Why banning the burqa doesn’t liberate women

The burqa (and niqab) ban in France is causing a lot of controversy both in Europe and Muslim communities. One of the reasons many people, including Muslims champion such a ban is because they believe it will liberate Muslim women. This overlooks one important thing, a state enforced ban is not going to change attitudes or lead to female emancipation.

It is only through a change in culture that women throughout the Muslim world are going to achieve greater rights and this is only going to happen bottom up. It doesn’t matter how many European governments ban the burqa, it is going to have minimal impact on Muslim women as I’ve described before. It’s only through educating Muslim communities about what Islam really says about women will there be greater freedom for women. The current hypocrisy that exists between men and women throughout the Muslim world has nothing to do with the religion and is not unique to Muslim communities.

And that’s the problem, we continue to live in societies, Muslim or not, where we accept, indeed encourage different rules for men and women. Nothing symbolises this more than sex. Whether you believe in sex only in marriage or not, there are double standards. Men are encouraged to be sexually active, experience adds to their charm. Sexually experienced women are looked down upon, considered loose and easy. Older women dating younger men are given insulting names like couger whilst older men dating younger women are admired. This hypocrisy needs to change throughout the world but won’t through government legislation banning a face veil.

10 years as a Muslim woman

Today is my 10th anniversary as a Muslim woman. Back on 13th April 2001, it was a lot easier to be a Muslim convert. I had a 6 month honeymoon before 9/11 and the media circus that has surrounded Muslims since.

Lots have things have changed in my life in those 10 years but the one thing that has remained the same is the sheer strength of the many Muslim women I have met along the way.

Contrary to popular opinion, all Muslim women aren’t meek, timid or downtrodden. Instead, the majority of Muslim women I have met have been incredibly strong and independent and I am proud to have been included amongst them for the last 10 years.

Why France’s niqab ban is a blow to Muslim women’s equality

Today France’s ban on women wearing the niqab, face veil, came into effect. This law was passed under the guise of promoting women’s equality in Muslim communities but actually promotes further suppression.

Firstly, it makes no sense to liberate women by enforcing what they can or can’t wear legally. A law that forbids women from wearing a niqab is as bad as one where the state forces a woman to cover up. Both removes a woman’s right to choose. No matter what your personal opinion on the niqab or burqa is, it is a woman’s right to wear either if she so wishes.

Furthermore, the idea that this law will stop male relatives forcing women to covering up is nonsense. This law will actually increase the isolation of vulnerable women. Unable to go outside due to threat of arrest and fines, these women will end up effectively imprisoned in their homes. Any chance of receiving the support they need to leave such an environment will most likely be denied them as they have been turned into social pariahs. Muslim communities are already closing ranks in face of such laws so grassroots organisations that work with coerced women will be viewed with more suspicion and will find it very difficult to reach those that need their help.

This law needs to be viewed for what it is, a cynical attempt by a deeply unpopular president to improve his ranking in the run up to an election. Exploiting a public’s fear and hostility towards a particular community is unsavoury and unfortunately is becoming more acceptable by politicians throughout Europe and the USA. Those who cheer such laws as the niqab ban often have their own anti-Muslim and immigration agendas.

How Israel continues to underestimate the Palestinians

April 9th 1948 was a pivotal moment in an-Nakba (the disaster), Jewish paramilitaries Irgun and Lehi entered the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin and massacred 112 men, women and children. The news spread through Palestinian towns and villages and thousands of Palestinians fled their homes, encouraged by Jewish paramilitaries keen to tell them they would be next.

Once these Palestinians were in neighbouring countries, Zionists declared the independence of Israel and refused to allow the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. Villages that had been inhabited for millennia were bulldozed and erased from history to suit the Zionist lie of “a land without people for a people with land”. Jewish migrants took over Palestinian homes entirely including furniture and clothes. Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion declared “the old will die and the young will forget” highlighting the Zionist belief that Palestinians could easily be displaced.

This was only one of the Zionists misjudgements but probably the largest. 63 years later and Palestinians still remember. The fourth generation of displaced Palestinians feel their exile with all the pain as their great-grandparents. Stories of their homes and villages are passed down the generations, the history of Palestine lives within the hearts of all Palestinian refugees. The countries young Palestinians have lived in all their lives will never be ‘home’, the dream of returning to Palestine remains.

