But the point is that winter coats are worn by people and, if our aim is to ban clothing where bombs can be hidden, then winter coats should be banned also.
I agree and that’s what I said, Read the bold part again, why did you miss it?
thanks for your comments, going by your own logic of Pakistani culture and burka you wont also find winter coats worn by the women but that’s not the point. And this is what I am trying to convey, its not about the kind of garment it’s the application. By the way winter coats, if worn, will have similar implications
I laid out the burden of proof for banning the burqa. If it is met, then it should be banned regardless of its alleged religious justifications. On the other hand, if the burden of proof is not met, then there are no grounds for banning it, regardless of how some people don't like the look of it.
check out the first post, the bomber was indeed wearing the burka, our Lal Mosque firebrand Mullah used the same cover to escape and so did so many other Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Do you also need me to link you the post where a female bomber bombed a female shia gathering?
As a Shia, I know the Karbala episode all too well. Next time, don't make so many assumptions and spare me the gratuitous insults.
do you feel insulted if a Sunni quotes Karbala? Do you think Sunni Muslim doesn’t have any association and respect for Alh e Baith a.s and their sacrifices? Let me quote something a famous Sunni said about Imam Hussain r.a
my target audience was everyone in my post not just yourself, I just picked up on your points. You must be aware that the Taliban and their supporters consider your sect as heretics and there is a silent majority of Sunnis that is being intimidated and indoctrinated by these people to move away and disassociate with anything that Shias hold dear. So my dear friend, my intention was not to insult but to draw a parallel. This is a discussion forum right? We quote examples and we make our point and we share ideas. I request everyone to read my paragraph again and tell me if I was condescending? Addressing Sunnis was intentional because it’s a given that the Shia consider this tragedy as a basis for their struggle and their identity but it applies to every other Muslim too who recites the kalmia.
Actually, I am neither conservative, nor do I come from a conservative family. Nobody in my family wears the burqa, or anything remotely like it. Having spent many many years in the West, I believe in the true liberal values of individual freedom and avoiding guilt-by-association. I have no respect for the pseufo-intellectuals in Pakistan who hide behing the 'liberal' label, yet espouse a fascist agenda to impose their will on the masses whom they consider 'uneducated' and 'backwards'. These are invariably the same people who bash Pakistan at every opportunity in other aspects also. As Imran Khan rightly points out, these liberal extremists are causing as much havoc in Pakistan as the mullahs because they polarize the debate and make it hard for moderates to find a middle ground.
it seems to me that you are committing the “sin” of making an assumption and generalisation over myself. I am least rigid here who is actually requesting people to acknowledge this problem based on the very story this thread is started and so many other examples. How many other examples do you require where the terrorists have abused the religion and local sensitivities to cause destruction?
You see, it took a majority of us about ten years to acknowledge that this WoT is our war, specially when TTP turned Swat into a slaughter house. How long do you think we need and how many “compelling” evidences we need to decide that yes, burka is indeed an instrument of convenience for the terrorists.
You are being overtly defensive here, dismissing the fact that Burka has been used as a tool by Taliban and even their spokesman announced that he has an army of female bombers who would commit similar acts in the future is naïve. Its not a social experiment is it? Do you need a sample of 10000 or even more to accept that burka has become a security risk?
And no, the “liberal fascist” will never ever be able to do a fraction of harm to our country what these religious terrorists and their apologists have managed so far.
Like you mentioned, these so called secularists are only confined to few drawing rooms or symposiums or on web space and all they can manage is air their dissent. If the general public is resilient enough to suffer the bombings by the Islamists on regular bases then I request it to man it and stomach mere words of the liberal fascists as well. I don’t think anyone will loose limbs and/ or life by listening to or reading what a secularist has to say.
And with all due respect to you and Imran Khan, the liberal fascists are not polarising the discussion and making it harder for finding the solutions, it’s the likes of Mullah Abdul Rashid and Jamat Islami etc who are openly declaring the killing of Pak army, Shia and Ahemids as a religious duty. Who are openly telling people to rebel against the state and kill everyone who doesn’t agree with the Taliban version of Islam.
Indeed.
It is time to address the core issues, which are the extremist indoctrination and absence of law and order. The burqa is only a distraction from the real problem -- even if it is banned, the terrorists will just find another way to beat the system. And, in the process, we will have managed to alienate yet another segment of our population.
I agree completely what you are saying, but read all my posts and posts from Santro. At no point we are advocating the ban. First we are asking if other people also acknowledge that there is a problem? And then sharing ideas to find solutions.
Yes the enemy is very deceitful, it will shave off its beard, wear western clothes do away with burka etc to evade detection but remaining impassive will also not help. The traditional methods of screening still exist at the airports don’t they? Terrorism aside, the drug traffickers also use most novel and imaginative ways to smuggle contraband items don’t they? They slip through few times but then they get caught when the system catches up. The idea is to present deterrence and close the opportunities don’t give them free reign to kill and maim the citizens of Pakistan. Yes Burka is just one item and one should waste all the time and energy to put restrictions on it in a society which is so easily aroused.
Don’t you see? The terrorist are having a laugh at our predicament here its only the people who are suffering.
