This article, part of an evolving and large project, examines the relationship between clothing, freedom and choice, and specifically Islamic dress in shaping the identity of Dutch Muslim women after ...the Burka Ban that was voted into law on 1 August 2019 in the Netherlands. It discusses the debates before and after this date, as well as the background to the ban. A veil covering the face is a garment worn by some Muslim women to adhere to an interpretation of hijab (modest dress). It can be referred to as a burqa or niqab. In the aftermath of the Burka Ban that prompted considerable public alarm on the part of Muslim men and women, niqab-wearing women, as well as women who do not wear a veil, but are in solidarity with their niqabi sisters, raised a number of questions that form the basis for the analysis presented here: how do Dutch Muslim women shape their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they incorporate Dutch parameters into their Muslim identity, while at the same time weaving Islamic principles into their Dutch sense of self? The findings show how Islamic clothing can be mobilized by Dutch Muslim women to serve identity formation and personal (religious) choice in the Netherlands, where Islam is largely considered by the non-Muslim population to be a religion that is oppressive and discriminatory towards women. It is argued that in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, these women express their freedom of choice through clothing, thus pushing the limits of the archetypal Dutch identity and criticizing Dutch society while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam to craft their own identity.
After dozens of attacks during the past ten years in which hundreds have been killed by French jihadists, it is often suggested that subversive attitudes towards the Republic and its code of laïcité ...are widespread among Muslims in France. Yet while Muslims are often at odds with recent laws that they consider to be unfairly targeted against them, those interviewed in opinion surveys express high levels of support for the code of laïcité as laid down in the law of 1905, which separated the state and its representatives from religious institutions while simultaneously safeguarding the right of members of civil society to express their religious beliefs not only privately but also in the public sphere. Very few Muslim girls were exercising their right to wear headscarves in state schools when these were banned in 2004, and very few women were wearing burkas until these in turn were banned in any public space in 2010. But these new laws have been perceived as Islamophobic not only by the tiny minorities who were wearing these garments but also by many other Muslims, in whose eyes these measures parallel other long-standing patterns of discrimination hindering their access to jobs, housing and other social goods.
It is not uncommon to find cases of Muslim women being harassed or bullied in many of the Muslim-minority countries because of their dress. These Islamophobic attacks, unfortunately, are not merely ...conducted by radicalised individuals; but the subjugation of the rights of Muslim women also comes from institutional bodies and governments. Secular nations, such as France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Switzerland, USA, UK, Canada, China, and Russia have either imposed restrictions on Muslim women regarding their dress code. They see veil as a non-acceptance of progressive or cumulative values which is unsurprisingly not welcomed by the Muslim community. In such environment, it is inevitable for the Muslims to understand what the Qur’ān and Sunnah really say about the dress code for Muslim women in order to explain what their religion really requires from them and to communicate it appropriately to the government officials, journalists, politicians, and other relevant stakeholders. It is also essential from the perspective of segregating cultural aspects from the religious aspects. Many of the commonly used words for the dressing of Muslim women are more rooted in culture than the religion. It is accordingly vital to understand what the Qur’ān and Sunnah really command about the women dressing and how it has been interpreted in various Islamic societies and cultures. This paper accordingly presents an analysis of all the relevant Qur’ānic verses and the prophetic traditions (from the 6 most renowned books of ahadith). The linguistic analysis employed in this paper results in the identification of items of dress that were worn by Muslim women to safeguard their modesty during the times of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The same principles are relevant for today’s age and time and the Muslims can use those guidelines to delineate cultural practices from the religious injunctions.
It is not uncommon to find cases of Muslim women being harassed or bullied in many of the Muslim-minority countries because of their dress. These Islamophobic attacks, unfortunately, are not merely ...conducted by radicalised individuals; but the subjugation of the rights of Muslim women also comes from institutional bodies and governments. Secular nations, such as France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Switzerland, USA, UK, Canada, China, and Russia have either imposed restrictions on Muslim women regarding their dress code. They see veil as a non-acceptance of progressive or cumulative values which is unsurprisingly not welcomed by the Muslim community. In such environment, it is inevitable for the Muslims to understand what the Qur’ān and Sunnah really say about the dress code for Muslim women in order to explain what their religion really requires from them and to communicate it appropriately to the government officials, journalists, politicians, and other relevant stakeholders. It is also essential from the perspective of segregating cultural aspects from the religious aspects. Many of the commonly used words for the dressing of Muslim women are more rooted in culture than the religion. It is accordingly vital to understand what the Qur’ān and Sunnah really command about the women dressing and how it has been interpreted in various Islamic societies and cultures. This paper accordingly presents an analysis of all the relevant Qur’ānic verses and the prophetic traditions (from the 6 most renowned books of ahadith). The linguistic analysis employed in this paper results in the identification of items of dress that were worn by Muslim women to safeguard their modesty during the times of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The same principles are relevant for today’s age and time and the Muslims can use those guidelines to delineate cultural practices from the religious injunctions.
