Man punches nurse for removing wife's burqa during c-section

[Ms. Toad]

188. I have not commented on any of the things you suggest I have taken a position on

with the exception of whether the burqa can be a religious garment.

The sacrament of communion varies widely among Christians(e.g. Catholics use wine; Methodists use grape juice, most Quakers reject the outward sacrament entirely, the age or religious education required before participating varies, as does whether non-members are allowed to participate). So for some Christians, the consumption of wine by children as young as 7 is a religious practice. The fact that not all Christians engage in that practice is not because it is not a religious practice - it is because among Christians beliefs vary.

Not all Islamic women wear burqas, any more than all Christians use wine in communion. That doesn't make it not religious - it just means that beliefs about what is required to be faithful vary from person to person, or amont sects.

You don't get to decide that wearing a burqa not an element of faith for someone for whom it is just because you don't like the cultural message it sends to you. That is a personal decision between the practitioner and whatever deity is involved.

And again, just because I am getting very tired of having words I have never said put in my mouth: No one other than the individual has the right to decide for anyone else what elements of their faith are means just that. You don't get to decide for women who choose to wear some form of covering garment that it is not an element of her religion. Husbands don't get to decide, families don't get to decide, governments don't get to decide. No one means no one.

There are lots of people involved in working to end religious practices being imposed on others in the name of Islam - in the rush to condemn some really atrocious practices,Islamic women are being told by people who are theoretically on their side that the only acceptable option is for them to reject all forms of covering (because we won't believe them if they tell us that they choose to wear the burqa or even some less severe form of covering). Insisting on that outcome is forcing religious beliefs on them from the opposite perspective - and that is religious intolerance..