And this is the problem Israel has. It is a country built on the bodies and villages of others. It will never truly belong to them because its previous inhabitants haven’t died out, they’ve just been moved into ghettoes within and around the borders of Israel. 63 years of oppression and forced exile hasn’t dampened the Palestinians spirit or killed the desire to return. No matter how many national parks Israel can create, it cannot erase the thousands of years of continued Palestinian history.

Israel has found that whilst you can kill a person, you cannot kill memories. You can imprison a population but you cannot imprison dreams. Zionists can continue to hope that the younger generation will forget but I, like other mothers of Palestinian children, will be bringing my Palestinian son up on the memories of his stolen homeland. He may grow up in London but Palestine will remain his true home.

The Libyan No-Fly Zone

Call me cynical but I’m not buying into the humanitarian mission of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in implementing a No-Fly Zone (NFZ) in Libya.

Away from the dubious past of previous NFZs from Iraq to Bosnia, I view this as an opportunity for European leaders to get rid of a dictator who embarrasses them. Many European leaders have spent the last few years courting Qaddafi’s regime to secure oil rights for their companies. From Tony Blair’s tent in the desert adventure to Silvio Berlusconi viewing Qaddafi as a mate.

They’d manage to rehabilitate the Qaddafi regime, heralding the heir apparent Saif al-Islam as some kind of reforming personality (laughable when you watch his reactions to the popular uprising in Libya). The UK, in particular, forged strong links to Qaddafi. His family own extensive property throughout London and Saif al-Islam paid the London School of Economics to not only grant him a PhD but also to train Qaddafi officials. This pally-pally approach worked in favour of UK oil companies who gained multi million pound contracts to develop the oil fields in Libya.

The brutal repression of the Libyan uprising has played out in full view of the world not only making it impossible for world leaders to ignore but also embarrassing those who have close links with the Qaddafi regime. The NFZ is a handy way for the UNSC to get rid of a distasteful and difficult to control dictator and also to regain ground lost in the luke-warm reactions to revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.

Compare this to the reaction to the uprising in Bahrain. The oppressive royal family are invited to the wedding of  future UK King and weak platitudes are issued in response to an invasion of Saudi Arabian troops. The protesters in Bahrain have the misfortune of not only uprising against a regime that is needed by many in the UNSC but also of being of the same sect of Islam as Iran.

Perceptions of Democracy in the Middle East

One of the my favourite things that has come out of the protests sweeping across the Middle East has been the amount of Western politicians, commentators and comment section posters have decided that they know the ‘Arab’ mind better than those protesting.

The general consensus among these people is, in the words of Lord Tebbit, is that they don’t ‘do’ democracy in this part of the world. Instead, populations in the Middle East are all brainwashed adherents to Islam which allows for no personal freedom.

Of course, there is no mention of the role the West has played in propping up dictators and stifling freedom of expression across the developing world. No, it’s much easier for these people to view Arabs as scary robots with no ability to think for themselves. This view also makes it simpler for these people to continue to support the idea that the Middle East should be repressed to serve the interests of the West.

Cameron in Egypt

David Cameron has chosen to become the first leader to visit Egypt since the fall of Mubarak. He’s going to visit the opposition groups whilst he is out there but not the Muslim Brotherhood.

I pity Egypt for having to suffer this pompous man’s visit not only because he is personally repulsive but because of Britain’s past role. Not only does Britain have a sketchy history in Egypt from colonisation to the Suez Canal ‘adventure’ but it also has a current dodgy policy in selling arms to repressive regional regimes which are then used upon peaceful protesters.

Cameron can’t help but meddle whilst he is in Egypt. He has decided to try and play a role legitimising opposition groups by refusing to meet the Muslim Brotherhood. Not only is this deeply offensive to those Egyptians who protested for the right to democratically elect whoever they wish but it is also proves that the West has learnt nothing from these popular uprisings.