What does right-wing populism look like in Luxembourg, a small European state whose economy heavily relies on strong European integration and foreign and cross-border labor? This article explores ...this question by looking at the Alternativ Demokratesh Reformpartei (ADR), Luxembourg's version of a right-wing populist party. It studies the ADR's discourse during three discursive events: the debate over a burka law (2014-2018), the 2015 Refugee Crisis, and Luxembourg's 2015 constitutional referendum. Much of the ADR's discourse is right-wing populist, but with two specificities: the ADR's embrace of multiculturalism and its use of the issue of the national language to appeal to cultural and economic interests. Both of these specificities reflect into a distinctive concept of the Luxembourgish 'people'. The Luxembourg case demonstrates the chameleonic nature or populism, or its ability to adapt to its local circumstances, in this instance even adopting features that contradict much of the thinking on right-wing populism.
Constructing and using water systems and the indigenous knowledge associated with them are among the pivotal components of local communities, manifesting the convergent correlation of human life and ...Mother Nature. Practically, the purpose of this convergence was to realize human needs according to a careful understanding of natural limitations which ends to formulation of a system of meanings and rituals related water using styles. As a historical water-storing construction, Burka maintains strong similarities with other traditional water-storing structures in other parts of Iran while remaining particularities due to the geographical and cultural conditions of Qeshm Island. Relying on a realistic ethnography method, and after selection of 18 urban and rural regions in the island as its field, this study used both deep and focus-group interviews with more than 80 persons of local informants along with participative observation and survey of related published documents to collect and analyze the data regarding this traditional knowledge. Finally, this study led to a thick description of the indigenous knowledge regarding construction, maintenance and utilizing Burkas and functional-ritual values around them. Wise techniques of spotting the best location for harvesting the best quality rain water and building the Burka according to a technical intelligent architecture and then channeling the stream to the sediment pool and then transmitting it to a deep covered basin (constructing), constant solidarity of local communities through subtle mores (maintenance), and frugality and contentment in using water according to priorities (utilizing) are prominent components of this indigenous knowledge.
Despite being closely examined from the perspective of its political background, the 1950 Yugoslav burka ban as a legal text remained until now beyond interests of historians of law. Exposing this ...Yugoslav law to a strictly normative analysis and comparison with analogous contemporary bans, this paper delivers the findings that largely exceeded the results of historical studies done so far. Though a brief text, the Yugoslav burka ban was a composite legislation that surely contained full-face veil ban, but also penalized criminal acts against unveiling and introduced an embryo to the future socialist Kanzelparagraph i.e., pulpit law as well. Openly aiming to break a religiously inspired behavior, its militant advocacy was only apparently distinct from a more neutral wording of the present-day veil-bans. A thorough analysis of its ideological foundation, however, indicates a crucial common feature with the modern laical legislation: the paternalistic state action excluding religion as such from the open public space and free debate. As such, the legacy of the Yugoslav socialist burka ban contributes to better understanding of militant secularism as surely a modern, but not a new controversy.
Denne artikkelen drøfter hvorvidt Norge kan innføre et forbud mot klesplaggene burka og niqab i det offentlige rom. Det problematiseres hvorvidt hensynet til kvinners likestilling og integrering kan ...rettferdiggjøre et slikt forbud. Konklusjonen er at et norsk burka-forbud i hele det offentlige rom vil være i strid med religionsfriheten etter EMK artikkel 9.
Herkes düşünce, din ve vicdan özgürlüğüne sahiptir. Bu hakkın içsel bir alanı olduğu kadar devletin müdahalesine konu olma ihtimali yüksek bir dışsal alanı da bulunmaktadır. Dini inancı açığa vurma ...hakkı da bu kapsamda korunmaktadır. Kişiler dini inançlarını dışarıya yansıtırken, dini semboller ve kıyafetler kullanabilirler. Ancak devletler, kişilerin dini sembol ve kıyafetler kullanmasını birtakım amaçlarla sınırlayabilir. Bu sınırlamalar da ayrımcılık içerebilir. Son yıllarda Avrupa’ya doğru artan göç dalgası ile göçmenler beraberlerinde dini uygulamalarını, dolayısıyla dini sembol ve kıyafetlerini de getirmişlerdir. Bu da iş yaşamında, kamuya açık alanlarda, eğitim kurumlarında, güvenlik geçişlerinde hatta kimlik kartlarına koyulacak fotoğraflarda dahi tartışmalara sebep olmuştur. Bu çalışmanın konusunu ise kamuoyunda burka yasakları olarak bilinen, yakın zamanda Avrupa’da çoğu devlette peş peşe kanunlaşan yüzü örten kıyafetler giyme yasağı oluşturmaktadır. Makalede yasakların kanunlaşma süreci ulusal ve uluslararası mahkeme kararları ışığında ele alınacak ve yasaklara ilişkin devletler tarafından ileri sürülen meşru amaçlar ile kamuoyundaki ve literatürdeki tartışmalar karşılaştırmalı bir yaklaşımla ortaya konulacak ve incelenecektir.
Between February 2002 and November 2018, Swedish politicians from the Centre, Christian Democrat, Moderate, Liberal and Sweden Democrat parties proposed policies to ban clothing variously referred to ...as the "burka," "full-covering veil," "face veil" and "niqab" (Arabic for face veil) at least 38 times, six at the national level and thirty-two at the municipal. Research suggests that circa 100 women in Sweden wear a "burka"; clearly these policy proposals have little to do with the burka's prevalence. What, then, do these policy proposals attempt to govern? In this text we adopt feminist political scientist Carol Bacchi's "what is the problem represented to be?" approach to analyse Swedish bills to regulate the burka. These policy proposals, we contend, have more to do with conceptualizing Swedishness than addressing an existing "problem" of women who wear burka.
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