Secularism in France becoming dangerous for freedom of religion

The Biblestudents encountered already many problems in France and were forbidden to teach or preach in public. The Catholic church did not have any problem because many in France consider themselves Catholics. Lots of those Catholics protested against the Muslim community growing in their country, never questioning why so many where leaving the Catholic faith and found themself disillusioned and cheated by that big organisation, which claims to be the true religion.

Examples of hijabs in different regions (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The last few weeks many of those French were calling blue murder and wanted a ban on everything that smelled to Islam. By doing so they got the clear thinking minds also in their back-garden, because lots of French want the burqini (burkini) banned in France. (Some other countries want to follow suit.) Though several people noticed also that the burqini was covering less of the body than certain habits of Catholic clergy. So why would the French police allow nuns to go in the sea with their habit but humiliate Muslim women dressed in a fashionable swimwear called burqini (burkini)?

Several French people shouted that burqini’s to be dangerous clothing (?!?) that should be forbidden. We wonder what could be so dangerous about that attire. The Catholic nuns and priests have much more space to hide dangerous weapons or to wear bomb belts than those women who wear a burqini.

Now it came to happen what hung already some time in the air. It was clear that the governement not only wanted to get the attention away from her inability to protect the French people, they also would love to get any form of religiosity out of their community.

As citizens of a country one would expect the interior ministry’s responsibility to guarantee security and to decide the severity of responses which however must never become provocations that could potentially attract attacks. The governement should do everything to have the different groups of people, from different origin and cultures, living together in unison. but now it looks like the governement does everything to put oil on the fire and to get as many people against each other.

Two Muslim women watching the sea in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In name of secularism the French governement decided to abandon any religious sign/symbol or religious badges in public places, and as such does not want their citizens to show in their clothing what they believe. Christian youngsters who previously wore fishes or crosses, yarmulkes, scarves or any other religious clothing shall shall not allowed to enter the school because it is now prohibited in the schools, which started today.

What started off as an attack on the Muslim woman has now become a general attack on the freedom of religious thought.

Clearly there are many Europeans who, seemingly sincerely, think women are not strong enough to decide for themselves what for sort religion they want to belong to or what sort of clothing they want to wear.

Striking is it that mainly men have the greatest objection to those Muslim women wearing covering clothes. Though also several Western women do not want to accept that those European ex-Catholics can make up their mind for themselves and decide for themselves which religion to belong to and what to wear.

A woman’s swimsuit measured in the name of modesty (1925); woman forced to undress in the name of liberty (2016)…as seen in “Men Won’t Stop Controlling Women’s Dresscode” by Nuha ElZubeir, Identity Mag. 

Some decades ago women were penalised when they had clothing on, which showed some bare legs or arms. We ourselves knew our parents to wear covering swimwear and many of us had problems when they wanted to run outdoors with sleeveless shirts or short trousers. Now half a century later it looks it has to have come the opposite, when somebody wants the body covered he or she is looked at as doing something wrong. In France it has even become so far to call the covering of body parts indecent and against morals and French values.

Has it become that French morals today dictate that men and women should have as much as possible bare body parts, though not fully naked, because that would take the sensuality away and would make everybody the same. They prefer that the nudity is accentuated but not hidden. When hidden, it proofs today, then the French are getting uneasy.

French men seem not to like it when a woman wear what she wants. They do not seem to believe a woman is capable of that. As soon as a woman prefers certain body parts covered they call it her being oppressed by some one else (her husband, her parents, her religious leader). They do not seem to see or to understand, that such woman perhaps can be much stronger than all those who follow the fashion magazines and always want to be by the time wearing the latest hype.

Well this time they also have a hype. All the smear campaign made that the sales of the burqini are booming.

Hopefully lots of women also dare to show that they are themselves able to decide what to wear, what to show or what to hide of their own body, that is their own property and not the property of the onlookers at the beach or on the street. For a woman to be in charge of her own body, that seems to be a big problem in the macho world of the so called land of liberty, freedom and equality.

Two young Muslim women in the heart of Istanbul are having “an Apple” for lunch. This photo was taken on a sunny day in April 2007.. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When women would be equal, why want they listen more to them who can speak for themselves? Why do they not want to believe them?

For those who are Catholic or for those who say they are Christian, they should be aware that Jesus had a loving spirit for all around him and did not show favouritism to those who would have been dressed in such or such a way.

In the Tanakh, Messianic Scriptures and in the Quran, the Divine Creator of everything, Allah, the God of gods, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, demands of those who love Him, to love their neighbour as themselves. God demands those who love Him, to respect all creatures God allows here on earth. As such God demands from believers in the Almighty to respect other believers, even if they are heathen or do not want to know anything of God.

As Christians we should respect those who believe in Allah/God, but want to belong to an other religion than ours. We should respect also their choice of denomination or Islamic group, and if they want to follow the rules of a certain Islamic (or other) group we should respect that as well. This mean if they feel they should cover up their body, though we also know it is not explicitly so described in the Holy Writings, we should respect their choice.