Western leaders cannot help themselves, they feel the need to try and dictate to the Arab people who is and isn’t acceptable. Western strategic interests will always be deemed as more important than the interests of the Middle Eastern population.

I hope the new generation of Arab leaders refuse to buy into this ideology unlike those that they replace. Western leaders will only stop meddling to serve their own interests if they are told in strong terms that local population needs and  wishes will always come before these interests.

Dear Arabs: A Letter from Western Leaders

Dear Arab People,

Please can you stop protesting now. We thought it was kind of cute when it was Tunisia. We were ok with losing Ben Ali, in general strategic terms, Tunisia is pretty much small fry. Also, it looked good when President Obama was able to praise the Tunisian people in his State of the Union Address. Made it look as if we actually believe you should have democracy and freedom of speech. However, you took it too far when you decided to get rid of Mubarak and refuse our halfway measure of putting Omar Suleiman as his successor.

Now you’re really taking the piss. I mean Bahrain – are you shitting us? It’s home to the US Fifth Fleet and, in the words of David Mellor, is a ‘stalwart friend’ of the UK. Are you trying to freak us out – I mean for goodness sake, most of the population are Shi’a! Next thing you know, Iran will be in charge and causing all kinds of problems. As for Libya, seriously? Did you have to wait until Qaddafi was a friend? You couldn’t have done this back in the 1980s when he was causing us all sorts of problems. You continue to protest in Yemen as if this poor ally isn’t trying to help us deal with al-Qaeda. And we hear that protests have taken place in Saudi Arabia and are due in Kuwait. This really is starting to mess with our minds. We’re even having to watch Al-Jazeera English which is very damaging (hence why no American cable network will carry it – what will happen if Americans turn over by accident from Fox)

Now, you’ve had your fun and you’ve even had your major victory in Egypt. Now, you can all go back home and stop trying to demand the same rights that our populations enjoy in the West. You have to remember that without a western friendly dictator in charge, you will make the wrong decisions. You already have the best things that our populations enjoy – Arabs Got Talent. It would be best for all if you finished with this ‘freedom’ phase and concentrate instead on willing your favourite act to win.

Yours sincerely,

The Western Leaders

*This post was inspired by David Mellor’s interview on the Radio 4 Today Programme which was fairly breathtaking. I’ve linked it in to this post.

Why do They Hate us?

“Why do they hate us?” Something you hear often especially since 9/11. The ‘us’ refers to the western world and the ‘they’ to Muslims and in particular Arabs who seem driven in their desire to destroy the West and everything it stands for. The West seems bemused as to why the Muslim world doesn’t open its arms and embrace western ideals.

Although I think the hate is the wrong emotion. The majority of Muslims don’t hate the West but they don’t respect it either. The past 10 days in Egypt show us why. A broad section of Egyptian society has been out on the streets demanding an end to the 30 year dictatorship of Husni Mubarak. You’d expect that the protesters would receive widespread and vocal support from the West, the home of democracy and freedom. Instead our leaders have stuttered over their response and in the end have come out in support of keeping a dictatorship in place.

Many of the protesters are young Egyptians who have only known Mubarak as Egypt’s leader. They watched as the West invaded Iraq to bring democracy to the Iraqi people and they watched as the West tripped over themselves to do everything possible to bring success to the Green Revolution in Iran in 2009. They probably thought that western leaders would be quick to put their weight behind the protests and use their influence to get Mubarak to step down.

Instead what we have seen is western leaders harping on about ‘stability’. Egypt shouldn’t rush into elections or democracy because it’ll upset the stability of the Middle East. Western news organisation, primarily Fox News, have incessantly reported that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind the uprisings and that if Mubarak goes Egypt will become another Iran. All of this has given Mubarak the confidence to make half-hearted concessions but to stay in power until September (or so we are told). Obama and Clinton have looked lost and out of depth as have Europe. Berlusconi and Tony Blair have come out swinging for Mubarak, praising him for his courage. And Frank Weisner, Obama’s special envoy to Egypt, has waxed lyrical about the 60 years Mubarak has given to the Egyptian people as if this was some kind of altruistic act rather than a despot who has possibly made himself the richest man in the world at Egypt’s expense.

