Cempaka Belanda: European countries ponders banning the burqa

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.
They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Friday, April 2, 2010

European countries ponders banning the burqa

NRC International, by Marc Leijendekker, 2 April 2010 10:11

Two women wearing burqas walk down a Marseille street. Photo AFP

All over Europe, a debate is raging over prohibiting facial veils. Countries’ responses differ, but the arguments are the same everywhere.

“The burqa symbolises the submission of women,” is the claim of one Austrian minister, a social democrat. No, outlawing burqas could lead women to shun the streets, warns Sweden’s prime minister, a liberal conservative. This week, a Belgian parliamentary committee has called for an all-out ban of burqas. Meanwhile, a French court has called such a restriction legally untenable.

The burqa, a garment completely covering the female body and face, is worn in some Islamic traditions. The question whether or not such clothing should be forbidden in public places has been the matter of debate in many European countries lately. In the continent’s major countries, a majority supports a ban, a survey by the Financial Times (FT) showed last month.

Only a few thousand burqas

The number of women who actually wear burqas is very small everywhere in Europe. In Denmark an estimated 150 to 200 do so. In Belgium, less than 300 female Muslims cover their faces. In France, 2,000 women go about in burqas. A number dwarfed by the total French Muslim population of 5 to 6 million souls.

Still, this has done little to stifle debate, most of which goes on at the domestic level. The arguments used hardly differ from country to country however. The fundamental problem is the same everywhere: how to deal with a manner of dress that many people see as a way of distancing oneself from fellow citizens and society in general, regardless of the religious connotation it may carry.

The right-wing governments of France and Denmark want to ban the burqa wherever possible. President Nicolas Sarkozy himself has said “the burqa is not welcome on the French Republic’s territory”. But a parliamentary committee of inquiry and the Council of State, the nation’s highest court in these matters, came to a different conclusion. They said an all-out burqa ban would be at odds with the French constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The French Council of State said a burqa ban in jewellery stores, courthouses, hospitals, school courtyards and the civil registries would be tenable if it was argued to be in the interest of security.

The French communist André Gerin, the chairman of the parliamentary committee that argued for a ban on burqas in January, sees the choice as a matter of principle. “Burqa, niqaab and other veils covering the entire face are only the tip of the iceberg called ‘fundamentalism’,” he said.

'No place in Danish society'

In January, the Danish prime minister Lars Rasmussen said similar to those of Sarkozy. “There is no place in Danish society for the burqa or the niqaab. They symbolise an image of women and humanity that we oppose with all our heart,” he said. Rasmussen leads a right-wing minority government supported by the populist Danish People’s Party. He has also acknowledged, however, that a complete burqa ban would be legally untenable, but encouraged schools, government agencies and private enterprise to limit the use of the burqa “as much as possible”.

In Austria, minister for women, Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek, said in an interview: “I consider the burqa a symbol of the submission of women. It is a serious impediment to women seeking jobs in the labour market. If more women in Austria start donning burqas, I will look into a possible ban and start fining women who wear them in public buildings.”

The same FT poll shows that support for a burqa ban is less widespread in Germany than it is in France, Spain, the United Kingdom or Italy. Germany did see some debate over banning burqas in school however.

In Italy, the Lega Nord, an ally of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi that won big in the regional elections last weekend, has proposed a bill that would outlaw it.

Their proposal specifically targets Muslims. Whoever “makes it impossible for him or herself to be identified for religious reasons,” could be fined up to 2,000 euros or sent to jail for two years under the proposed law. Italy’s minister for equal opportunities, Mara Carfagna, has said she is in favour of such a ban. “Let’s not forget that the burqa is not a religious symbol but an act of submission of woman to man [...] banning the burqa is a way to save young female immigrants from the ghettos they are trying to force them into.”

No legal grounds for ban

But on what grounds? The French Council of State has found that neither the secular character of the state, nor protection of human dignity, nor the equality of the sexes offer sufficient legal grounds for a ban. According to the Council, the only possible legislative foundation would be security and the prevention of fraud.

Some supporters of this week’s Belgian bill, the Walloon liberals, have taken matters one step further. In the preamble of their proposal they write that “the argued ban not only takes into consideration matters of the public order, but also – at a more fundamental level – social considerations that are essential for living together in an emancipated society that ensures the rights of all.”

An open society means being able to look each other in the face, the preamble continues, because people need to be able to “recognise each other, to know one another”.

A number of municipalities in Belgium, including Antwerp and Gent, have already issued local burqa bans. Now that the parliamentary committee has approved such a ban unanimously at the national level, Belgium could become the first country in Europe to outlaw burqas.

For now, such a move remains unthinkable in Sweden, the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. These countries have a long tradition of allowing religious expression in the public realm. The conservative Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt vehemently opposes a burqa ban such as the one argued for by his French and Danish colleagues. The state should not try to force women into emancipation, he believes.

The British Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has expressed similarly feelings about the issue. “The UK government does not share France’s views on secularisation. In the UK we are comfortable with expressions of belief, be it the wearing of the turban, hijab, crucifix or kippa. This diversity is an important part of our national identity and one of our strengths. By contrast, France’s cultural and historical backgrounds have caused them to take a different view of secularisation and the wearing of religious symbols,” is how the British government responded to the French proposal.

Still, in the UK too some people have called for a ban. Malcom Pearson, leader of the extreme-right UKIP party, has said he feels the burqa is incompatible with British values.

Related Articles:

Muslim woman strangled by her burkha in freak go-kart accident

Opinion: It makes no sense to ban the burqa

Belgian lawmakers vote to ban the burqa

Belgium One Step Closer to Banning Burqas
France’s Burqa Ban Sharpens Global Debate on Islam