It was only a matter of time before Islamophobes here in Great Britain followed the lead of their counter parts across Europe in calling for the ban of the more vulnerable symbols representing Islam.
France are currently debating whether to enforce a ban on what it calls the burka, though it should more accurately be called the niqab; a move that is the antithesis of the cherished democratic ideal of religious freedom.
The building of minarets in Sweden has already been banned.
And this week the right wing Islamophobe, former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage has followed suit in calling for the niqab to be made illegal. He has not opted for calling for a minaret ban, perhaps because he perceives that a larger audience with a similar separatist and anti-Muslim mindset will more readily support him. You cannot call for freedom of religion and also call for a ban on pieces of clothing seen to be anti-British (whatever that means in this day and age).
You cannot, like Farage, claim that "in a liberal democracy we want to tolerate different religions and cultures" whilst in the same breath exclude "a small section of society [which will] impose their world view on the rest of us".
Firstly, it is only a very small percentage of Muslim women who have consciously chosen to take the legitimate difference of opinion that exists in Islam in relation to what they deem to be the correct opinion according to the interpretation they have chosen. Secondly, they are not imposing anything on anyone any more than Nigel Farage imposes his ideas of what he considers to be a better alternative for Britain than, say, the Labour Party. This idea of imposing a world view smacks directly against freedom of speech. If Nigel Farage truly believes in his ideals and principles, he should be confident enough to not feel threatened enough to call for a ban on a piece of cloth. The suggestion that this piece of clothing is a security threat was quashed by the leader of the Respect Party, Salma Yaqoob, who during her televised exchange with Nigel Farage, insisted that the niqabi women she had spoken to were more than willing to accommodate security checks involving their identification. How many instances during the day does Nigel Farage believe these women will be obliged to identify themselves?
The chances are, very few. So what is the problem here?
The problem is Nigel Farage, and people like him, who, in calling for such an oppressive ban, reveal their true hypocritical side and expose their true intolerant, Islamophobic nature. Moreover, as Ms. Yaqoob challenged during that exchange, whom will this ban assist the most if not the far right: groups such as the British National Party, National Front, English/ Scottish/ Welsh Defence League, etc.
This will only bolster their ranks and propagate their nefarious anti-Islamic agenda. Does Nigel Farage understand this or is he so blinded by his bigotry that calling for such a ban takes precedence over assisting the rise of the far right, albeit unintentionally? Or perhaps he foolishly believes that in using this approach, he too might be able to attract the type of success and attention these far right groups have achieved.
The apparent flaw in such a naïve approach is more than just worrying for a Muslim who nervously watches the spread of Islamophobia playing out across Europe. Sadly, the Muslim community has been relatively quite over this issue, which only be to their detriment.