Europe and banning niqab and symbols of religion

Assalamu Alaikum

Alhamdulillah I had the chance to talk about it at the BBC's studio yesterday as part of a BBC World service programme. They gave me the chance to comment and try to analyse what was happening in Europe.

Whenever I met any female producers etc, and there was no one about, I lifted my niqab to chat to them.
It was live...and I sat with the presenter (lifted my niqab as there was only a female in the studio,) we listened to a debate between a Muslim French sister based in Cairo and a French Minister. The debate was going well, the sister was doing us proud except that suddenly, at the end of the interview it was clear that she was not actually a supporter of niqab, but was using their narrative: liberalism etc. to argue that it should be allowed. Right at the end of the debate she said: "By the way, the niqab has nothing to do with Islam, it was a cultural practise from the deserts of Arabia" (!!) And then the French Minister who obviously loved that replied: "Well, customs from the deserts of Arabia are not necessarily welcome in our country"! I was sitting feeling quite alarmed but knew I had to rectify that mistake that the sister made...

The presenter could see from me that the niqab wasn't stopping me from doing things that I wanted to do, so that was positive alhamdulillah.

When the presenter came to me, I made it clear that...it is wrong to say that it is a cultural practise from the deserts of Arabia! Covering the face is an orthodox interpretation of some Qur'anic verses and is a part of Islam.

Here are some important points that can be made when discussing the niqab ban some of which I got the chance to make during the interview:

-France has so many other pressing issues to deal with than something that is only done by 2000 or so law abiding women. It is bullying a minority within a minority within a minority.

-What do you hope to achieve through the ban?
What is your evidence that women are being forced to cover their faces? If you are doing it because you feel that the women are oppressed, then will this solve the oppression? No, it will ghettoise them even more...if women are facing any sort of oppression, they need to be given access to means of escaping that, not criminalised...

-Banning things don't win over the hearts and minds of the people...the women are doing this out of a conviction and so they will not let go of the niqab, perhaps more women will start to wear it. What will you ban next...where will it end?

-What happened when the hijab was banned in schools in France in 2004? Most Muslims didn't throw off their hijabs...they just set up more independent Muslim schools instead...so the idea that it will help integration is a fallacy too.

-There is this myth that the niqab has come to France as a result of migrants coming to France and wearing it...It is estimated that a quarter of the women who wear the niqab in France are actually converts. Women are choosing to cover. (The minister was constantly referring to niqab wearing women as 'they' and talking as if they were foreigners, not French!)

-This is the rise of Secular Fundamentalism. The whole overreaction to niqab has coloniolist undertones: "We the civilised Europeans, must show you, the poor savages and heathens that you are, how to live a better life, because our way of life is superior to yours." (Imagine if Malcolm X were alive what he'd say!) It is extremely patronising.

-I remember at one point the presenter was asking: But you do understand that it makes people feel uncomfortable doesn't it...my husband said I should have said: "Yeah...50 years ago black and brown faces in Europe made people feel uncomfortable...."
I said something like...yes, people feel uncomfortable about things they don't understand, but we can make people feel at ease by educating them etc.

-The nature of Islam is that it is a complete way of life and it does manifest itself visibly...so it can't be made invisible....it will manifest itself in some other way.

-Europe is going through an identity crisis and is overreacting to the visible presence of Muslims. It is creating a sense of insecurity and the media do whip up histeria around this topic, exaggerating it: for example the Nationalist party in Switzerland with their billboards with a menacing looking niqabi in the foreground and swiss flags with missiles that are minarets in the background: clear racism and prejudice.