Muslim women protest against push to ban burka

Muslim women have rallied in their hundreds against moves to ban the burka in Australia, condemning it as part of the West’s “war on Islam”.

Women swathed in veils and wielding placards declaring “my burka - conviction not coercion” and “leave my mum alone - we love nikab” gathered yesterday in a park in Punchbowl, southwestern Sydney.

The first public protest against calls to ban the veil, the rally was co-ordinated by a coalition of Muslim groups known for their often hardline views.

The organisers included the Islamist political party, Hizbut Tahrir (Party of Liberation), which favours the creation of an Islamic caliphate, and the fundamentalist Ahlus Sunna wal Jamaah Association.

A female speaker, Umm Jamaal ud-Din, told the rally a ban proposed by Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile, which was due to be debated in the NSW parliament this month, had fuelled intolerance and bigotry.

“What this bill has effectively done is open the door to the racist element in Australian society, whereby some people think they have free rein to vilify, abuse and even physically assault women who wear the veil,” she said.

“All it has done is create social unrest and discord, stir up intolerance and create a further divide between the Muslim community and our fellow Australians.”

The head of the Lakemba-based United Muslims’ Association, Shady Al Suleiman, thanked the leaders of the major political parties for their recent assurances that they would not support legislation to ban the veil, which has been advocated by Liberal senator Cory Bernardi.

The legislative moves have been inspired by similar initiatives in Europe, such as a ban on the Muslim headscarf, the hijab, introduced in French public schools, and a ban on building new minarets in Switzerland.

Sheik Shady told the gathering of about 500 men, women and children: “We are Australians who live in this country and love and care about this country like everyone else, and we also have the right to voice our opinions, and today we voice our opinion loud and proud that we do not accept or tolerate any interference in our religion or beliefs.

“And we say to everyone - the government, politicians, the media - stop interfering in the affairs of the Muslims.”

Female speakers emphatically rejected claims that face-covering garments such as the burka and nikab symbolised the oppression of women.

Ms Jamal ud-Din, a mother of five and a seventh generation Australian, said she had been wearing the veil for 17 years. “Contrary to popular opinion, to me the face veil has everything to do with feminism,” she said.

“I feel empowered by the knowledge that I am in control of displaying my beauty to whom I choose, and the fact that I can move freely throughout society without being subjected to the eyes of every Tom, Dick and Harry.

“And I feel liberated from the slavery of the male-dominated fashion industry and its perceptions of what a women should and shouldn’t look like.”

Ms Jamal ud-Din wears the full face veil known as the nikab.

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