No to Shari'a, yes to freedom of choice

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Aug 6, 2009 at 18:58

We must all stop Shari'a from ever taking hold of this country. It saddens me that the UK, a country in which I have many friends and family members, is so quickly becoming sucked into this phenomena. During the Second World War, the British backbone was so visibly evident in the bravery of its citizens and soldiers; however it now seems that they are either too tired or too uninterested to fight against Shari'a, or they have been mesmerized by the prestidigitation of Islam. The same thing could happen here if we allow it, and we can't---- it will be the end of our freedoms. The wearing of head coverings by non-Muslim women is such an affrontery to me and millions of other women the world over, and even to Muslim women who refuse to cover their heads.

During the hot months in the Middle East, the Gulf residents would pour into Cairo to "cool off"--most of the women covered from head to toe in solid black, even wearing black gloves, in temperatures as high as 110F. As a Western woman with complete freedom to dress as I please, these phantoms were a sight to behold.

As for the food restrictions of Muslims and Jews . . . I have known quite a few non-Orthodox Jewish friends who had no problems eating pork, and even a few Muslims who have secretly enjoyed that forbidden food too, as well as some of my Muslim friends imbibing alcohol. However, I would never force my food beliefs on others, and would respect their wishes if it truly upset them for me to eat pork in their presence.

Privately that is a personal choice, but publicly , we must keep Shari'a far, far away from snaking its way into our Constitution. In the suburb of Cairo where I lived for ten years, there was a butcher shop run by a Coptic family, and they sold a lot of pork products and Egyptian wine, not to just foreigners but to Egyptian Copts as well. As far as I know, this shop is still thriving in a mostly-Muslim country. Pork is not banned in Egypt, which is surprising as there is a growing trend toward radical Islam and all the shackles that go with it. The British way of giving concessions to Islam is wrong--- we should be deeply opposed to our country following suit in the UK's wake.

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