Call to ban burka fuels climate of fear

I WOULD like to challenge Councillor Joe O’Callaghan to produce official figures showing that in Britain today “hundred of thousands of people are floating around in burkas.” I live in Holland, which currently has one and a quarter million Muslims (1,219753 by 2011 statistics, to be exact).

The number of burkas worn in 2006 (last official count) was approximated at 100 and, even if this has increased by an exaggerated three-fold, that would mean the current figures would be at a maximum of 300. If O’Callaghan is correct about the figures in Britain, France and Belgium, then why are the figures so high compared to Holland? Is this Islamophobia? Who or what is creating the problem?

Has O’Callaghan spoken directly to women wearing the burka to ask them why they wear this garment in northern Europe where the climate is so wet? If he showed genuine interest, respect and openness without judgement or assumptions, he might have some answers. Many are worn by older women who came to the country already wearing one. Some choose to do so because of their religion, while others do so not fully by choice but in the same way that some Catholic women obey their husbands by having sexual relations without birth control, while still being terrified of becoming pregnant. who wear them as a protest against their family or society because they no longer feel safe or at home in their environment. In these cases it has more to do with identity than religion, and one should feel compassion rather than judgement.

Call it “acting out” — young people do this all over the world in different ways. I even spoke to a women who one day wears a burka, lives with her boyfriend, smokes, drives a car, and other days wears exactly what she feels like. It has nothing to do with being oppressed by the man in her life, but it is her way to “act out” and rebel. Many Muslims feel discriminated against (and they are) and this is their way to affirm their identity and their right to exist.

I grew up in Ireland at a time when women were not supposed to wear trousers nor take part in athletics. Married women were not allowed to work and my educators, the nuns, wore clothing that had not changed since the Middle Ages. That, too, was fear, the same sort of irrational fear that is now being projected onto Muslims. It is fear of the “other” encroaching onto the territory of those in privilege and power.

Recently I passed a group of young nuns wearing the same medieval garb while passing through Dublin Airport. Does O’Callaghan think this is “in keeping with modern times” or must we ban this clothing too? If one argues that “showing the face” makes the difference, then let us pass a law saying that “the face must be seen” and leave Muslims and the burka out of it. Then the next time I have a young Christian man in my class who is “acting out” and will not remove his motorcycle helmet covering his face, I have the authority to do something about it or call the police.

O’Callaghan thinks he is doing “little harm” by putting forward his bill to outlaw the burka even “before a problem exists.” He is doing enormous harm, and in his arrogance and ignorance is contributing to worldwide Islamophobia. To have a war requires an enemy. Whether he knows it or not, he is contributing to this consciousness.

Einstein rightly said one cannot solve a problem with the same conscious that created it. Banning clothing whether it be trousers or the burka is the same consciousness that I grew up with. For this reason, why cannot Ireland and Cork deal with globalisation from another perspective regardless of what the rest of Europe is doing? Surely we have had enough domination and control in our past?

I would recommend that we keep to the facts, speak directly to the people involved, and educate ourselves rather than discriminate. We must overcome our spiritual tribalism and learn about the Islamic culture instead of fearing it.

Holland is trying to do so. Rotterdam now has an Islamic University, open to all who are interested, where anyone can do courses to obtain a greater understanding of this rich culture, learn Arabic, and deepen their knowledge of the great art and literature of the Islamic world. Maybe Cork can be the next to do so?

Colette A Kavanagh, PhD

Amstel

Amsterdam

Holland