Burqa Ban

Islamophobe Wrote:

"Dutch burqa ban - i dont think you've blogged about this Snouck."

Snouck:
I haven't blogged about it because I haven't made up my mind about it. I saw the first burqa in my neighbourhood last summer. Now I see them increasingly in Amsterdam - West which is a Morroccan - Turkish ghetto and also occassionally here in Amsterdam - East. The first time I saw it I was I must admit very shocked. I get shocked about once every five years so this was pretty bad.

I do not like the idea the idea of the government havoing power over what people wear though. It is something for more authoritarian countries like France or Turkey. The Netherlands was founded on a 80 year war of freedom against imperial Spain and Roman Catholicism as it was understood at the time. 1568 to 1648. The war was a success and at the end of it Dutch Roman Catholics fought shoulder to shoulder with Dutch Protestants for religious freedom and lower taxes. The Dutch republic was the first country in Europe with freedom of expression and religious freedom, although there were some limits on Catholicism.

So the whole idea of giving Government the power to regulate the clothes people wear is repugnant to me. I do not agree with Geert Wilders on this one. On the other hand our own Iron Lady, mrs. Verdonk, has said that the constitution will probably not allow legislators to ban the burqa, apart from considerations of security.

Islamophobe:
"In my view, it could well turn into a backlash - with even more women turning to burqa, in a crazed notion of "resistance"

Snouck:
There could be a backlash. Backlash would wake up more ethnic Dutch against danger of Islam and make them lash back in turn. I like backlash. It is like a virtuous cycle.

Islamophobe:
"But overall, I think its a good idea - and indeed a heroic one."

Snouck:
No, it is not heroic. The Muslims are still small and weak. We can do with them as we please. The difficulty lies in the lack of will to defend our societies from external threats. The real, underlying problem is not the burqa. That is just a symptom.

The real problem is mass immigration. Because of mass immigration we have problems with Muslims. Suppose there were only 1 million Muslims in Europe and their number was stable. Would we be bothered, if all of their women would start wearing the burqa?

The betrayal of our political and cultural elites is the problem. THAT is what we must address. Not cosmetic changes to Muslim fashions, no matter how shocking.