This is Philadelphia, the city of freedom, home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed) – oh, the irony.
With the hijab debate no more agreed upon than years prior, we’re now wading into the waters of the niqab (face veil) debate: A picture coming out of Philadelphia Muslim’s Eid (holiday) celebration this year brought forward another question on religious garb:
Is the right to wear the niqab part of religious freedom? The short answer is no.
The niqab is an austere form of clothing designed to conceal the face. Just like with the hijab (head covering) or the burqa (full body covering), there is no direct mandate in the Quran for a woman to cover herself in a particular style beyond the recommendation for modesty as outlined by verse 24:31.
Even this verse offers little more than a suggested pathway and is not explicit in its direction. It doesn’t specify a niqab or any other form of garment that 21st century Muslims have falsely branded as Islamic attire. Further, the English translations that paint a portrait of clothing that resembles any specific items are often translations that are swayed by publisher bias.
Muslims and non-Muslims, lovers of Islam and its critics, can generally agree that the Quran offers very detailed instruction for military and civilian life. If the Quran had intended to offer detailed instruction for how women should cover themselves, it would have plainly said so as it does with other areas of conduct. It’s also important to point out that the verse doesn’t stipulate punishment if modesty is not perfected, or if a woman should choose to abandon modesty all together. It’s her choice.
When we repeat warm and fuzzy catchphrases like “there is no compulsion in religion,” this is the architecture behind that philosophy. If we’re going to win ideological wars against the onslaught of Islamism and fundamentalist Islam, it’s really important to understand how to break apart the exploited assumption of religious right.
The niqab, just like forced marriage, child marriage, female genital mutilation and a laundry list of other oppressive practices are cultural markers that have leeched onto faith traditions.
So, is the right to wear the niqab part of religious freedom? The answer is simply no. Islam has no banner, no flag, no color, no symbol, no hierarchy of religious leaders and no uniform.
Of course women have a right to wear what they want. Just don’t call it religion.
Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.
Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.
Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.
Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you
and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently
banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds.
They are disappearing us. But we are here.
Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival.
Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.
Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.
Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.
If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.
00votes
Article Rating
73 Comments
Oldest
NewestMost Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
oceanfloor1
4 years ago
Why does religion always have to be exempt from things its followers do in the name of religion?
I do not believe Islam is a religion. Admittedly, my rationale may be weak: but as far as I am concerned, if you cannot leave an organization peacefully, it is not a religion. I think it is more accurately described as an enslaving, totalitarian ideology.
I studied and investigated cults for upwards of 15 years, many of which were very threatening — though seldom as much so as Islam — to members who left. The majority of them were unquestionably religions, though there were political and other types as well. Why would believing in all-powerful supernatural beings exclude the possibility of being an “enslaving, totalitarian ideology”? And why do people who believe in the supernatural always consider themselves superior to those who don’t?
And why do people who believe in the supernatural always consider themselves superior to those who don’t?
I don’t think Christians consider themselves superior to other people. They consider themselves saved by the transformative power of accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour. Jews consider themselves collectively “chosen” by God, but I don’t think that reflects so much a sense of superiority as much as it imposes obligations.
Islam, on the other hand, which openly teaches its adherents that they are the “best of people”, is a totally different case.
Why would believing in all-powerful supernatural beings exclude the possibility of being an “enslaving, totalitarian ideology”
My experience of the attitude of Christians is: “Oh, we aren’t BETTER, we’re just SAVED, so we’re happier than you.” I don’t believe we ever needed to be “saved”. We are human beings, not puppets put here to please some god.
I grew up nominally Christian in a largely Jewish community. Not once did my Jewish friends cop any attitude of superiority with me. Christians do it all the time. My commitment to reason means nothing to them. It never seems to occur to them that being told I’m missing something I know doesn’t exist, constantly having to walk on eggs with Christian friends lest I slight their “savior”, being looked at as second class even by people who share my political beliefs can be rather wearing at times.
Not all cults are religious, even when they claim to be. Scientology, for example, was deliberately made up by L. Ron Hubbard for the purpose of making millions by controlling people. He incorporated “religious” elements, but there was no genuine “inspiration” or belief in anything outside his own imagination. Islam may also have been invented for purposes of organization and conquest. It’s not always easy to tell.
Oh heck no. It was much more elaborate than that. He had a background in Crowleyite “magick” occultism, you know, he was no amateur at this. I happened to be looking at Amazon books about NXIVM today and noticed there must be 25 about Scientology.
Yes the way to islamic paradise isn’t by the sweat of one’s brow it’s under the shade of scimitars, because killing and being killed in the act of jihad is the most holey act that can be performed by any muslum.
