen burqas, I can’t remember if I’ve ever seen one in Australia.

You know what should be illegal though. It should be illegal for anyone to force someone to wear the burqa. That covers the repression issue. Secondly it should be illegal to refuse to show ones face when asked in a variety of circumstances, but I don’t believe its a problem either.

In fact wearing the burqa is not really an issue in Australia. The issue is some people who have the intelligence of a flea like Jacqui Lambie call for it because they just don’t like islam and are not very tolerant. I give Jacqui Lambie credit for saying what she thinks, it makes it easier to vote her in or out next time.

Lets be honest though. Burqas are not a security threat, they are so rare in Australia anyone in one attracts stares. OK some people like seeing faces, but really its not a problem. I doubt the people going on about transparency really would talk and communicate to anyone who wants to wear a burqa. How is it different to a youth who wears a hoody or a person with a cap on and sunglasses. Not much face left there either. Do you go up to burns victims and ask them to remove there compressions bandage? Its just a petty excuse for people who realise the argument to ban the burqa really is just petty intolerance.

I still claim Catholicism affects my life far more in a negative way than islam in this country, yet its tolerated, because the settlers to this country were from Christianity based faiths. People need to really think long and hard about what the actual issue for them is. Most likely they just don’t like islam. That is fine, you are free to not like it. Many people don’t like the things you stand for either, many of them would be just like you born and bred in this country with different views to you. They don’t victimise you so why do you need to victimise others because you don’t like them.

Whats going on in Syria and Iraq is a terrible thing. Most of the victims we are going “to help” though are actually muslims and many of them wear Burqas! Or we can be cynical and say its all about the oil 🙂

1. Humans are hardwired to respond to faces. We see faces everywhere: the moon, weird bits of toast on the internet; babies respond to faces from birth and become withdrawn if not able to do so. It is an instinctive human reaction to assess one’s safety on the basis of others’ faces. If we cannot ascertain whether a person is benign or a threat because the person’s face is covered (masked), we instinctively feel afraid. This is normal. This is why people feel truly uncomfortable when in the presence of a person in the full garb. This feeling cannot be overridden by logic or rationale – it is instinctive.
2. There is a glaring inconsistency in the claim that the persons wearing niqabs or burqas are wearing these so they do not draw attention to themselves and can ‘hide’ their modesty – given the fact that covering the face automatically draws more attention to them than if their face was not covered (see point 2 above). Cover anything else up if you must, but not your face.
3. Faces are the way humans engage. The niqab and burqa say ‘I WILL not engage with you.’ Any Imam worth their salt should instruct their congregation that wearing the niqab and/or burqa is unhelpful and defeats the purpose for which they are allegedly worn. If Muslims truly want to be trusted members of the Australian community, they should not defeat that aim by encouraging then men to tell their women they must cover their faces. Let’s be clear: it’s almost always the men telling the women they must do this.
4. John, nuns NEVER covered their faces.

John Hargreaves Ex MLA said :

…..Has anyone asked the Catholic nuns how it was that they managed to come out of the habits and into everyday dress? Perhaps the Arch-Mick PM or his cohorts should do so.

…and with the obligatory swipe at your two arch-enemies, Abbott and Catholics, we at last get to the point of the whole post (with a little bit of name calling thrown in for added irony!)

John, wouldn’t it be simpler to just list the things that aren’t the fault of Abbott/Liberals/Catholics?

Many good points have been raised here and some really scary ones too. The burqa issue is in two parts.

The first is whether Oz should condone the subjugation of women and clearly we do not. If the demand to cover up is evidence of such subjugation, we should move to change that. But it is not illegal! Any more than nuns wearing their traditional habits. I saw the full regalia on show in Thailand and Cambodia only recently with Catholic nuns wearing the head to toe habits. So don’t tell me that we are out of step with the world. That nuns here don’t wear the traditional habits is to their credit, not to a law which outlawed the wearing of the habits.

The second is whether we should legislate to outlaw this mode of dress just because some people are uncomfortable looking at the garb. How Orwellian!

Ours is a free country and let it stay that way. We should by our words and example, respect women because they are women not because they dress the way we want them to. I note that no-one is suggesting that we legislate to get Sikhs to remove their turbans, indeed, they are exempt from bicycle laws requiring people to wear helmets when riding bikes.

People calling for the legislation are bigots and scaremongers and should be treated as bullies.

Has anyone asked the Catholic nuns how it was that they managed to come out of the habits and into everyday dress? Perhaps the Arch-Mick PM or his cohorts should do so.

