Burqas

"Continuing with my thoughts of yesterday, I got to wondering why it is that the western world reacts so strongly against the wearing of the burqa by many muslim women. I, again, think that as well as the belief that it is a symbol of the subjgation of women, it could be motivated by fear. Why fear? you might ask.

I am going to make a comparision here, that in no way is meant in a derogatory way. To dogs, their bodies are their chief means of communication. Their ears and tails give a great deal of information to other dogs, depending on the position of the above body parts. For dogs that have their ears and tails mutilated in an attempt to satisfy certain reguirements that some humans feel are needed, communication becomes a problem. They cannot signal to other dogs what their intent is, and obviously, other dogs cannot understand their intent. This causes fear and therefore aggression in other dogs. If you don't understand or know what the other dog is communicating it becomes a threat.

Now, back to humans and burqas. Body language is equally important for us humans. A lot of non verbal communication goes on when we are having a conversation. We watch each others faces, hands, shoulders, in fact the entire body, to also decifer what someone is trying to communicate. If you can see nothing of the person, how can you know what she is thinking? It is the unknown that people fear and a woman completely covered and invisible is the unknown and therefore to be feared.

I believe that all people need to realise that most dislike and anger is rooted in fear and that fear is caused, most often, by the unknown. Once you understand this you can then begin to put aside your fear and anger and hatred and begin to see that we are all the same under whatever we might wear. We are people, living our lives the best we can, under whatever circumstances we might find ourselves, believing whatever we might believe. We are really no different, one from another, whether we are in a bikini or a burqa, whether we are Muslim, Christian, Jew or Pagan.

Do you represent the unknown? Could someone be afraid of you?" I whisper.

Are you listening?