Belgium will become the second EU nation to ban the burqa and niqab after France, reported RTE, Ireland's public service broadcaster. Starting next week, Muslim women who choose to wear the garment that covers their face and body will be fined €137.50 (£120) and spend up to seven days behind bars.

Belgium and France are not the only countries to embark on this controversial move. Just this week, Australia also followed suit by cobbling together a proposed law that would require women to unveil themselves for security purposes if requested by a law enforcement official, reported News.com.au.

But Britain's key Muslim civil society organisation said chances of a similar initiative implemented here in the UK are slim.

According to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) -- a national umbrella organisation that aims to promote cooperation and consensus on Muslim affairs in the UK -- it boils down to the tolerance woven throughout UK society.

“Implementing the burqa ban will not happen because the UK is a more open and inclusive society than the rest of Europe ... Multiculturism is a British institution and the whole nation wants to preserve it,” the MCB told The Huffington Post.

Nabila Ramdani, a Paris-born UK-based journalist and academic, told The Huffington Post that a lack of tolerance is the reason European countries are adopting the burqa ban. “There’s a more tolerant environment in the UK and they are much more inclusive than the French and Belgian societies. Britain has always been more inclusive and practically deals with multiculturalism. You see it everywhere with minorities represented in media, politics, business -- something you don't see in France or Belgium.”

But Ramdani also said that the UK’s anti-discrimination laws -- unlike in Belgium and France -- protect the UK from politicians passing such laws. “There are no strong anti-discrimination laws in Belgium and France to fight that. Worse, in both countries you have institutionalized racism."

Though the UK government went on record saying it would never adopt such measures, calling them “unBritish,” just last year a YouGov poll revealed that a majority of Britons expressed that they would like to see the garment banned, with only 27 percent disagreeing that the garment should be completely outlawed.

Belgium’s ban kicking off next week may stir debate in the House of Commons, but the passage of a similar law in the UK remains unlikely.

Image: flickr

From Huffington Post

MUXLIM VIEWERS: Watch {"I'm Here" by Jude Chehab on YT}

Political and social activist Yvonne Ridley shares her experiences during the 'banned hijab' movements.

Something really wonderful happened outside the Tunisian Embassy in London the other day as a crowd of us gathered to continue the demand for justice in the people’s revolution.

I was standing next to a woman, and, with tears in her eyes she revealed she had been inside the embassy that morning to get passports for herself and her family. Her face looked vaguely familiar but I could not remember where we had met previously.

Just a few weeks ago she would not have been allowed to put one foot over the threshold but this time she was welcomed like a long lost daughter and given the red carpet treatment by the embassy staff – one even asked if she wanted to meet the Ambassador.

The more she talked the more I knew that we had met previously, but where?

Then we began speculating about the deposed dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and his truly awful wife Leila who, we now know thanks to Wikileaks, fancied her chances of becoming the next leader of Tunisia when her ageing husband either stood down or expired.

We both laughed at the irony of the location of their current bolt-hole… Saudi Arabia, The Land of the Two Holy Mosques and wondered how Ben Ali and Leila Trabelsi were coping with hearing the athan - call to prayer, five times a day.

They had both banned the adhan from being played on state television, shunned fasting during Ramadhan and dismissed the hijab as being a foreign import and not part of the Tunisian culture. Let’s just say they made it up as they went along and if they wanted fatwas they would wheel out their tame and obliging $cholars for Dollars.

Ben Ali, a brute of a man who made words and phrases like torture, detention without trial, political and religious persecution commonplace in Tunisia, is also credited with ripping off the hijabs from the heads of Muslim women. He banned them from wearing their scarves in schools, hospitals and universities and other public places.

He saw that the Holy Quran was banned and desecrated in the cages and dungeons where prisoners of conscience are beaten if they dared to pray outside of allotted times.

His brutal regime brought in happy clappy clerics whose narcotic-style preachings in praise of Ben Ali and his corrupt government certainly had the desired effect… it drove God-fearing worshippers out of the mosques.

No wonder the Muslim youth no longer clamoured to get into masjids on Fridays to listen to these khateebs who spent half the khutbah praising the President and his followers.

To our Christian friends, put it this way - can you imagine sitting in a church pew listening to some vicar or priest urging you to thank God for Tony Blair, George W Bush or Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheyney? Exactly!

My sister and I both wondered how Leila would view having to wear a black abaya, all enveloping cloak and veil, every time she steps outside her new home in Jeddah. I’m sure the Saudi religious police will be on hand to give the former hairdresser some encouragement.

Of all the places in the world those two had probably expected to end up I think it’s a fair bet Saudi was no where near the top of their list as they boarded the flight from Tunisia.