Why do you use the word “religion” instead of “Islam”? Conflation is for cowards.
Liatris Spicata
4 years ago
there is no direct mandate in the Quran for a woman to cover herself in a particular style beyond the recommendation for modesty as outlined by verse 24:31. Even this verse offers little more than a suggested pathway and is not explicit in its direction.
Whatever are you talking about, Pamela? You going “wet” on me?? The Quran is often ambiguous. Let’s see what 24:31 has to say (Sahih International translation):
And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. [emphasis added]
This does not come across as a “recommendation” or “suggested pathway” to me: when the Koran directs women to do something, they better do it, and don’t get “rebellious” (uppity?). Now admittedly, Islamic tradition has not been consistent in imposing this on women, but it does not seem to me the Koran is merely offering advice on the matter.
Say, how did those male attendents end up with “no desire”?
There are two reasons they wear this item. The first was to hide the mutilations and bruising at the hands of their husbands from nonMuslims who preferred to kill men who did such things and secondly, it’s so the men can boast about the beauty of their wives to one another and no one can call you on it. A beautiful wife was a status symbol just as it is today.
I had thought slave girls weren’t required to wear burqas, niqabs, hijabs etc. because they were products and who’s going to buy a product that you can’t inspect?
This reminds me of Hillary’s herd of journalists during her campaign.
Poppey
4 years ago
I thought the location was Birmingham England.
tom
4 years ago
Another Nuremberg rally. The difference between the full burka and the hijab is a difference of degree, not of kind.
Eric Gurr
4 years ago
This is not going to end well. Throughout all of history kings, tyrants, and now democratically elected leaders have tried to mash people of different cultures together in hopes of economic prosperity. It almost never works. It often leads to civil wars or violence.
“Forced marriage, child marriage & female genital mutilation” are not “cultural markers leeched onto faith traditions”.
On Wikiislam one can read about clitodirectomy being supported by unjust Muhammad himself in Hadiths.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has an interview on Youtube in which she claims the only mentioning of female genital mutilation would come from a Caliph Omar in the Hadiths, which is obviously false. Is this Al-Queada running the show?
Clitodirectomy is Islam’s weakest spot.
“Cultural Jihad” as category describes this deception perfectly.
Predominately, thank GW Bush and Obama for all those “refugees” he brought here….they have 3 babies to our every one baby…..you do the math.
Maranatha
4 years ago
I thought it was a Toronto park in a good summer weekend.
Eh well…
Maranatha
4 years ago
…or patio umbrellas waiting to be open?
VoiceInDesert
4 years ago
Hardly the city of brotherly love.
Alleged-Comment
4 years ago
This is bad. Demoncraps and RINOS need to be hanged. 50 years from now you’ll be completely overwhelmed with Mouslems.
Roma Mikhasev
4 years ago
enemy inside – Maximize: “And Judah saw her, and considered her a harlot, because she had covered her face” (Gen., 38, 15).
The story of the appearance of the burqa.
The veil comes from the cult of Astarte in ancient Mesopotamia. In honor of the goddess of carnal love, all women, without exception, had to engage in prostitution once a year in the sacred forests that surrounded the temples of the goddess.
In order not to be recognized, women from high society took the habit of veiling themselves completely.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of a secular Turkey from 1923 to 1938, found the right way to silence the fundamentalists of the time. He finished wearing the burqa by issuing a simple law with immediate effect: all Turkish women have the right to dress as they want. However, all prostitutes must wear a veil. The next day, the burqa was no longer seen there. And this law in Turkey is still in force.”
Interesting post.. So if I read it correctly and follow the logic: islam considers women nothing more than prostitutes…. And their actions against women show it time and again.
Tolerating the intolerant will be our undoing, unless we change course.
Christina Pansy
4 years ago
Islam is perverse.
Political_qrm
4 years ago
Islam is not a religion. It has a religious component, yes, but it’s a culture which is completely at odds with Western Civilization. It hates freedom and other cultures. It demands total loyalty and refuses to obey the laws of any Western country it inhabits.
The niqab should not be allowed in this country. It’s a symbol of misogyny and one that we, as a supposed ‘enlightened’ culture (tell that to the feminists) should be banning and made illegal.
It disgusts me to see this happening in the same city where our Declaration of Independence was signed .
It will, in time, disappear from freedom loving countries. It’s a shame on humanity so many people have to die while the globalists use these savages to disrupt humanity in order to stay in power and reap profits.
I hope and pray you’re right… But it’s only going to happen if we all of us who love our freedoms work together: make sure the laws are not changed to favor sharia, and ensure our culture doesn’t change to the extent we can’t change it back..