We also should recognise that those shouting and saying their concerned about their values, are having the wrong values, because covering body parts is more ethical and respectful than to flaunt with naked body parts.

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Find also to read about the burqini or burkini:

1. Women’s Groups Say Gender Equality is a Must for Sustainable Development
2. Gender connections
3. Gender equality and women’s rights in the post-2015 agenda
4. What is Racism??
5. Is Europe going to become a dictatorial bastion
6. On French beach French police forces woman to undress in public
7. Women in France running with naked bosom all right but with covered bosom penalised
8. France and the Burkini
9. French showing to the whole world their fear and weaknesses
10. Pew Research: How People in Muslim Countries Believe Women Should Dress
11. Allowing dress code according liberty of religion
12. The Dress Code for Women in the Quran
13. Meditating Muslimah on “hijab to be a religious obligation”
14. Coverings Worn by Muslim Women
15. Does Banning Face Veils Help Us Fight Terrorism?
16. Islamism Rises from Europe’s Secularism
17. You are what you wear
18. Where’s the Outrage Over Nun Beachwear? – The Daily Beast
19. Not limiting others but sharing peace with all
20. What we don’t say about the refugee crisis?
21. A charter for a truly free world and why we need it
22. When will it stop
23. ‘I try to keep my hate in check. If you can’t hate, you can’t love.’
24. Meditating Muslimah on “hijab to be a religious obligation”

