# How do the europeans want to justify burka (burqa?) ban? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 20, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089 "2010-05-20T02:26:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089/221 "2010-05-30T16:03:27Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Most European countries already have provision for banning masks and helmets that obscure the face in public places. I think it’s still illegal to wear IRA-style balaclavas in the UK, for instance, when out in public. So, [are](http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41357000/jpg/_41357551_police8_ap.jpg) [police](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/1/2/1230936007053/Police-in-the-remote-vill-001.jpg) [exempt](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZkSSURCm3FI/SeL8_hxvWeI/AAAAAAAAB5U/PjPouNSkJbo/s400/riot+police.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089/222 "2010-06-02T02:41:55Z")
As long as they are not members of a minority group or a woman. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089/223 "2010-06-02T07:36:06Z")
I would suggest you read the book by Fatima Menissi, **The Veil and the Male Elite: A Femisits Interpretation of a Women’s Rights in Islam** It might answer some of your questions about the veil and whether or not women are property according to Islam. (BTW they are not) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089/224 "2010-06-02T07:43:49Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > I would suggest you read the book by Fatima Menissi, **The Veil and the Male Elite: A Femisits Interpretation of a Women’s Rights in Islam** It might answer some of your questions about the veil and whether or not women are property according to Islam. (BTW they are not) Snipped from the Amazon reviews on said book. > [@](#): > > I find it interesting that another reader found, within the pages of this book, justification for a Muslim woman wearing a piece of cloth to cover her head. My perception of Ms. Mernissi’s views is quite the opposite. What she was trying to say throughout the whole book can be summed up in one of the final questions she asks in her conclusion: “How did the tradition succeed in transforming the Muslim woman into that submissive, marginal creature who buries herself and only goes out into the world timidly and huddled in her veils?” Mernissi then questions why a Muslim man needs such a “mutilated companion.” These ideas are what make this book so important. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089/225 "2010-06-03T03:33:40Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Most European countries already have provision for banning masks and helmets that obscure the face in public places. I think it’s still illegal to wear IRA-style balaclavas in the UK, for instance, when out in public. I have a dim memory of this and was trying to find a cite .. not coming up with much though > **[Balaclava (clothing)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_%28clothing%29)** > > A balaclava, also called a ski mask or racing mask, is a form of cloth headgear designed to expose only part of the face, usually the eyes and mouth. Depending on style and how it is worn, only the eyes, mouth and nose, or just the front of the face are unprotected. Versions with enough of a full face opening may be rolled into a hat to cover the crown of the head or folded down as a collar around the neck. It is commonly used in alpine skiing, snowboarding, motorsport and motorcycle. > Similar st... “British Police in Kent confiscated the War on Terror board game partly due to the inclusion of a balaclava. Police said it “could be used to conceal someone’s identity or could be used in the course of a criminal act”.[7]” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-europeans-want-to-justify-burka-burqa-ban/540089.md?page=11)