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie life? The harassment of teenage girls at beaches due to them not being “modestly” dressed.

dungfungus said :

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie public life?
Halal labelling.

Do you object to kosher labeling too?

Ghettosmurf87 said :

Ben_Dover said :

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie public life? How many laws in Australia are there currently which enforce the Muslim way of life on Australians. And by that I don’t mean anti-discimination laws which allow Muslims to follow their faith without being persecuted. I mean laws which force regular Aussies to somehow follow Muslim traditions?

As opposed to Christian traditions that have been enforced on society for years and years and are finally, thankfully, being wound back.

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie public life?
Halal labelling.

Ghettosmurf87 said :

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie public life? How many laws in Australia are there currently which enforce the Muslim way of life on Australians. And by that I don’t mean anti-discimination laws which allow Muslims to follow their faith without being persecuted. I mean laws which force regular Aussies to somehow follow Muslim traditions?

As opposed to Christian traditions that have been enforced on society for years and years and are finally, thankfully, being wound back.

None as of yet, though there have been calls for Sharia laws, and Sharia courts. If you want to see how it can all go wrong, look to the UK experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRxbD7UxMaY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZBaJU_Cvo

dungfungus said :

JC said :

sepi said :

The funniest part is that they wanted to put the women with burkas on behind the glass screens where all the school kids have to sit with their teachers.

If these women are so petrifying then why seat them amongst the primary schoolers?

A silly stunt, and I think it has backfired. No cosy overseas posts for Bronnie or Bernardi now that they have proved themselves to be bigots.

Firstly I will state that I don’t agree with any ban or segregation, I mean to say in Parl house in particular everyone is security screened before they get into the place, and if I am not mistaken when the houses sit there is secondary screening at the entrance to the public galleries. Additionally Parl house is for every Australian, including those that are Muslim.

That said what has been lost in the debate was the reason why Burka clad women were to go into the glassed off gallary. It wasn’t because of a physical security threat, but more so they could not interject into proceedings without being identified and subsequently ejected which is what would happen to ANYONE who interjected. In otrherwords the galss was for audio protection, which surprise surprise is why school children go there.

Again I personally reckon it is a bullsh#t reason, as it wouldn’t be hard to work out who was interjecting even if they were wearing a burka and interjected, but if we are going to have this debate it should be debated on the facts and in this case the fact is the segregation was not for physical security. Still very misguided and unhelpful, unless of course the real reason for the debate is to create a subconscious fear in the minds of Australians so that Abbott can show us how good a leader he is. Cough cough cough.

That events that create fear are very real and strong leadership is necessary under the circumstances.
You may well mock Tony Abbott now but you will thank him later on.

The issue in Syria and Iraq real, the need for our involvement on the ground debatable. In Australia the threat low the hype IMO nothing but political scaremongering.

As for thanking Abbott I assume you mean like how we thanked Howard for his efforts? Yeah right.

I read recently that a Muslim lady who was raised from her bed during last months anti terror raids is considering legal action because she was not allowed to get dressed to protect her modesty. Now I’m sure that was extremely unpleasant for her but it does concern me that the implication is that the modesty of a Muslim woman is somehow more important, and to be dealt with differently, than the modesty of a non Muslim woman.

Ben_Dover said :

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

What “impositions” are Muslims putting on Aussie public life? How many laws in Australia are there currently which enforce the Muslim way of life on Australians. And by that I don’t mean anti-discimination laws which allow Muslims to follow their faith without being persecuted. I mean laws which force regular Aussies to somehow follow Muslim traditions?

As opposed to Christian traditions that have been enforced on society for years and years and are finally, thankfully, being wound back.

Ben_Dover said :

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

Excellent comment.

I love watching lefties twist themselves in knots over this issue. It’s a repression of women, which is blasphemy against one of the left’s sacred principles, that women should be treated better than men.

But!

By opposing it you may be seen as blaspheming against the highest sacrament of the left, that people who are form other countries, (only non-white obs,) are to have their ways and customs held in higher esteem than the Aussie norm.

Lovely to watch them spinning in circles over this one.

We’ve done so well to rid Aussie public life of the medieval influence of Christianity, why should we now allow the imposition of medieval Muslim norms to have effect?

