Should I have stabbed him in the eye?

I read an article today where Belgium is thinking of banning burqas from their country altogether. A few years ago, I read that France has banned all religious symbols and apparel in public schools, including Muslim head scarfs. My first thought on that end was not very pleasant. Isn't that special! (Apologies to Dana Carvey.) How scared are they? Scared or something else. I have a feeling it's something else.

So now Belgium is banning the burqa because it's "incompatible" with European values. Now, I'm no expert on European values, but isn't this the country with legalized prostitution and pot bars? I don't think their "values" are of a high concern around there. The next thing the article explains that is that it's a security issue--apparently people have to show their faces in public for the place to be secure.

This is an old fear in Europe. Medieval English laws punish crimes committed at night and behind closed doors more severely than ones committed during the day. Things done in secret are scarier than things done out in the open. (We see this in the US in states where you have to have a permit to conceal and carry a gun.) I think it's flat out fear of Islam and honestly it's not entirely unjustified.

Yes. I just said that. I think the moment I really got the picture on this one was when the rioting started after someone published cartoons featuring Muhammad. People rioted. People killed people. The killed people because some guy made fun of their religion...

Holy. shit. This is different. People have been mocking my religion openly for about 2,000 years and we're totally over it. The NAME of my religion comes from some of that mocking. It came about in the Roman era when they started calling us "little christs" as an insult. Someone drew a cartoon of a crucifix with the caption "I can't wait till Easter" in one of my journals in high school. Should have stabbed him in the eye? I mean, I had a pencil right there.

You all thought I was going to say being scared of Islam was justifiable because of the terrorist element, didn't you? Nope. Christianity has a terrorist element, I'm pretty sure if I did some research Judaism has a terrorist element, I've never heard of Hindu or Buddhist terrorists but I'm sure someone somewhere has employed those religions in terrorism. It's not that it's being used to justify terrorism---it's that they apparently can't handle people laughing at them. It also tends to be culturally pervasive.

But this still looks like good old fashioned European racism. They haven't banned nuns from wearing habits as far as I know. The French at least banned all hats, but they didn't do it to adults. They haven't banned the traditional dress of other faiths.... just those Muslims with their foreign ways and their draping sheets. I'm sure the less conservative Muslim women will appreciate it. To some of them, it has to feel like going around with a bag over their head. But what about the old ladies who've never been outside without it?

It just doesn't seem fair.