The Netherlands' Burka Ban

This week the Dutch parliament voted to ban the wearing of the burka, a traditional Muslim garb worn by women which covers everything but their eyes, outside of the home. Geert Wilders is the Dutch MP who first suggested the idea. He claims the ban is necessary for two reasons: integration and security. While I am sure Wilders has good intentions, his reasons for this ban are incredulous. The ban is a blatant attack on religious liberty and should be revoked.

Wilders’ first contention that the burka impedes the integration of Muslim communities in to mainstream Holland would be sound if massive amounts of women were wearing the garment and refused to ever take it off. However, this is not the case. According to the BBC, a mere fifty Muslim women wear the burka in Holland, a country of millions of people. If these fifty women are seriously disrupting the cultural integration of Holland then it would appear that country has some very deep problems.

Famala Aslam, a Muslim attorney in Holland, makes the point that many moderate Muslim women, who do not necessarily wear the burka, may start doing so as the result of a perceived attack on their faith. If this is true, the ban would ultimately have the reverse effects it was intended to. Rather than integrate Muslim women in to society, it will create a larger population of burka wearing women who wish to make a political statement.

As to Wilders’ security contention, there seems little true reason within his point, especially considering the amount of women who wear the burka. If these women are going to strap a suicide belt to themselves, they are probably going to detonate it somewhere that security won’t be able to search them. In this case, whether or not they wear a burka is irrelevant. They could wear baggy clothes or even large jackets. They know their chances of smuggling something on to a plane in this post 9-11 world are essentially non-existent. This ban does little to nothing to decrease this likelihood nor does it make any other venue safer.

Wilders’ reasons for this law may be flawed, but there are other serious implications that need to be taken in to account as well. Most notably, this ban is a serious infringement on religious freedom. The burka is very much a religious symbol. It is a visible profession of a woman’s inner faith. While it may seem foreign to many westerners, it is no different than wearing a cross around your neck or wearing a yarmulke, other than the fact that most people in Western culture don’t wear burkas.

If the Dutch government were to ban Christians from wearing crosses on their necks or Jews from wearing skull caps, people would be rioting in the streets and yelling “Fascist! Fascist!” Oddly enough, Geert Wilders is able to say about the burka, “It’s a medieval symbol...” Could you imagine how offended you would be not only as a Muslim, but as any person of minority status if a religious or social practice of yours was referred to as “medieval” by an upper member of government and then outlawed?

If the Dutch government is able to ban burkas, we must wonder what will be next. Will they ban mosques, because these too are medieval? Will they extend bans to target other minorities as well? Interestingly, we need only look a few countries over to see how far European nations are willing to go in their knee jerk reaction to large levels of immigration. In Belgium, not only is the burka banned, but so is the niqab, another traditional form of Muslim dress that only covers the head with a scarf. In 2004, the French government enacted a ban in all of its public schools that bars religious clothing and symbolism of all kinds, including traditional Christian and Jewish crosses and yarmulkes.

Unfortunately, it does not seem that true religious freedom will come back to Europe anytime soon. There was little disagreement over this Dutch ban and even less outrage. We must all keep in mind that while this ban may not affect a large population, it is just as terrible that it affects a small one. It sets a precedent in Holland that if your beliefs and practices clash with the established majority’s, your beliefs and practices will likely not be tolerated. This burka ban does nothing to increase security, does less to promote integration and is a terrible trampling of religious rights. It should be lifted immediately.