Quote:
Originally Posted by angus58
Culture and tradition are what bind people together, give them a sense of pride and loyalty to their country and to their fellow citizens. Britain has a long and varied culture which has been contributed to by generations of immigrants who have come to this country, integrated and enriched our traditions and way of life as their cultures have been assimilated into ours. That does not mean the host nation should be expected to have their way of life superseded by cultures that evolved in different countries under different circumstances and different histories.
Many of the dissenters on this forum are bleating on about "it's their culture" as if that is sufficient reason for the host culture to submit. I have still had not a single FM comment on the cultural activities of some of the immigrants who come here which are not only immoral, but illegal.
How about honour killings, quite common in many middle eastern and asian cultures?
How about underage sex and marriage which we call paedophilia over here? Girls of 11 and 12 are married off in a lot of cultures.
How about polygamy? How about forced arranged marriages?
How about Sati (widow burning)? How about the eating of animals we consider domestic pets here?
In many foreign cultures, the "ownership" of females by their male relatives (modern day slavery?)
How about stoning women to death for adultery, while the man goes scot free?
How about muslim men being allowed to divorce their wives by simply saying "I divorce thee" (the woman has no such right).
In fact how about all of Sharia Law? Under Sharia Law women are prohibited from pursuing certain careers and occupations and are supposed to stay at home doing the housekeeping and tending the kids. No doubt the chauvinists and sexists on this forum see no problem with such primitive and unenlightened practises becoming part of our mainstream culture, decades after they have been all but eradicated.
According to some FMs' reasoning we are supposed to allow all immigrants the right to pursue their culture and traditions, even if they are at odds with our social and legal norms and practices. Is there anyone on here prepared to defend the indigeneous population's right to have OUR culture and traditions paramount as they have always been. Britain has always assimilated immigrant culture and tradition, which in turn has enriched ours, but NEVER at the expense of our national safety, security, morality, ethics or laws.
The wearing of the Burkha in public buildings, public transport and anywhere where the identification of the wearer should be apparent and obvious, should be banned forthwith - it is NOT a religious requirement, and is NOT even a cultural requirement within the home countries of the women who wear them, it is a garment of CHOICE, imposed by some men on their subjugated and demeaned women. The argument that we should all be allowed to wear what we want in public is ridiculous - try walking down the high street with nothing but your shoes on and see how far you get - yet nudity is a cultural norm in some countries.
|
The fact that you equate wearing a burqa with nonour killings, stoning a woman and paedophillia is ridiculous. You fail to see the point:
Honour killings, stoning etc. would not be allowed in this country because they are oppressive, abhorrent and out of place in a 21st century, tolerant society
Wearing a burqa is none of the above. Allowing the burqa to be worn is not pandering to sharia law, it's nothing to do with that. I am simply acknowledging that in our secular and multicultural country then if someone feels necessary to wear a religious garment that covers their face then they have every right to do so, and we should not be dictating to them a certain clothing style.
You said it yourself, it is a garment of choice, that some woman feel is hugely important to their religion, and freedom of choice should be allowed. It may not technincally be a religious requirement but it is considered to be of huge importance to both their religion and often their culture by the people who wear it, and we should respect that instead of crying "terrorist" everytime you see somebody whos face is covered.