This was the front page of today's Daily Express, or Daily Spew as I call it here, about an idiotic demonstration by a few women in "burkhas" against the sentencing of a group of idiots who shouted slogans like "bomb Denmark" during a demonstration outside the Danish embassy against the Jyllands Posten cartoons last year. There is a reference to the women "swarming", which is a huge exaggeration. It was a pretty small demo, as you can probably imagine.
However, what "hospitality" are they talking about? It's highly likely that the women in the picture are not immigrants or refugees but third-generation British Asians who are angry that their husbands or other relatives are being sent to jail just for shouting a stupid slogan. I don't believe that an immigrant would behave like this unless he or she had a very good reason to hate this country.
As for me, I thought the slogans highly offensive and can understand them receiving some punishment, but six years - even taking into account early release - is way too harsh just for shouting a slogan. Does anyone else see the irony in the fact that, during a time when the UK has seen its money and soldiers' lives wasted in the Blair government's craven servitude to the USA, laws are being passed restricting free speech in ways which, if Congress was even stupid enough to consider them, would be struck down as unconstitutional in the USA?
Remembering the antics of one of the would-be martyrs of July 21st 2005, who tried to escape in his wife's burka, how do you know they actually were women?
When I briefly encountered the photo on the news stand this morning, I thought all the women appeared to be white - so there's little question of "hospitality" - but maybe I was mistaken. I didn't stop to read.
Thersites - I've heard this one a couple of times in the last few weeks. It seems to be the new response to niqaab.
I find it stupid and idiotic. Think of something new.
Why do many Muslim women wear solid black outfits?
I find it somewhat intimidating - what's wrong with something like this instead?
No, Anonymous, it's a response to the antics of Yassin Omar. He didn't find it stupid and idiotic, though it didn't work there. If it's good enough for him...
Well why should anyone be questioned about what colour they wear? Really what is the world coming to? Now we need to be told what colour to wear?
Before Islam I also used to wear alot of black to university, college, work.
Well lets see - its smart, black goes with everything, blacks are easy to was - just bung em in the wash not having to worry about separating colours....
Shall I go on??
I remember attending London Fashion week once the theme was black and white. Hmm No one questioned it....
*blacks are easy to wash
GC: I don't really know why every single Muslim woman who wears all black does so. Some women do actually prefer black, but there are those who think it is better religiously and perhaps there are cost and practicality issues as well, especially if they are ordering online rather than buying in an Islamic store in London.
As for the black niqabs, some women find them more practical than simply winding their headscarf round their faces because you can flip one, or all, of the layers up if necessary, without having to un-pin anything.
George C: Why do you think that all/most Muslim women wear black? is that something you've seen personally with your own eyes or the fact that , the only time Muslim women are shown in the press, they're covered in black and hence you assume every muslim women looks like that?
I agree with Umm M, that no-one should be questioned on what colours sisters should wear. Black is no different from any other colour and if anyone has an issue/ problems with that, then thats theirs, not the issue for a muslim sister.
However, black is the colour that tend to be more readily available and the cheapest colour to buy. Most shops (including online ones) import from the gulf, where black is the cultural norm of dress, so its cheap, mass produced and readily available- a dress can usually cost under 10 pounds over there, although most sell for 2 or 3x the price in UK and because they're the cheapest out of any colour to stock and buy in large quantities. Any other colour and usually you'll have to get it tailored (unless its some multicolored tie dye one, which are usually really tacky and yuk). The non black dresses are sold for much more as well.
Also the styles of muslim women vary from each country and region. African women dont usually dress the same as asian women, far east asians dont dress the same as arabs and arabs dont usually dress the same as south asians etc..
Hence many buy clothes from their home countries or from their fellow countrymen who are selling their clothes in the UK and wherever else- or make it themselves if they can. Muslims are not one monolithic group and people need to realise this. Yes we share the same faith but thats as far as our similarities go for most.
Even in the U.K, you'll find a vast range of dressing because the Muslim community, particularly in big cities like London, are so diverse and women will tend to dress in clothes from their own country (granted that this is not fully the case with the newer and younger generation of muslim women/girls).
You find that, turkish women tend to dress in various coloured ankle length coats with triangular patterned hijabs like this:
http://www.themuslimwoman.org/images/r_jelbab.jpg
Somali women wear big over garments called kihimar with a dress underneath. They usually wear every colour going:
http://www.cgstock.com/pics/2060.jpg
Nigerian women wear head wraps and long dresses with a long sheet of cloth (same pattern) which goes around their head and covers their arms and chest area *pic is minus long cloak thing:
http://www2.ku.edu/~hausa/women.jpg
Malaysian women : http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/985000/images/_988782_dress150.jpg
Pakistani women:
http://www.hilalplaza.com/ProductImages/sqz/SQZOT10058.gif
So you see, all different but they all generally do the job required under Islam and are modest for sisters to wear. You get some sisters who wear clothes that are from another region for whatever reason or wear clothes that are more European (e.g ankle length denim skirt) but do the same job, but Islam does not forbid difference or anything. As long as its loose, covers up to your ankles and wrists and your hijab covers your hair, what colour or patterns or fabrics you use it up to you. We don't set standards upon each other, other than what Allah s.w.t has set for us already.
p.s
GC: the pic that you linked too, those women look like they're Turkish or Arab. Now and again you get some s.asian sisters who wear their hijab like that my experience has been that most of those sisters have been either from either of the two backgrounds (or older women from Balkan region).
Interesting
In the Gulf, women usually wear black if they're wearing abayas, just like the men wear white dishdashas (or thobes). I think that one of the reasons is this hadith:
"Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin:
When the verse 'That they should cast their outer garments over their persons' was revealed, the women of Ansar came out as if they had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments."
(Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 32, Number 4090)
I don't know if that actually refers to the color of the garments or not, but I know that many people take it that way.
I was similarly pissed off with this front page. Its funny how it goes out to attack this marginal group of protestors, and ends up exposing their similarly tiny-minded world view at the same time.
Do you think the newspaper would have made that comment about hospitality if the protesters were not muslim...no.
Non muslims can say what they want but no one questions their britishness.