Burqas, biology and the Islamic reformation

The Burqa or the Niqab make our initial biological assessment of safety versus danger impossible. When facial visualisation cannot take place, assessing our relationship with that person becomes futile. It just makes matters worse if women can't shake hands or speak. Women become chattels or objects devoid of a vital human and indeed natural attribute - communication.

Is this the way we want people to relate to one another in Australia? Is this how we want to see women regarded in this country?

While my left-wing sensibility tells me I 'should' tolerate this difference for the sake of diversity, my common sense and indeed biological need for a secure environment tells me this is not OK.

In an interview following the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015, the Grand Mufti of Australia Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed spoke all of his answers in Arabic. Is it too much to ask the leader of an Australian religious group to speak in English? Is it too much to ask anyone who elects to become a citizen of Australia to use English as their main mode of verbal communication?

Not embracing the transition from Arabic to English is another way that makes assessing 'friend or foe' impossible. If the dominant population of English speakers can't understand what is being said by a group who are not just over-represented in crime statistics but solely represented in terrorism news, then our first response is to mistrust it. Is there a hidden intent? Is there something they don't want me to hear? Are they mocking me?

For civil rights types to express disgust at these defensive yet natural responses is to put an entirely non-human perspective on what is really a very human reaction. These are the types who if being chased by a lion, may first say "Oh, here comes a nice, friendly lion because really, some lions CAN be friendly". They become lion food very quickly.

Now I understand fully that most people of the Islamic faith in Australia speak English and don't wear the Burqa. Yet the minority are those with the greatest impact. They are the ones who stand out simply because we can't possibly relate to them. They may be a regular 'Aussie' in lion's clothing, but gee, we can't be fully sure.

The Burqa and Niqab should be legally prohibited in Australia. If we are to give a little by accepting those who need refuge, the Muslim faith must also give a little. Our society has open faces, not just open arms. While civil libertarians and fundamentalist Muslims may see a ban on the Burqa as an attack on Islam, clear thinkers see the reverse to be true – that wearing the Burqa is actually an attack on not just Australian values, but the rights of women. Women should not be muzzled or hidden in this country.

Muslim leaders and indeed any leader must also communicate in English and if they can't they shouldn't be speaking in public.

Perhaps what the Islamic faith needs is a reformation; a movement that will bring the outdated and stricter Sharia elements of Islamic belief into the 21^st century; a New Testament Islam if you like. If men are too entrenched in inflexible doctrine to mount this reformation, it is the women who, like the feminists of the 1960's, must take control and force a change that will benefit Muslims around the world. The 1960's feminist cry of 'Burn the Bra' could translate to 'Burn the Burqa' - the progressive Muslim women's cry of the 21^st century.

While it's perhaps too much to expect women from Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan to forge a "New-Testament" Islam, progressive Muslim women from Australia may be perfect to lead the way.