I will admit that I have an irrational negative reaction to the burka. I much prefer to see people's faces. However I have never had a discussion with a woman burka wearer so can speak with no great authority. I wonder how many of the deputies in the French National Assembly have ever spoken with a burka wearing woman?
However I am unhappy that there seems to be across Europe a concerted effort to prevent Muslim women hiding their faces, figures and sexuality in an unflattering material which conceals their identity.
This is so much at odds with modern Western European dress codes. I actually find it refreshing that some are prepared to reject that dress code. Frankly I find much that passes for modern dress offensive. I was chatting the other day with a Muslim man who explained that he rather his daughter was dressed in neqab (a headscarf) than "looking like a prostitute". Strong words, but always interesting to understand how we see one another in a diverse society.
The recent hot weather has underlined just how unpleasant others can look once clothes come off. Displaying tatty underwear and badly produced tattoos brings out the same irrational negative reaction as does the burka, but we can still see the faces.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that he expects women "to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes". Her real dress it seems should be "with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God" (1 Timothy 2:9-10). The Apostle Peter makes a similar point (1 Peter 3:3,4).
Men's clothing seems to be more functional and less sexualised but we also have a responsibilty to dress in a way that reflects decency and propriety.
I hope in the UK we can take a much more relaxed attitude to the burka. I think the only issues that arise should be practical. For example I can't see that such face covering is appropriate in the class room or in some workplaces where interpersonal interaction is business critical.
As far as I can remember the very first ban on face covering to be imposed in modern times was at the old Daily Mirror building in Holborn. This was introduced after a gang posing as motorcycle couriers in face covering helmets entered the building and killed a security guard during a robbery. I gather some shopping centres place a ban on "hoodies" for the same reason. But they were mainly men. Let us keep a sense of proportion.