Yes, the Barbary Coast war lasted over a dozen years with this savages. 1st we bribed them but they were never satisfied so then we had to take them out. We should start with the later 1st this time.
Islam is a political ideology cloaked in religion. The religion is for control of its members. Without the political aspect, there isn’t much left of substance.
The niqab is a symbol of misogyny for sure… but the prescriptions in Islam are not mere symbol. There is precedent that all religions that are allowed to practice must also adhere to our Judeo-Christian values. There was a religion that practiced sex with children which was banned when it was discovered. Likewise a religion that condones wife beating, prescribes FGM, condones child marriages including sex with prepubescent girls, condones sex slaves, prescribes killing apostates, etc. should be banned… not just because it has misogynistic symbols but because it is simply evil.
I am NOT Muslim. I’m U.S.-born American. I have extended family in Russia and some of its neighboring countries. They include a small family branch who are Muslims. I’ve lived among them a few times for some pretty lengthy stays there, and I can actually say from that personal experience that the vast majority of some 1.7 BILLION Muslims worldwide are good, decent people and MUCH MORE respectable than any anti-Muslim bigot garbage and filth that I ever have seen or heard of. YOU very obviously do not know any REALITY at all about Muslims, Muslim Culture, or about Islam as a religion. You actually have nothing but delberate ignorance as you wallow in a filthy pigsty of mindless, unbridled HATE! It’s really disgusting to watch you and your ilk!
:::::
Much of what you say about Islam and Muslims is incorrect and bigoted. It appears mostly to be little more than your personal opinion and beliefs… NOT facts. I have lived among ggMuslims (extended family) in their part of the world several times for long periods. And I now Islam, Muslim Culture and Muslim people well.
What did I state that was my opinion and was not a fact?
Living among Muslims doesn’t mean those Muslims actually practice their faith according to Islamic doctrine. And having extended family, perhaps you are the one whose perspective is not objective due to your relationships?
by B Tibi – 1986 – Cited by 44 – Related articles
framework of political ideology is still questionable. Some sociologists … Not even the most advanced Muslim political thinker, Ibn Khaldun, ever went beyond.
Islam is a religion, not a terror ideology – CNN.com
Aug 24, 2010 – Editor’s note: Jocelyne Cesari is director of the Islam in the West Program at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University. She is a political …
So… there you are using taqiya and implementing sharia. You can’t respond with ideas and words so you mark my comment as spam and call me names. Are you so insecure about your Allah? I wrote nothing that was false. But you seem confident in your Islam… I would warn against being confident in your Islam… at least according to the Quran:
Are they then secure from Allah’s scheme? None deemeth himself secure from Allah’s scheme save folk that perish. Quran 7:99 Pickthall
Apparently only non-Muslims, “folk that perish”, feel secure from Allah’s scheming/deception. But if I were to guess who trusts Allah and who doesn’t… I’d say you trust in Allah and I don’t. But somehow you shouldn’t because I apparently do.
Are you secure that what you know about Islam is true? Are you sure Allah wouldn’t use his makra on you? You shouldn’t be… but that is not my problem. Good luck with that.
By the way, I am not anti-Muslim. At least not in the true sense of what muslim actually means when translated. The difference between you and me is I don’t like to put Mohammad equal to God. Muslims or rather Mohammadans put Mohammad up on a pedestal. You don’t say “There is only one God and Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, …. and Mohammad are His messengers.” No… The only partner the Allah of Mohammad can have is Mohammad… that is shirk… that is assigning partners to Allah.
So you can delude yourself that bowing down to the black stone and desiring to kiss it isn’t idol worship… you can delude yourself that putting Mohammad in a position where Allah can’t do anything without Mohammad is not shirk… you can delude yourself and deny that there are some very questionable passages in the Quran that would prove it to be a false words of God if you looked at it with an open mind… and you can hope that your bad deeds will outweigh your good deeds such that when you find yourself into hellfire, you will be allowed into paradise sooner rather than later as Mohammad promised that Allah the Greatest Deceiver would do for you… and you can hope that the brothel-like description of “Paradise” is really where you will go if you faithful to Allah… as for me… I wouldn’t trust the deception of Allah…
“Allah” is the Arabicword which means “God.” it is nothing other than that. You say that God is deceptive. That’s blasphemy. Anti-Muslim bigots tend to be deliberately ignorant with their unnecessary HATE. EDUCATE yourself.
