Australian Politics Forum - the burqa in court

freediver

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the burqa in court
Aug 7^th, 2010 at 10:43am

In my opinion, this issue should be governed by the interests of justice, not knee-jerk reactions to the burqa.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/burqa-muslim-defendant-anwar-sayed-attacked-near-lawyers-office/story-e6frf7l6-1225902181565

The Prime Minister this morning commented on the case, saying woman giving evidence in court should be forced to remove face-covering burqas.

Earlier this week, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he found the burka "a particularly confronting form of attire".

Ms Gillard said she thought it was one of the "limited" instances when it should be removed.

"I worked as a lawyer for eight years, I ran a lot of cases, I interviewed a lot of clients, having done that it can be very difficult to tell whether or not people are telling you the truth," she said.

"The essence of giving witness evidence is the court is making a determination over whether or not someone is telling the truth, that is always hard to do, I think it would be impossible to do if you couldn't see someone's face."

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George Full Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 129 Gender:	Re: the burqa in court Reply #1 - Aug 7^th, 2010 at 10:53am This is a rare instance in which I wholly agree with Ms. Gillard. The face covering is not a religious requirement, so the woman should have to face the same scrutiny as any other witness, for the reasons outlined by Julia Gillard.
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Dnarever

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Re: the burqa in court
Reply #2 - Aug 7^th, 2010 at 11:07am

freediver wrote on Aug 7^th, 2010 at 10:43am:

In my opinion, this issue should be governed by the interests of justice, not knee-jerk reactions to the burqa.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/burqa-muslim-defendant-anwar-sayed-attacked-near-lawyers-office/story-e6frf7l6-1225902181565

Ms Gillard said she thought it was one of the "limited" instances when it should be removed.
"

I would agree with that position. one of a very small number of situations where a covered face in inappropriate.

freediver wrote on Aug 7^th, 2010 at 10:43am:

In my opinion, this issue should be governed by the interests of justice, not knee-jerk reactions to the burqa.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/burqa-muslim-defendant-anwar-sayed-attacked-near-lawyers-office/story-e6frf7l6-1225902181565

Earlier this week, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he found the burka "a particularly confronting form of attire".

Bit of a worry - confronting? I would rate it about the same as people who do not know which way a cap goes.

"confronting"

Deos this say more about Mr Abbott than the way people choose to dress?
.

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BlOoDy RiPpEr Gold Member Offline aussie-patriot.com Posts: 2475 Sydney Gender:	Re: the burqa in court Reply #3 - Aug 7^th, 2010 at 11:08am We should just ban it all together. No one else in this country is allowed to get around wearing face coverings for security reasons yet Muslim women are allowed due too religious reasons, but its not a religious requirement in Islam.
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Dnarever Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 57172 Here Gender:	Re: the burqa in court Reply #4 - Aug 7^th, 2010 at 11:13am BlOoDy RiPpEr wrote on Aug 7^th, 2010 at 11:08am: No one else in this country is allowed to get around wearing face coverings for security reasons Are you sure about that?
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BlOoDy RiPpEr Gold Member Offline aussie-patriot.com Posts: 2475 Sydney Gender:	Re: the burqa in court Reply #5 - Aug 7^th, 2010 at 11:22am Go to your local shopping centre in a KKK outfit. Bet you get arrested.
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freediver Gold Member Online www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 47481 At my desk.	Re: the burqa in court Reply #6 - Aug 7^th, 2010 at 11:41am Quote: The face covering is not a religious requirement, so the woman should have to face the same scrutiny as any other witness, for the reasons outlined by Julia Gillard. That doesn't make sense. Whether it is a religious requirement is irrelevent.
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Saifudeen New Member Offline Alhamdulillah. Posts: 37	Re: the burqa in court Reply #7 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:20pm George wrote on Aug 7^th, 2010 at 10:53am: The face covering is not a religious requirement, so the woman should have to face the same scrutiny as any other witness, for the reasons outlined by Julia Gillard. You're a scholar of Islam?
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freediver Gold Member Online www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 47481 At my desk.	Re: the burqa in court Reply #8 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:34pm Abu has made the same claim.
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Deborahmac09 Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1619	Re: the burqa in court Reply #9 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:42pm this woman already agreed to take off her burqa and give evidence via ctv. Whether that is acceptable is up to the judge.
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Saifudeen New Member Offline Alhamdulillah. Posts: 37	Re: the burqa in court Reply #10 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:59pm freediver wrote on Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:34pm: Abu has made the same claim. Who is 'Abu'? And if he made the same claim as I, he's right.
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cockneydoll

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Re: the burqa in court
Reply #11 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 8:00pm

A West Australian Muslim community leader has expressed surprise the application to wear the burka in court has been made.

Sheik Feizel Chothia says it is culturally acceptable for a woman to take off her burka during legal proceedings.

"From a strictly Islamic perspective, a woman is required to remove her face covering in a court of law," he said.

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freediver

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Re: the burqa in court
Reply #12 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 8:06pm

Saifudeen wrote on Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:59pm:

freediver wrote on Aug 12^th, 2010 at 7:34pm:

Abu has made the same claim.

Who is 'Abu'?
And if he made the same claim as I, he's right.

As far as I can tell you asked a question but made no claim.

Abu runs our Islam board. He is apparently a Muslim, but doesn't like to asnwer questions about Islam (any more) in case we use his answers against him.

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Saifudeen New Member Offline Alhamdulillah. Posts: 37	Re: the burqa in court Reply #13 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 10:28pm You've honestly never come across a rhetorical question before? Why would you use his answers against him? :S
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freediver Gold Member Online www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 47481 At my desk.	Re: the burqa in court Reply #14 - Aug 12^th, 2010 at 10:38pm Sorry I thought you were making a more substantial point than "I know better than you". You'll have to ask Abu to explain it to you. It doesn't make much sense to me either.
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