This is the ultimate betrayal of those brave Egyptians who have outfaced a heavily armed police force and groups of thugs, both of whom have killed them in their hundreds. Instead of praising the diverse nature of these grass roots protests, the West has patronised them by talking about stability and the fear of Islamists. But most of all, the West has missed a massive trick, a chance to reach out to the Arab youth and show them that the West cares about them as much as pretends it does.

But instead, western leaders have re-enforced Arab and Muslim views of them. The actions of the West has brought home to the Arab and Muslim street that Israel matters more than Egyptian freedom, that an irrational fear of political Islamism means that the Middle East must suffer under western-friendly dictators and most importantly that the West doesn’t view the Middle East as worthy of democracy in case they chose wrong (as Palestinians did in 2006).

So next time you think to yourself “why do they hate us so much”, think back to this uprising in Egypt, think of how the West betrayed the people and ask yourself “why should they love us?”

Well Done Cameron

In a speech to an International Security conference in Munich, David Cameron is set to introduce “muscular liberalism” which looks to tackle extremism by getting everyone from politicians to ordinary voters to confront it. He has declared that no longer will it be acceptable for communities to live separately from others even within the law.

Now on the surface this sounds like a good idea. Afterall an integrated community makes a strong society. But you start to read between the lines and you see that this is nothing more than a cynical ploy that plays to Daily Express readers and EDL members. Neither is the location of Munich an accident, this policy follows hard on the heels of Angela Merkel declaring that multiculturalism has failed in Germany.

I think you’d be hard pressed to find very many people who live in Britain and don’t appreciate the tolerance and values that have been built here for centuries. So this idea that there is need to aggressively push reluctant communities into accepting this is flawed. By adopting such a policy, Cameron is buying into the hysterical scaremongering of sections of the media who have propagated an idea that one section of British society doesn’t value the country it lives in. This community is of course Muslims.

For the last decade or so, the right wing media has been keen to portray Muslims as insular and intolerant. Muslims aren’t happy to be living in  Britain, instead they actively look to change it and destroy it’s traditions and culture. They want to replace the Prime Minister with a Caliph, the want to replace the legal system with Sharia law and they want to enforce strict segregation of the sexes with women wearing the burqa. In promoting this idea, the media has given copious amount of space to individuals such as Anjam Choudhury, who lives up to all their expectations of what a Muslim should be. With the amount of exposure given to Choudhury, you’d think that he commanded the respect of the majority of the 2m or so Muslims living in Britain when in fact he looked upon by all but tiniest minority with contempt and as a trouble maker.

By constantly publishing untrue scare stories about Christmas being cancelled and England shirts being banned during sporting tournament, the media has created a very real fear of Muslims and what they represent. This is especially felt in white, working class communities who have seen their traditional industries destroyed. They feel under attack by immigration, believing what they read in papers such as the Daily Mail, that migrants are taking all their jobs and being prioritised over them in areas such as housing, health and education. By introducing such a policy, Cameron is seemingly confirming their fears. I see this very much as cynical attempt to garner votes among this section of society.

But all that Cameron will achieve with this policy is the thing that he says he’s introducing it to eradicate. Muslims are already very aware that Islamophobia is on the rise and is viewed as acceptable. Even Tory stalwarts such as Baroness Warsi have spoken out about this. Muslim communities that have already been under the spotlight since 9/11 and in particular 7/7 will feel even more scrutinised. Muslim communities will withdraw even more, turning in on themselves because they feel under attack not only by the media and racists but also by a government that has singled them out as a problem. All the work that is currently being done to reach out isolated and vulnerable young Muslim men will be lost.

But most importantly, this policy misses the very thing that radicalises Muslims the most, foreign policy. The way in which Britain conducts itself in the Muslim world is what angers British Muslims the most, not traditions of afternoon tea or cricket on the village green. The arrogance in which we invaded Iraq, the unconditional aid we give to Israel to help them suppress the Palestinians and, in respect to the revolution happening now in Egypt, the way in which we prop up corrupt, brutal regimes for our own benefit.

So my suggestion to Cameron is to stop pandering to the hysteria whipped up by the right wing media and look to address the real reasons that can radicalise young British Muslims.