Kol
I’ve quoted from the Quran and hadith. Muslims do not worship the same God as the Christians and Jews. That’s what I’ve been trying to explain to you. But it seems somebody, if not you, are too afraid that when I quote the Islamic sources the truth about the Allah of Mohammad would be exposed. Apparently what I wrote couldn’t be refuted as a lie or wrong so it was marked as spam. Surely it isn’t a Christian that blocked my post. I didn’t say anything derogatory unless it was taken as such even though it was true. As mentioned when you’ve got no defense then the fascist thing to do is silence the opponent (marking as spam) so the truth won’t influence those in the hearing.
Why do you deny what your sources say? Why do you link to opinion pieces as if those should have some sort of authoritative thought. Why not look at the primary sources like the Quran and the haddith and compare that with what the Bible says?
Why do you keep asking me why I say God is the greatest deceiver when I show you from your own sources why? You don’t refute what I wrote. You just keep asking the question. Given that your Quran says that the Allah of Mohammad is the greatest of deceivers, it is technically blasphemy to deny what is written in the Quran… except in Islam it seems it is blasphemy to say anything, even if it is a quote from the Quran, that makes Islam look bad. Declaring “blasphemy” when what is written is actually true is just taqyah. So, good luck with that. You can deny what your scriptures say. But know this… if what I stated was actually true and you know it, then you are worshiping the greatest deceiver and you would be foolish to put your trust in the greatest deceiver.
You are WRONG. Muslims, Jews and Christians DO worship the same God, deslpite having some differing perspec=tives in variousareas. EDUCATE yourself. Stop ==the deliberate ignorance and STOP being stupid!! Your bigotry is wrong and it is baseless HATE for no good reason! By rhe way, Islam even happens to have been created based on Christian teachings. You seem very ignorant and enjoy prejudice rather than REALITY! Your personal “reality” is mindless… and very ignorant! And I’d really rather not waste my time with such nonsense, Next time you post, try to say something intelligent — that’s a CHALLENGE!
YOU are absolutely wrong whether your bigotry allows you to look at yourself objectively or not. It’s totally laughable and ridiculous! Looks like this mental illness…
Anosognosia | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Related…/Anosognosia
Anosognosia is when someone is unaware of their own mental health … out of fear or stubbornness, but variations in awareness are typical of anosognosia.
Is extreme stubbornness caused by a mental disorder? If so what … https://www.quora.com/Is-extreme-stubbornness-caused-by-a-mental-disorder-If-so-wha…
Nov 17, 2017 – Excessive mental rigidity is a trait of some mental disorders/conditions, including autism, schizophrenia and OCD. … Chances that you’ll meet a person with a mental disorder or some kind of mental problem might be 1 in 5. … What is borderline personality disorder (emotionally unstable …
Sorry, I’ve LIVED among Muslims (extended family) in their part of the world and altho’ I am NOT Muslim I know a great deal more about Islam, Muslim Culture and Muslim people than you obviously know. Your extreme and very deliberate ignorance is the backbone of your anti-Muslim bigotry and you apparently are mentally incapable of educating yourself beyond that behavior. REALIIY obviously does not interest you/
edbo
4 years ago
perfect spot for a MOAB!
phillyroll
4 years ago
Islam is a hate crime.
durabo
4 years ago
Now, if we could only convince Philadelphia’s dominant ethnic group that Muslims taste like fried chicken, both starvation and sharia would disappear.
John Acord
4 years ago
Islam could well bankrupt the entire fashion industry. These veils and burkas are simply a n expression of female submission and slavery. It ha no place in the West and must be banned.
iprazhm
4 years ago
LOOK AT ALL THOSE ISLAMISTS!!!
Pray Hard
4 years ago
I’m sure that being there is no explicit command to wear a jibjab in the quran is a real comfort to the women who are beaten, killed, shot, acidized, stoned, buried alive, etc. daily.
It is the conflict of our age, yet no one dares talk about it. The true story of the Islamic Supremacist war on free speech as told by those on the front lines fighting for our First Amendment rights,
.
Pamela Geller tells her own story of how she became one of the world's foremost activists for the freedom of speech,
individual rights, and equality of rights for all. "It's my story, it's what happens when someone fights for freedom in America today,"
Geller explained.
Today Islamic supremacists are demanding more accommodation of Islamic principles
and practices than ever, and daily growing more aggressive in eroding our freedoms – with politically
correct public officials only too happy..
Popular conservative blogger Pamela Geller and New York Times bestselling author
Robert Spencer sound a wake-up call for Americans to stop the Obama administration from limiting our
hard-won...
The Ground Zero Mosque: The Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks is a groundbreaking documentary on the controversy
over the planned Islamic supremacist mega-mosque at Ground Zero.
Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.
