Foolishness Unveiled

Only a concerted effort of strange bedfellows--hard-core feminists and social conservatives alike--prevented the Ontario government from permitting shari'a law tribunals from carrying out arbitration in the province.

And now it looks as if they'll have to get together again to drive some sense into Dalton McGuinty's head:

Ontario's premier stepped into a controversial debate raging in Europe over whether Muslim women should wear full-faced veils.

Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters Thursday he doesn't share the same opinion as British and Italian prime ministers, who have said the full-face veils, or niqabs, worn by Muslim women make others uncomfortable.

McGuinty stated he has no problem with women wearing veils with openings only for the eyes as long as the women are comfortable with it.

"I have no difficulty with that whatsoever," he told reporters Thursday. "This is one of the strengths of this society that we are building together that we are respectful of one another's traditions and faiths."

McGuinty pointed to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code as the bottom line on the issue.

With this knee-jerk repetition of multicultural shibboleths, McGuinty has proven that he's learned nothing and forgotten nothing.

The veil isn't just another article of colourful ethnic dress; it has a whole political significance behind it, representing the separation of Islam's adherents from greater society, its hostility thereto, and its goal of conquest thereof.

Whether the women wear it by choice or by compulsion is irrelevant to the message it sends.

But don't expect McGuinty to reconsider his position. He and his party have too much staked on playing ethnic politics to alienate any voting bloc with even mild criticism.

Source: CBC