Niqabs become the scapegoat again
Mustafa Jamma, one of the men who the police want for questioning for the murder of PC Sharon Beshinivsky, has escaped. Some of the media, including newspapers like the Express, Sun and Mirror have created a theory that he left the country disguised as a Muslim woman wearing a full veil. There is of course no evidence of this, it is just a possibility. What it does though is plant another negative seed against Muslims.
The Police clearly saw the stupidity of this theory and how totally unhelpful it is. When asked about whether the man had escaped behind the niqab, a spokesman for West Yorkshire police said: "It's a possibility. He could have been wearing a pantomime horse outfit as well. But until we get him, we won't know for sure."
The Police clearly saw the stupidity of this theory and how totally unhelpful it is. When asked about whether the man had escaped behind the niqab, a spokesman for West Yorkshire police said: "It's a possibility. He could have been wearing a pantomime horse outfit as well. But until we get him, we won't know for sure."
Labels: niqab muslim
posted by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed at 13:49
2 Comments:
I'm an American Muslim - when this story jumped the sea to our shores, the 'dressed like a veiled Muslim woman' theory was reported as FACT. Now, I wear niqab myself, and travel both domestically and overseas (including to the UK), and I know that *I* can't get on a plane unless I show my face and picture ID to multiple proper authorities at the airport, so there is just no way that plan would succeed. I brought this up to everyone who would listen, but this never occurred to the American public.
Personally, I like the horse costume theory.
heather, very insightful comment - sometimes people see, hear and believe things just because it fits with their existing narrative. Take some of the people commenting on my book - who are saying that it shows just how oppressed I am, without actually listening to what i'm saying. Crazy!
Post a Comment
<< Home