In fact what wouldn’t I have given to see the expressions on their faces as the pilot delivered the bad news. Sorry, we can’t get clearance for London, Paris, New York, Monaco or Geneva but how does Jeddah sound?

It was Ben Ali’s barbaric actions and abuse of the most basic human rights which prompted me to first go and stand outside the Tunisian Embassy in London way back in November 2006 and protest in defence of our Tunisian sisters ... and their right to practice Islam. This man and his godless wife despised the religion of their birth so much and everything it represented that they did their best to turn the country in to a secular state.

Did they do it to please themselves or the western powers which courted them and pretended to be their best ever friends?

I remember in February 2009 driving through Tunisia with the Viva Palestina convoy encountering literally hundreds of Ben Ali’s henchmen who did everything in their power to stop us from praying and attending Friday prayers.

The horrified expressions on their faces when we stopped our vehicles in the middle of the road and prayed in the street is something I will remember for ever. I recounted the tale to the sister outside the embassy and again we both laughed at the ultimate irony Ben Ali and the light-fingered Leila (she is reported to have looted 1.5 tons of gold as she fled) were now languishing in Saudi.

How poignant, having been shunned by their fickle friends in the West, it was Muslims who came to their rescue. Forgiveness is a major element in Islam and while it is far too early for Tunisians to even begin to think about that F-word, the ex-president and his wife should be grateful that some Muslims are prepared to show them the sort of mercy Ben Ali and Leila could never show their own people.

Now that he, in particular, has time to reflect on the brutalisation of hijab-wearing sisters, practising brothers and human rights campaigners, I wonder if he will discover the beauty of real Islam and not the distorted, diluted version he tried to force on his people?

I turned to the woman outside the embassy and wondered out loud if Leila will ever discover the beauty of the hijab. The words were barely out of my mouth when I suddenly recognized this woman.

We had first met in 2006, outside the Tunisian Embassy in London, at a protest. She had told me at the time in graphic detail of her own detention, abuse and torture at the hands of Ben Ali’s thugs. I will never forget her dramatic words back then as she said in a shakey voice:

“I came to London with my hijab still in my pocket.”

I remember being moved to tears by her story.

And now she is planning to return but with her head held high and wearing her hijab with pride.

British journalist Yvonne Ridley is the European President of the {International Muslim Women’s Union}.

Find {Yvonne Ridley on Facebook}
{http://yvonneridley.org}





More on Muslim coverage:
A Man's Hijab
No HIjabs In New Zealand Courts
'Love In A Headscarf' book launch in USA
New Islamic Wing 2010 'Veils' the Louvre
Imam Zaid Shakir's Rebuttal To A Would-Be-Mujahid

iCOVER: A Day in the Life of a Muslim American COVERed Girl


More:
Introducing the Amazing Muslim Community Fund
Link Love: Productive Ramadan (from Productivemuslim.com)
Sarkozy's Messed Up Values of Women
Movie: Thread - The Women of Afghanistan

The French lower house of parliament voted today (July 13th 2010), expectedly and overwhelmingly, to ban face veils in public places. BBC reports that the vote was 355 to 1, with some abstentions. If passed by the Senate in September, the law is expected to go into effect early next year. Women who defy the ban and wear a face veil in public face a 150 Euro fine ($190) for each offense. If it can be proven that a man forced a woman to veil, he would face an even stiffer penalty.

I have a hard time understanding the rationale behind such a ban. The argument seems to go back and forth like this:

We must liberate women from these oppressive, humiliating "muzzles" they wear!

There are only about 2,000 women in France who wear a face veil. Many of them do so out of free choice and their personal interpretation of religious practice.

They must integrate and adopt French values!

Isn't "liberte" one of those French values? Women who believe strongly in a religious duty to cover their face will continue to do so despite the law, or will retreat further into their homes and private spaces in order to avoid being fined. How does policing their movements in the public sphere help accomplish your goal? To promote integration, other issues are certainly more important, such as economic injustice, discrimination, and racial oppression.

We're not targeting Muslims! The law doesn't specifically mention Islam or niqabs/burqas.

Who else is the ban likely to affect? Supporters of the law continue to speak about women's equality, immigration, and the importance of "French values." This sounds more like a cultural identity crisis than a matter of public safety.

If they don't like it, they should just go back to their own countries!

Muslim community leaders have said that the majority of the 2,000 women who wear face veils are French converts to Islam, not immigrants.

Even Muslim leaders in France approve of the ban!

The head of a government advisory body, the French Council of the Muslim Faith, has said that Muslim leaders favor discouraging the face veil, without an outright ban.

