Nigel Farage Defends Boris Johnson!

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage in an interview with Sky News has defended Boris Johnson's statement about Muslim women in burqas. Boris Johnson has said Muslim women wearing the covering known as a burqa look like post boxes. Of course, this statement has been attacked as Islamaphobic by many from all walks of life.

Conservative Baroness Warsi and others have called for an apology from Mr Johnson. Other Conservative MP's have said including Theresa May that Mr Johnson should have chosen his words more carefully. Boris is on record for making comments in what some would see as gaffes while others think he is speaking the truth. Some statements he has withdrawn and made apologies for. An example would be when Mr Johnson made scathing comments about Liverpudlians while Michael Howard was Conservative leader. Mr Howard made Mr Johnson apologise as Michael Howard was a Liverpool football team supporter. Boris Johnson had to go to Liverpool and eat humble pie in the days after this.

Boris Johnson has refused to apologise and has found support from fellow Tory, funnily enough, a scouser (Liverpudlian) Nadine Dorries. She has stated Mr Johnson is speaking a truth many are afraid to say in this country though they think about it. Nigel Farage in the interview said Mr Johnson is not calling for an outright ban on burqas as they done in Denmark. However, if someone disagrees with Muslim women wearing burqas or even niqab then they should have the right to say it. There is a place for debating these issues Mr Farage said. Mr Farage said there was a time when the UK was a freedom of speech loving democracy. Where people had the right to freedom of speech and opinion whether you agreed with them or not. Now political correctness is closing down freedom of thought and speech lest we upset some minority or other.

Some have accused Mr Johnson of trying to be populist. To get the far right of the Conservative party on his side in his bid one day to challenge Theresa May for the leadership of the Conservative party and ultimately to be Prime Minister of the UK.

It is understandable Muslims would be offended by Mr Johnson's comments. If Muslim women wish to wear this garb in a freedom loving democracy that is their choice. However, those that find it strange or offensive should also have the right to criticise it.

As mentioned in the above article the Muslim covering known as the burqa is now banned in Denmark. This also includes the niqab and any Muslim woman wearing any of these garbs will no doubt be fined. France was the first of many European countries as well as Austria to bring measures like this into force.

Muslim women took part in protests and marches in Denmark's capital city Copenhagen. Police watched and marched with the protesters and one picture of a policewoman hugging a burqa-clad Muslim woman has gone viral.

In as much as this ban could be seen as suppressing Muslim women's rights to wear religious garb, it is also a law to make them fit into western society. After all in Muslim countries are Christians allowed to wear crosses openly? Christians have their rights denied them in places like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia many times. Christians face violence and verbal threats of one kind or another. Their places of worship are attacked and their freedom of religion though enshrined in law often falls foul of the law of blasphemy.

Many Muslim women feel wearing the burqa or niqab represents their faith. Others feel you do not have to wear such coverings to be a Muslim and indeed many do not.

It seems while respecting the right of Muslims to express their faith in the west Muslims should also recognise they are not living in Muslim majority countries and perhaps behave and dress accordingly.