“The burka is a vestige of a medieval culture that has no place either in Canada, France or any other place in the 21st century“
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TORONTO – The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) applauds French president Nicholas Sarkozy for his clarity in condemning the burka as a tool of oppression against Muslim women. The MCC believes the burka is being disingenuously marketed to Muslim women as an act of faith and a religious precept.
MCC president Sohail Raza said “Islamists arguing for its continuance in the public sphere have only one objective in mind, which is to exercise control over the lives of women, reducing their chances to make positive and meaningful contributions to society“
President Sarkozy’s pronouncements must also be appreciated by fair-minded Canadians. The MCC is once again urging the Canadian government to ban the burka from all spheres of public life in Canada.
The decision to wear the burka is by no means a reflection of the genuine choices of Muslim women. The argument that Muslim women opt to wear the burka does not withstand scrutiny when considering the repressive nature of orthodox Muslim society in general.
A choice is genuine only if it is exercised among alternatives and the woman making the choice has the ability to do so. In the absence of any alternative discourse on the burka, no Muslim woman can be seen as having exercised such a choice in an authentic manner.
“If the burka was a matter of choice, then why is it that I do not see a single Muslim man wearing this black tent of shame,” said Sohail Raza.
The burka is a vestige of a medieval culture that has no place either in Canada, France or any other place in the 21st century where our modern sensibilities have come to recognize equality of men and women as an inalienable right for all. The burka must be banned in all civilized societies.
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For more information, please call Farzana Hassan, communications director of the MCC at (647) 504-5650 or MCC president Sohail Raza at (416) 505-1613