I don't know, maybe I'm not thinking like a European. A recent poll found that Europeans generally see this issue differently than do Americans. The Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project found widespread support throughout Europe for banning the face veil: 82% of those polled in France, 71% in Germany, 62% in Britain, and 59% in Spain. In the United States, though, the opposite was true; only 28% were in favor of a ban. One possible reason for the difference: Americans generally have stronger concerns about personal civil liberties and religious freedom. Amen to that!

In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم





Here's The Trick:
(This works at the end of..almost any style. Esp with two layers)

1-This is more secure when done with a two layered scarf wrap. This way you wouldn't have to worry about pulling fabric away from giving you coverage in the back. Instead, I used a second layer (the rest of it after you're done styling) around the chest.

2-Do any type of style that integrates the two scarves, making sure your last layer (the one you'll use to cover the chest) has enough length left for the 'swing over' :).

3-When done styling, take that remaining layer and swing it around above your ear on the other side of your headscarf and pin (pin downwards).

4-Pull your first layer ABOVE the layer covering your chest (optional).

5-Then wear your favorite NECKLACE and pull it out to hang on the outside on top of the last layer!

No more boobies, just cute necklace ;).

(Please use an Opaque fabric, unlike what I used!)

Notes:

-I find that not only does it look SUPER CUTE, but it takes attention away from the hanging fabric that's weighing me down, and long necklaces focus your attention to your middle so you appear leaner. If you disagree, at least you look stylish and modest!

-If you need some SERIOUS elongating, then adding a pretty flower pin on the side of your headscarf (where you'd put it in your hair) can distract attention to your face, making you appear balanced and not weighed down.

-The weight of the necklace helps keep the scarf in place on my chest! :)




WOW it's been soooooooo long since I've last posted anything on this blog...or any of my blogs! Or video channels for that matter..

I've been so worked up these past few months with college, I finally have some room to breathe this week because of Eid. Funny thing...ever notice that we have 7 days of Eid a year? 7 skies, 7 heavens, 7 rotations around the Ka'ba during hajj...Interesting, isn't it?

Anyway...I've been stepping up my game in Hijab. I've begun covering up my chest now :). Yeah I know you might be going "You mean you never did?!". Well, no I never really did unless it were a shrug or jacket...occasionally an independent scarf. I never had the intention of covering up my 'girls' until recently.

So what sparked it for me?

First of all...I've been progressing in my knowledge of Islam and my appreciation for Allah, so I've been feeling quite guilty for not covering up the best that I should. Second, I wasn't enjoying the attention my chest was bringing me - not that I'm knockout - lol - but I'm not exactly flat chested either. Before...I would have NEVER ever covered up more on my own, unless someone like my father would make me (not force, just nag about it).

Why? Simply, I felt it hid what so called beauty I had (curves), that would catch the attention of other boys (Boys appreciating my looks => I'm easy on the eye => my confidence grows => Feel good about myself). Because covering up my chest meant: look FAT and extra short (I'm 4'10) with a draping scarf weighing my proportions down.

Someone once asked me to do a tutorial on how to cover the chest, or styles that included chest coverage. While I admit my latest chest covering attempts have been with not 100% opaque fabric (unintentionally), I've come across what I think to be a BEAUTIFUL alteration to the latest "Half Spanish" wraps I've been wearing.


When I say Half Spanish, I mean it ties in the back initially like a Spanish wrap, but then it is brought to frame the face like an ordinary wrap. This way, you get the decor of layering Spanish-wise AND keep that poofy baby fat at bay!) :P.

What I did here was leave enough fabric of my last layer (or widest layer you got) and swung it to the other side of my headscarf and pin it. When I'm desperate for fabric, I just pin it to my shoulder instead.

Without promising anything...I AM thinking about making a couple of tutorial vids before Eid Al Adha, insha Allah.




By: The Diva

Peace & respect ★

Asalaam alaikum wa rahmatillahi wa barakatu.

In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم


Are you kidding me?! Their policy does not permit baggy clothes, ONLY FIGURE HUGGING swimsuits!




What if a self-conscious woman wants to wear a big t-shirt and pants?! Are they gonna stop HER? NO! This is pure nonsense and segregation.

I AM OUTRAGED!

What's next? You can't wear an opaque swimsuit because not seeing details of a woman's breasts displays mystery, conservatism and is against policy?!!! Please.

Oh No! Wearing baggy clothes in the pool is gonna make EVERYONE DROWN from the heavy wet fabric! IT'S EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

"SAUVEZ-VOUS, TOUT LE MONDE!" (Run for your lives, everybody! AHHH)

(not mentioned in article, just me lol)

Read the OUTRAGEOUS article here.





Madiha M.K,

The Diva