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I noticed the other day at the grocery stores two apparently Muslim women wearing full burkas (where the eyes only show). They were in company of a regular, neat and clean western dressed man of middle eastern looks and they were trying to figure out how to work the food dispensers at the health food isle. I figured they are probably newly arrived immigrants and didn't pay much attention to it.
This is becoming a common sight where I am at. Regulars in the gym, grocery stores, on the streets. My sister mentioned at her YMCA there was a woman using a burka in the common area swimming pool. That did sound a bit weird and actually the idea of a burka is somewhat contradictory to our core values of freedom or is it? One could flip the coin and say freedom means just that - freedom to wear whatever you want.
I mentioned this to a friend who lives in the north end of town (I live south) and he seemed in disbelief, women in burkas in the US? I was surprised he was stumped.
I am wondering is this a common sight across the entire US or is it more common in the area where I live?
Are you surprised to see this in the US?
Religious freedom is about as fundamentally a core value as you can get.
Religious freedom is about as fundamentally a core value as you can get.
If they were really seeking religious freedom in America, why bring the burkas over here? It makes no sense. They aren't exercising religious freedom. They are spitting in our eye...and you defend 'em for doing it.
Not an uncommon sight in the DC area, and you see them in the Aventura Mall here in Florida.
I served in the ME and I am not even the slightest bit enraged by the sight of a burka in a western country, nor anyone I know that served with me.
The Hijab is not an uncommon sight in DC, the burka is still pretty rare.
If you served in the ME and everyone that you know that served there has no issues with women in Burkas in western countries, you served in an extremely unique unit, with some very unique veterans, or you did a 4 month AF tour in Qatar at what is, for the other services, the R&R post, and your "veterans" are AF and limited to the same type of 4 month service in Qatar in the ME.
Apart from the dubious freedom to be superstitious, an exchange in which one person can see the other but not the reverse is inequitable - and at odds with the tenets of a 'free' society.
Why do I have to be able to see someone else to have an exchange with them? What part of them do I have to see? If a woman talks to me while she is in a bikini does that mean I have to strip down in order to talk with her?
I never see full face burqas, but I do often see the head scarves. I don't guess it's any different than Mennonite or Amish women only wearing long dresses. It's all based on silly dated beliefs IMO.
I do wonder what happens if they need photo ID. Surely they must take the face covering off for the pic?
There was a legal case about this issue in the early 2000s. A woman who had converted to Islam wanted to wear her veil in new driver's license photos, which were ordered by Florida after 9/11:
I didn't anticipate so many replies I'll try to answer some inquiries...
I live in south end of Seattle area and was wanting to know if this is common sight across US or not. I've been around the world and nowhere else is burka seen in context of freedom other then here in US due to religious freedom laws we have and others don't. In France for example burka is illegal. Elsewhere outside US it is usually seen as the opposite. In some places in ME and N. Africa hijab is required dress code for women. Not a choice. Not sure about burka.
I remember seeing a Saudi royalty guy of sorts on Italian Riviera back in late 80's. His entourage was a group of 40 or so women in burkas (harem?) and security personnel. They went shopping into a big jewelry store, some women even appeared to have blue eyes, the way they had to stay together and behave it didn't have much to do with freedom. My freedom was across the street at the topless beach.
Someone mentioned New York - curiously I had a girlfriend in Washington Heights and was flying back and forth all the time back in 2002-2005 and I don't remember any burkas in public, not even hijabs, only an occasional Russian grandma with a scarf.
I heard UN has somehow lobbied congress trough state department to allow greater number of Muslim refugees to be allowed into the US. I think Boston bombers came here trough one of those programs. There are millions of displaced people in the middle east due to recent conflicts and I think this is why we are seeing a greater number of women in burkas here. I have posted this to find out if we are getting more of the refugees locally or not since there is little press coverage on things like this.
I noticed the other day at the grocery stores two apparently Muslim women wearing full burkas (where the eyes only show). They were in company of a regular, neat and clean western dressed man of middle eastern looks and they were trying to figure out how to work the food dispensers at the health food isle. I figured they are probably newly arrived immigrants and didn't pay much attention to it.
This is becoming a common sight where I am at. Regulars in the gym, grocery stores, on the streets. My sister mentioned at her YMCA there was a woman using a burka in the common area swimming pool. That did sound a bit weird and actually the idea of a burka is somewhat contradictory to our core values of freedom or is it? One could flip the coin and say freedom means just that - freedom to wear whatever you want.
I mentioned this to a friend who lives in the north end of town (I live south) and he seemed in disbelief, women in burkas in the US? I was surprised he was stumped.
I am wondering is this a common sight across the entire US or is it more common in the area where I live?
Are you surprised to see this in the US?
We have lots of Muslim immigrants in my area (Dallas), I see them all the time, but I've only seen the full Burkas a few times. The only time that stuck out to me was at an Olive Garden (of all places). Our group was seated and I noticed a group of well dressed men waiting for their table. When they were called, a couple of them left the restaurant for a few moments and returned with a group of women (assuming wives) in full burkas (only eyes). My assumption was that they had been waiting in the car, that perhaps it wasn't considered proper for them to wait in the foyer?
If they were really seeking religious freedom in America, why bring the burkas over here? It makes no sense. They aren't exercising religious freedom. They are spitting in our eye...and you defend 'em for doing it.
What bothers me is seeing a Muslim man dressed in western clothing and walking behind him is his wife who is just about covered head to toe. If it's alright for him to wear western clothing, then it's alright for her to do so.
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