France Seeks to Ban Burqas due to Fear of Islamic Terrorism

For the second time in as many months Europe’s fears of Islamic infiltration and terrorism surfaces in the form of new anti-Islamic legislation. A draft bill currently in the French parliament seeks to impose fines on the public wearing of full head-to-toe burqas. The proposed legislation would also fine men who force women to wear the garments against their wishes. In an eerily similar gesture last month the Swiss voted overwhelmingly to outlaw the new construction of Islamic minarets. The world’s response to that vote was swift and unanimous. Voices from every corner mocked the act as pointless racism. What we haven’t heard is any substantive discussion about the root causes behind this tide of anti-Islamic fervor sweeping Europe. Are the people of Europe just coming down with a case of irrational bigotry? Is that really all there is to it? Not likely.

Think back to the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 bombings. Recall the many pronouncements that sought to separate that bloody terrorist act from Islam. Yet eight years later such widely recognized symbols of Islam as the burqa and the minaret have become Islamic Brands for religious intolerance and terror. We see the brand for Coke and we think cola-based soft drink. We see golden arches and we think Big Macs. We see burqas and we think crazed terrorists. To us burqas represent buildings being bombed and people jumping to their deaths. And each time we wonder if the person underneath is just a harmless housewife, or a suicide bomber seeking to bring death to our world.

We constantly hear how most Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. That’s probably true. Yet the Koran, the holy book of Islam, makes no pretense of its fundamental motivation to assimilate all people. And at its essence, it is not a peaceful book. Terror and bloodshed are freely condoned by the Koran as morally justifiable practices in the quest to force Islam on the rest of the world. In fact the Koran is arguably the ultimate roadmap for global terrorism. Think that’s a bit harsh? Just look around the globe. Virtually every major contemporary human conflict in the world is rooted in some form of Muslim aggression. So is it any wonder that the impending advance of radical Islam is finally causing people to lash out at its symbols of hate?