Let us take a clue from passport pictures requirements

Submitted by George P (United States), Jul 12, 2009 at 00:57

Dear Dr Pipes:

Burqa and Hijab exemplify how medieval religions interact with modern life. Let us take a clue from the guidelines used on the passport pictures. The standards used in the passport pictures of most countries are unanimous in certain requirements -- a person's full face must be visible and his/her hair should not be covered in any obtrusive way. These requirements are not stupid. They are there because societies and governments want to keep exposed the most essential features needed to easily identify a human being.

Same standards should apply to our daily public lives. Let us ignore the risk of being attacked in a terrorist atatck and just cconsider smaller risks of life like being mugged in a parking lot or having your pocket picked, having your inventory shoplifted, taking an exam for someone else or being stalked by an obsessive girlfriend. In all these situations it is necessary that all law abiding citizens make themselves fully and easily identifiable. Let alone I allowing myself to be murdered by a burqa clad suicide bomber, I would not want a hijab or burqa clad woman to write an exam for another hijab or burqa clad woman.

European countries are perfectly justified in demanding a ban on burqa and hijab. Muslims should catch up with the modern times.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".