Well, she has a very important point. It is so sickening to hear that some people think of you as a terrorist because you have a headscarf, so unacceptable... I do think that in today´s world, especially in the west, a burka might cause some uneasy feelings because of security issues and it should not be allowed especially in public places. But comparing all muslims to terrorists is disgusting.

 I agree, but one of the London bombers escaped to Pakistan (I think) in a Burka, so of course it makes you supicous. 

And today I sat on the tube in London next to a woman in a complete black Burka, with just her eyes showing, in fact she kept pulling the bit that goes over the nose and mouth down as it was distracting her view of her mobile phone.

LL I think you are referring to a niqab. Burkas are completely closed and you probably have only little vision with the net covering your eyes. It must be really unfomfortable.. only Afghan women use it as I´m aware. With a niqab you are not "detached" from the world as you can be in a burka because your eyes are uncovered.

 You know, I have to agree with you here. A full burka is over the top, and does present a security issue. You don´t know if it´s male or female, or if something dangerous is concealed. In the country where people are used to seeing something like that is different, but in a place like London or any "Western" country, it´s disconcerting.

What would the reaction be if someone went into a bank with a balaclava mask on?

It is nice to be able to see one´s face. We take a lot of information from the expressions on people´s face.

I try not to go out on Halloween, all those people in full costume scare me. I remember being on the subway in New York City on Halloween afternoon and seeing people with full head coverings with just holes for eyes....ahewwww....particularly the Fredy Kruger and other type  masks... Have you seen the bikers masks?

I agree that burkas present a security issue and should not be permitted in public places. They kind of look like those suits apiarists use and are (as far as I know) only used for cultural reasons.

Here´s my musical contribution to the topic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehljR3Qr9yU&feature=related

I have mixed feelings about the covering up of Muslim women. On one hand I couldn´t care less what one chooses to wear and for whatever reason (if it´s a choice indeed, for many women it´s not, and that´s something I´d have a problem with). What I don´t buy into is the whole notion that it is the women´s fault if men have sexual thoughts about them. If men have a problem looking at women, then maybe they are the ones that should not be looking instead of forcing women to cover up like that. I don´t get what is immodest about hair or neck or arms. And even if, for some reason, some men were getting wild beyond the ability to self-restrain while getting a peek of some hair, wouldn´t exposure to said hair make the hair loose their sexual luster after a while? Isn´t it the forbidden fruit that´s the temptation? If anything, I think that the covering is making the women more of sexual objects, not less. But that´s just my opinion. Obviously, I don´t know enough about Islam to appreciate the whole cultural and religious significance of hiding behind scarfs and burkas, it just seems to me another chauvinistic way to control women.

+10000000000000

So this is not a Burka?  Full length to the floor completely covered apart from the eyes.  I have been misled in that case

I the the "thing" that Afgan women wore was a Chadri, which is a different shape the photo here.  And yes the whole thing covers from head to toe with a net for vision.

I am aware that some women in Saudia Arabia wear them and they did in Kuwait in the Kuwait war, as I had a friend who lived there for a time and she told me women were driving wearing these things.

In fact I have had a look on the internet and the photos for both garments are the same, so how do you tell difference?

fantastic post... couldnt agree with you more

According to some of the ladies here at school who wear these things - that is a picture of a Burka.   But of course there could be regional differences in what they are called.

That picture is a niqab but actually the niqab is only this part. It´s put over the regular hijab and usually has two layers to cover the eyes, though most niqabis pin the layers in the back. There´s a picture here which illustrates it quite well.