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It is rooted in the notion that women must be secluded from the public because if they are not, they will be a source of “fitnah” or mischief in society.

The burka is rooted in the idea of the woman being just another of the man’s chattles — “my woman, my wife” — who cannot be seen or heard by others.

But this is hardly what the prophet of Islam had intended. It is merely a contemporary fundamentalist narrative within Islam that has put this oppressive spin on women’s clothing.

The Islamist narrative only targets women. The fundamentalists insist women must cover up, must be invisible and anonymous. By ignoring the historical and cultural contexts of the prophet’s statements, they cherry-pick particular oral dictates to suit their agenda. They ignore the fact that the Qur’an only has very general prescriptions about modesty, and they apply to both men and women.

While they quote any retrogressive interpretation that happens to advance their agenda, they never consider the historical background. Veiling came into being only when Muslim women experienced harassment.

This shows that there is no intrinsic requirement for Muslim women to cover up at all, and no attendant demand for male ownership. Insofar as the prophet said anything at all about women and veiling, its purpose was more to protect them in a society where men simply never considered the consent of women.

Canada, of course, has a free and open society where women’s rights are respected, where if they choose to reveal their skin, it is not deemed a sexual invitation. This is a society where the range of sexual crimes, all the way from rape to sexual harassment, are strongly punished by law.

It is now time the fundamentalists, the Islamists, the mullahs and the rabid clergy come to acknowledge Islam’s more benign and women-friendly traditions. Meanwhile, politicians can help those of us who understand the nefarious agenda of the Islamists to provide all the political and legal machinery to marginalize their aims.

Ban the burka.