7/01/2018

HOLLAND'S BURQA HOLLERS


HOLLAND'S over last weeks passed a law banning veils in the large part of the public sphere; including schools, government offices and hospitals.

A member of the Geert Wilders party has hailed the move as the first step towards de-Islamising the country. With ''mosques'' representing the next.

The Dutch decision has been a long time in coming. Indeed the country was the first among the EU  to propose a burqa ban back at the end of 2005. I was tabled by Geert Wilders.

In a bid to ensure that secular Europe's assimilation model was upheld. This is very much in contrast  to Britian's multi-cultural paradigm that seeks integration. Yet both the countries saw the issue of veil  come to the fore at around the same time.

This is in the  years following the 9/11 attacks and in the immediate aftermath of the London bombings.

And herein is the rub.

The Muslim veil when seen through western eyes, conveniently becomes synonymous with terrorism. This is no accident.

For it is far easier to maintain for nation to deny links between militarised foreign policy and a violent blowback. Indeed, as the warmongering between the two sides increases - women find that their bodies are transformed into new battlefields.

In the case of Netherlands, successive governments have had plenty of help from characters like  Wilders as well as that most acceptable face of the right-wing lobby : Ayaan Hirst Ali.

Indeed, Ayaan Ali has likened the burqa to both a Swastika and an ISIS  flag.

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