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Even if you defend the niqab on religious lines, you run up against the fact that not all religious beliefs are defensible

In the context of the current conflict between fanatic Islamic terrorism and the West, the niqab has transcended both vestment and faith to become a political symbol. It represents a rejection of the very enlightenment values that Trudeau supposedly defends: equality of men and women, freedom of expression, movement and association, and even pluralism itself. The niqab cannot be judged in isolation, but for what it represents. Countries where women wear the niqab do not allow them to travel alone. They do not allow them to drive cars. They do not allow them to vote. They do not allow girls to go to school. They do not allow them to perform the same occupations as men, or to mix with men in the public sphere.

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There are other garments and images which started off as religious or benign, and have become potent political symbols. The pointed hood of the Klu Klux Klan was originally a religious outfit worn during Holy Week in Spain; it is now a symbol of racism. The swastika was originally a sacred Hindu and Buddhist symbol; it is now a symbol of the world’s most heinous genocidal war criminals. The balaclava was originally a helmet liner worn by British troops to keep warm in the Crimean war; it is now for many a symbol of anarchy.

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Would Trudeau be comfortable with a hooded Klansman taking the oath of citizenship? Or a Nazi wearing a swastika armband? Or an anarchist wearing a balaclava? Even if you defend the niqab on religious lines, you run up against the fact that not all religious beliefs are defensible. Would it be OK for a man — either Muslim or Christian — to bring his four wives to the citizenship ceremony, because his God says plural marriage is a right?

This isn’t about the right to choose a burka over a bikini. This is about upholding the fundamental values of the country in which you wish to make your home. While the Conservatives need to stop playing the fear card, the Liberals should drop the xenophobia accusations. And both should defend the right of women to be free from oppression.

National Post