John
I disagree. I do have a problem with not seeing a person’s face.
Hiding your identity is un-Australian because we are an open, equal society that thrives on interaction.
We are not a closed Arab society and we do not wish to become a society where women fear to go out in public unveiled, or wear a form of clothing designed to create barriers or to show superiority over others.
I do not want to see a predominance of head to toe, black veiled women and girls in our public places, including shopping centres and schools.
Already in Britain some non-Muslim women are now being criticised for not covering up. We never want to get to the stage where women are subjected to harassment because they are not conforming to a Moslem standard of dress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZBaJU_Cvo
I know this is not your vision for Australia either.
So we should not be condoning or encouraging women to venture out in public hidden behind a veil, whether by compulsion or choice.
We must never tolerate behaviour deliberately designed to create barriers in communication, to intimidate or display superiority of one race or religion over others.
Whatever our own beliefs we live in a society where we should modify our public expressions to respect the sensitivities of those we live with. It is called mutual respect.
The fact is that many Australians are not comfortable with people concealing themselves in public.
The best outcome would be for Moslem women themselves to choose not to wear a form of dress that is offensive to their fellow Australians.

JC said :

sepi said :

The funniest part is that they wanted to put the women with burkas on behind the glass screens where all the school kids have to sit with their teachers.

If these women are so petrifying then why seat them amongst the primary schoolers?

A silly stunt, and I think it has backfired. No cosy overseas posts for Bronnie or Bernardi now that they have proved themselves to be bigots.

Firstly I will state that I don’t agree with any ban or segregation, I mean to say in Parl house in particular everyone is security screened before they get into the place, and if I am not mistaken when the houses sit there is secondary screening at the entrance to the public galleries. Additionally Parl house is for every Australian, including those that are Muslim.

That said what has been lost in the debate was the reason why Burka clad women were to go into the glassed off gallary. It wasn’t because of a physical security threat, but more so they could not interject into proceedings without being identified and subsequently ejected which is what would happen to ANYONE who interjected. In otrherwords the galss was for audio protection, which surprise surprise is why school children go there.

Again I personally reckon it is a bullsh#t reason, as it wouldn’t be hard to work out who was interjecting even if they were wearing a burka and interjected, but if we are going to have this debate it should be debated on the facts and in this case the fact is the segregation was not for physical security. Still very misguided and unhelpful, unless of course the real reason for the debate is to create a subconscious fear in the minds of Australians so that Abbott can show us how good a leader he is. Cough cough cough.

That events that create fear are very real and strong leadership is necessary under the circumstances.
You may well mock Tony Abbott now but you will thank him later on.

sepi said :

The funniest part is that they wanted to put the women with burkas on behind the glass screens where all the school kids have to sit with their teachers.

If these women are so petrifying then why seat them amongst the primary schoolers?

A silly stunt, and I think it has backfired. No cosy overseas posts for Bronnie or Bernardi now that they have proved themselves to be bigots.

Firstly I will state that I don’t agree with any ban or segregation, I mean to say in Parl house in particular everyone is security screened before they get into the place, and if I am not mistaken when the houses sit there is secondary screening at the entrance to the public galleries. Additionally Parl house is for every Australian, including those that are Muslim.

That said what has been lost in the debate was the reason why Burka clad women were to go into the glassed off gallary. It wasn’t because of a physical security threat, but more so they could not interject into proceedings without being identified and subsequently ejected which is what would happen to ANYONE who interjected. In otrherwords the galss was for audio protection, which surprise surprise is why school children go there.

Again I personally reckon it is a bullsh#t reason, as it wouldn’t be hard to work out who was interjecting even if they were wearing a burka and interjected, but if we are going to have this debate it should be debated on the facts and in this case the fact is the segregation was not for physical security. Still very misguided and unhelpful, unless of course the real reason for the debate is to create a subconscious fear in the minds of Australians so that Abbott can show us how good a leader he is. Cough cough cough.

A lot of people are now saying that the burka (and its derivatives) is an Islamic cultural mandate that requires Australians’ consideration and respect.

In fact, it is being used as a political statement directed at the non-Muslim world, and Australia, that champion for women’s freedom, should aggressively challenge with the view to banning it.

There appears to be a nucleus of Australian women who have converted to Islam leading the charge “to be offended” and anyone criticizing their tactics is bound to be slapped down by the progressive media.

The burka is not part Australian cultural heritage and its presence is at odds with our open society.
Australian social fabric is built on mutual toleration between migrants intending to become Australians and those of us who are here and established the way of life that is attractive to the rest of the world.

The funniest part is that they wanted to put the women with burkas on behind the glass screens where all the school kids have to sit with their teachers.

If these women are so petrifying then why seat them amongst the primary schoolers?

A silly stunt, and I think it has backfired. No cosy overseas posts for Bronnie or Bernardi now that they have proved themselves to be bigots.