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Further of interest

1. Bombs in a burkini?
2. I got 99 problems and the burkini is one of them…really?
3. 99 Word Blog (#024) Banned Burkinis
4. Fleeing The Hijab
5. Current Events Corner 8/16/2016
6. “France is at War with its own Citizens” – Yasser Louati on the Cannes “Burkini” Ban
7. Uproar in France over ‘burkini ban’ at Cannes beaches
8. #62 French police force Muslim woman to remove her Burkini on Nice beach (photos)
9. Undress for safety
10. Nudism/Naturism and burkini madness: Why not ban all clothes at the beach?
11. Does Banning Face Veils Help Us Fight Terrorism?
12. Why are the burqa and burkini being banned?
13. Fashion vs the Government: The Burkini Debate
14. The scandal of women’s bodies in secular Europe
15. French burkini ban exposes the myth of neutral secularism
16. Burkini and French Secularism
17. Ban of burkini: theresult ofmalechauvinism or secularism
18. France’s Burkini Ban: Identity politics go to the beach
19. Forcing a Muslim Woman To Undress is Not Fighting Oppression. That IS Oppression!
20. Banning The Burqa And Burkini Is Not The Correct Liberal Response To Conservative Islam
21. The Hypocrisy of the Burkini Ban
22. A Burqini is not Equivalent to a Burqa
23. Corsican town becomes third in France to ban the burkini after #Islamics riot
24. France’s Burkini BigotryBurkinis in the land of Liberté, égalité, fraternité
25. To Burkini Or Not To Burkini: The Ages Of Men Deciding What Women Should Wear
26. French Burkini Bans Face Legal Challenge as Tension Mounts
27. France has for its name, the contrary of Liberty and Fraternity practice.
28. A cover story
29. Does France have a problem with racism?
30. Everyone everywhere wants to tell women what to wear
31. The Day The News Made My Blood Boil
32. Beachwear bull
33. Women protest French burkini ban outside French Embassy in London
34. Show us your bits..
35. It’s Always the Cover Up
36. Thoughts of the Day: Burkini Ban
37. Doing something for something’s sake is a dangerous strategy
38. Burkini Ban : French Farce
39. Burkini beach
40. Islam, France, Burkini: A chit chat on FB
41. Facebook 45 – Suorkini
42. The burqa-One mermaid’s opinion
43. burkinis or bikinis?
44. Burkini vs Bikini
45. The Burkini
46. Burquini – How It Happened
47. Burkini Ban: Nice
48. Cannes Ban
49. Why the Burkini ban poses a threat to Muslims and Non-Muslims alike
50. #Burkiniban – the problem is veiled ideology
51. 24 August 2016 – All Lives Matter (or Overly Clad Women)
52. Why the French burkini ban is damaging feminism
53. Dear French PM, The Burkini Ban Is Abhorrent
54. Burkini being a threat
55. The Burkini ban
56. Liberty, Equality, Bigotry?
57. From Bloomers to Burkinis: The Same Old Story? by Sarah Ansari
58. Modern feminism makes no sense at all
59. Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the Burkini : “C’est une provocation”.
60. And the Debate about Burkini Ban continues #burkiniban
61. Can’t we just put all the cards on the table?
62. The folly of the #Burkiniban
63. Bitches, Puhleeeeze….
64. Ban the Burkini.
65. The Burkini Ban
66. Everything under the sun
67. Very simple solution RE: Olympics and Burkini
68. Next time I go to swim I might wear a good burkini
69. Saudi Arabia Bans Stripy Fisherman Shirts and Berets
70. Another Attack on Western Civilization from Muslim Women
71. The Burkini Ban Is Pointless And Racist
72. The Burkini Ban is good. Not to let your Country turn into Saudi Arabia – without Oil – in a couple of Decades, we must defend it. The right that our countries remain western.
73. So! (en) | Islamic veil across Europe
74. Pope urged to wear swimming trunks
75. Where’s the Outrage Over Nun Beachwear? – The Daily Beast
76. the decomposition of logic and democratic values
77. Freedom of choice. It’s not so simple.
78. Europe has been awash with racial tension this summer
79. France’s ‘burkini ban’, one step too far?
80. In hiding
81. #BurkiniBan
82. France has ‘misunderstood’ burkini, Australian designer says
83. “Burkini” Ban Accomplishes Nothing Positive
84. The Hijab and MeIslamophobia or nah?Islam and the downfall of European culture
85. The Islamisation of my Country – 1
86. So let me get this straight…
87. At what point does a ban become a chance to publicly humiliate?
88. New Feminism – via Unapologetics
89. Ban the Burqa, Allow the Burkini :: Middle East Forum
90. If you ever had any doubt that Bill O’Reilly of FOX News wasn’t actually a Muslim-sympathizing liberal, this will remove it
91. Quebec opposition MNAs reopen divisive debate over religious attire with call for ban on burkinis
92. Salafist fuckin’ la revanche
93. The best tweets showing the absurdity of the #BurkiniBan on French beaches
94. Australian burkini designer profits from French ban
95. Burkini, Bikini. Potato, potarto.
96. New Feminism
97. “Burkini”ban in Quebec: Samer Majzoub interview on CJAD by Aaron Rand.
98. Why an Italian atheist should thank France for the burkini affair
99. Kini Miney Mot
100. More French towns spread ban on the burkini
101. How Western is the Bikini?
102. A Burqini is not Equivalent to a Burqa
103. Nudism/Naturism and burkini madness: Why not ban all clothes at the beach?
104. The scandal of women’s bodies in secular Europe
105. Everyone everywhere wants to tell women what to wear
106. Forcing a Muslim Woman To Undress is Not Fighting Oppression. That IS Oppression!
107. Does Banning Face Veils Help Us Fight Terrorism?
108. You may find this offensive The Burqini Ban
109. Burkini and French Secularism
110. Islam and the downfall of European culture
111. Why the French burkini ban is damaging feminism
112. At what point does a ban become a chance to publicly humiliate?
113. the decomposition of logic and democratic values
114. The Burkini Ban is good. Not to let your Country turn into Saudi Arabia – without Oil – in a couple of Decades, we must defend it. The right that our countries remain western.
115. How “Modern” are We? Religion, Secularism, and Multiple Modernities in Europe
116. Another Attack on Western Civilization from Muslim Women
117. Does France have a problem with racism?
118. Burkinis in the land of Liberté, égalité, fraternité
119. Burkini Ban : French Farce
120. The Day The News Made My Blood Boil
121. French burkini ban exposes the myth of neutral secularism
122. Bretons bathe fully clothed as Muslim asked to leave beach
123. French mayors dismiss suspended burqini ban
124. United Nations Strongly Condemns French Authorities Decision to Ban Burkani
125. What Not To Wear: A Short History Of Regulating Female Dress From Ancient Sparta To The Burkini
126. You’ve Got to BurKining Me!
127. To bare or not to bare
128. French city Nice suspends its ban on burkinis
129. Young Muslim Americans say discrimination is ‘worse now than after 9/11’
130. US Muslim Women Debate Safety of Hijab amid Backlash
131. Lifting Veil off Attitudes about Niqab, Hijab
132. The niqab ban: 2011-2015 – The new Liberal government officially puts an end to the former Conservative government’s attempt to ban the niqab during the citizenship oath
133. June 24, 2015: Under the Niqab
134. The Niqab Debate
135. Niqab issue is thinly veiled racism
136. Niqab issue is about fear of the unknown
137. Niqab issue being ‘pushed on the populace’
138. Is Muslim female face covering nothing more than sharia Bolshevism?
139. The Niqab Time Bomb
140. Worse than niqab issue: pajamas worn in public
141. The ‘enemies of reason’ are inside the gates
142. Islamism, Feminism & Defiance
143. Why we stopped wearing the Hijab
144. The “Racist” Man at Target
145. Video: Pregnant Muslim Woman Verbally Abused On London Bus
146. Muslim Woman Allegedly Abused In Hospital Maternity Ward
147. Assault On Niqab Wearing Women Shows The Male Violence Many Suffer
148. Muslim Girl Punched In face In Birmingham For ‘Wearing A Hijab’
149. Man Attacked Muslim Woman And Stabbed Boy In The Face Outside Melbourne State Library
150. Muslim Woman Abused In Tesco Store For Wearing Face Veil Urges Victims To Report Hate Crime
151. Middle East Lifestyles – What about the ladies?
152. Bigotry veiled as liberation
153. YSL or “Shut Up and Run”
154. Unveiling the reality
155. Advice to the Muslim Women by Sheikh Saalih al Fawzan
156. My Thoughts On Religious Headscarves

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