Is it an ethnic Danish woman wearing a scarf because of the harrowing weather we have been having, or is it a Muslim woman? My answer, and it is a rather short one, is, who gives a FUCK? But in the country I live in, these matters matter. We have less than 8% Muslims here, they cost a fraction of the total BNP and scores of them believe in Allah, the way a lot of Christians believe in God here - certain occasions if they are the somewhat traditional sort, or as a lot of Muslims I know, they observe a kind of pantheistic view. God is nature, god is love. I can swing with that.
But it is the covering of the face, that seems to irk people. Which prompted our politicians to forbid wearing masks. Crime rates go through the roof during Halloween, one is lead to understand. Or it could just be a bad case of xenophobia. So they pass a bill, and the whole country is talking about it. We have less than 500 people that wear a burqa - 'out of proportions' does not even begin to cover how stupid and counter productive legislation like that is. Law should operate in consequences for certain behaviour, not ban this and that. You wear a mask, you cannot go to the grocery store, leave the country or anything really. So why a ban? Because the story being told by everyone, is that Muslims are the greatest threat to our future at all. Not the environment, not super volcanos, not pollution, not war, not meteors, not a threatening ice age, not our lust for conflict and guns. Muslims.
Seriously?
EDITOR'S NOTE
Martin Sabine touches on similar issues in his latest here