This

During the 2001 Census of the UK there were 2.7% Muslims as a percentage of the population. (It’s possible that has grown, it’s unlikely the growth has massively outstripped other groups). According to Eurostat the population of the UK is about 62 million. So, around 1.7 million British people are Muslims. In France, in 2010, out of a population of 8 million Muslims (out of a population of around 65 million), around 2000 wore the veil. Or about 0.025% of 8 million.

I don’t agree with wearing the veil. I was brought up in a liberal environment where the idea that women should treat themselves or others differently is a bit alien. Were I brought up in an environment where women were made to wear the veil I would, in all likelihood have a different view. It’s at this point most people discussing the veil bring up female circumcision. Which is an awful thing and, thankfully, illegal in the UK, and I think associating a small minority, which has already been under attack because of an even smaller minority’s terrorism, is, at best a straw man argument, and at worst out of the racist guide to arguing.

I feel awful writing about 1.7 million out of 62 million British people because I think there are bigger things that affect us all. It’d be tedious to list them all and unless you lack imagination, fairly obvious. I feel awful because there are so many people I disagree with. Certain strains of Islam treat women badly, as do certain strains of Christianity, as do many people, domestic violence and sexism haven’t gone away, despite of the intellectual focus on a minority within a minority.

How do you persuade people who have deeply held beliefs that their beliefs are wrong? In the case of something like female circumcision it’s easy. It’s something that once done, can’t be undone, and isn’t corrected by changing your clothes. It’s a no-brainer that it’s against the law. There are strong arguments against the veil on practicality – it does inhibit communication, sunlight is healthy, women shouldn’t be repressed, and some people (I’m not bothered) have a problem dealing with people in veils, assuming they’re sinister, or enslaved. The burqa often goes along with strong religious views.

Growing up I knew Christians with similar strict views of morality, one of whom was a girl I wanted to get off with, annoyingly, and held beliefs on things like homosexuality and sin that make the Pope look like a liberal. If only they wore veils. It would be as simple as passing a law telling them not to wear them. Of course it wouldn’t, nothing is that simple, they’re often as culturally indoctrinated as the rest of us. All you can do is make it illegal to stop people if they change their mind about their deeply held beliefs and make a convincing argument against those beliefs. Make it normal for the state to choose, to a greater degree, how people live their lives, and wait until a government gets in that disagrees with you. You may find yourself in a minority with twats writing about you on blogs.