at the request of a Muslim woman I was talking to,
I will write a short piece about
the Burka.
I'm not going to go into all the pros/cons controversy involved
But there is a facet of the Burka that western cultural biases just don't get
and I never hear it mentioned
The original intent of the head covering was a form of spiritual protection
not suppression of rights
However its use has evolved over the centuries in a form of religious "function creep"
in its beginning intent
the burka was meant to keep men not married to the woman or in her family
from using ethereal communication to contact her.
In texts by Islamic scholars these are referred to as "witches", roughly
Its a very complex spiritual protection system
I don't want to go into detail,
too many side issues get pulled in
but I don't think that most western media understand the utility aspect,
because its tied to a spiritual belief
that people can communicate by sitting and picturing each others face.
The burka is a tool
to "screen calls"
That is how they think of it.
Of course,
I am obviously not islamic
and my philosophical view would be reason for incarceration in many islamic jurisdictions,
but I think it is important to explain this aspect of the facial covering,
as a devout muslim woman with this view might feel that the burka is protecting her from unwanted spiritual communications with men.
