EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
British politician Boris Johnson, known for his sharp pen and incomparable style, once again attracted attention in early August with something that is rare for a modern politician: a polemical essay. In it, he speaks out against bans on Muslim women wearing face coverings, while at the same time offering his own critique of the practice.
A comparison that women wearing burqas resemble “letterboxes” led to a serious public controversy called “Burqa-gate.” Here we offer you Johnson’s text, which, although criticizing the wearing of head coverings, actually expresses an extremely (classical) liberal position regarding the bans on wearing (as the author himself says) such “strange hats.”
You can see the original HERE
Denmark is wrong. Yes, the burqa is oppressive and ridiculous – but that's no reason to ban it
Ah, Denmark, what a country. If there is a society that breathes the spirit of freedom, this is it.
Just a few weeks ago I was in Copenhagen for an international conference and as usual I got up early and went for a run. As I walked through some yuppie area of warehouses-turned-apartments and fancy restaurants, I noticed with amazement that the Danes were also up early for a workout - they were diving completely naked into the cold waters of the harbour. I thought - this is the Danes; this is the spirit of Viking individualism. What I mean is that we have a warmer climate than Denmark; but even so, do you expect to see Brits stripping down and jumping into the water at Canary Wharf, or even in Greenwich? We are pretty daring, but not that daring.
Denmark is the only country in Europe, as far as I know, that still gives up a large part of its capital to an anarchist commune called "Christiania", where I remember spending a happy afternoon 25 years ago, breathing in the sweet air of freedom. It is the Danes who are still fighting back against all sorts of EU tyrannies, big and small.
They still chew the deadly carcinogenic tobacco; they still eat their red sausages; they still use the krone, not the euro; they still refuse to let foreigners buy holiday homes in Jutland; and, of course, the heroic population of Denmark (on that glorious day in June 1992) gave the middle finger to Europe's elite and rejected the Maastricht Treaty - and although this rebellion was eventually crushed by the European institutions (as, indeed, they will try to crush all such displays of discontent), this big NO to Maastricht demonstrates something about the Danish spirit: cheerful stubbornness and independence.
It's a spirit that's visible everywhere on the streets of Copenhagen, a respect for that ultimate embodiment of automotive autonomy: the bicycle. The Danes don't cycle with their heads down, sullenly, in Lycra, swearing at people who get in their way. They roam around the beautiful boulevards, helmetless, on old granny bicycles, with a cycling culture that everyone should treat with courtesy and respect. Yes, if you wanted to visit a country that on the surface embodies the principles of John Stuart Mill - that you can do whatever you want, provided you don't harm others - I would advise you to head to wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen.
So I was a little surprised that on August 1, the Danes joined several other European countries - France, Germany, Austria, Belgium - in banning the niqab and burqa - those elements of Muslim headgear that obscure a woman's face. A 28-year-old woman has already been fined 1,000 kroner - about £120 - after being seen wearing a niqab in a shopping mall in the northeastern town of Horsholm. The clash erupted when someone tried to pull it off her head. There have been demonstrations on both sides of the row.
What happened, you might ask, to the Danish spirit of “live and let live”? If you tell me that the burqa is oppressive, then I am with you. If you say that it is strange and offensive to expect women to cover their faces, then I completely agree – and I would add that I can find no written evidence for this practice in the Quran. I will go further and say that it is absurd that people should choose to walk around like letter boxes; and I utterly abhor any attempt by any predominantly male government to encourage such displays of “modesty”, especially the unusual exhortations of President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya, who has told the men of his country to smear their wives with paint if they fail to cover their heads.
If a constituent comes to see me as an MP with her face covered, I should feel perfectly justified - like Jack Straw - in asking her to remove it so I can speak to her in a normal way. If a student turns up at a school or university lecture looking like a bank robber, likewise: teachers should be able to speak openly to their students. As for individual businesses or branches of government - they should, of course, be able to impose a dress code that allows their employees to interact with customers; and that means human beings should be able to see each other's faces and distinguish expressions. That's the way we work.
All of this is reasonable, I think. But such restrictions are not quite the same as telling a free adult woman what she can or cannot wear in public when she is not bothering anyone.
I am against a total ban because it is inevitably interpreted - both rightly and wrongly - as an expression of attitude towards Islam. If you are in favor of a total ban, you are playing into the hands of those who want to politicize and dramatize the so-called clash of civilizations; and you are fueling discontent. You risk turning people into martyrs and you risk a general repression of all public symbols of religious affiliation, which will make the problem more serious. As a parent faced with a rebellious teenager determined to wear a ring in his tongue or nose, you risk, by banning what you see as a strange and unattractive ornament, simply increasing the resistance.
The burqa and niqab were certainly not always part of Islam. In Britain today, only a tiny minority of women wear these strange headscarves. One day, I'm sure they'll go away.
The Danes swim naked in the heart of Copenhagen. If we are to believe (ed. series) "Murder" their female detectives wear Faroese sweaters while working, which is their sovereign right. If Danish women really want to cover their faces, then it seems a bit extreme - considering all the exceptions listed above - to stop them in all circumstances. I am not suggesting that we follow suit. A complete ban is not the answer.
