Senator Pauline Hanson attracted international attention this week by wearing a black burqa into the Senate chamber after her colleagues barred her from even moving a bill to ban face coverings.

Labor’s Senator Wong accused Senator Hanson of disrespecting people of faith, meaning Muslims.

Anne Ruston joined the woke pile on, saying, “We must always… respect others.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi predictably shrilled:

“This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism and Islamophobia.”

Likewise patriotically-conflicted Senator Fatima Payman whined:

“She is disrespecting a faith, she is disrespecting the Muslims out there, Muslim Australians. It is absolutely unconstitutional.”

Payman was completely unable to demonstrate how Senator Hanson’s choice of attire is “unconstitutional” – because it obviously isn’t.

The screeching harpies crying “racism” every time Senator Hanson puts forward a policy putting Australia first are factually wrong.

The undeniable fact is that many Muslim majority nations have implemented bans or restrictions on the burqa. Are they all “islamaphobic” and “racist”?

• Algeria (99% Muslim) banned full-face veils for female public servants in workplaces 7 years ago, citing identifiability needs.
• Morocco (99% Muslim) banned the burqa in educational institutions and government buildings, as well as partial restrictions in public.
• In Tunisia (99% Muslim), face veils obscuring identity remain restricted in public schools and universities.
• Turkey (99% Muslim) has long banned even headscarves in public institutions, and for religious reasons, face veils are restricted in some official settings.
• Azerbaijan (98% Muslim) extends their ban in public schools to include government buildings.
• Uzbekistan (97% Muslim) also banned the burqa in schools and government buildings; and face coverings are discouraged in public.
• Kosovo (95% Muslim) banned the burqa in public institutions in 2009.
• Turkmenistan (93% Muslim) banned the burqa in public spaces and institutions in alignment with strict secular policies.
• Kyrgyzstan (90% Muslim) banned it in schools, universities and government buildings; and more recently imposed public restrictions because it’s viewed as “alien” to local culture!
• Egypt (90% Muslim) also restricted the burqa in schools, universities and government offices, and full-face veils are discouraged in public for security. Even niqabs were banned in schools in recent years.
• Syria (87% Muslim) is trying to promote secularism and has restricted face veils restricted in public institutions and schools.
• Kazakhstan (70% Muslim) has this year implemented a full public ban of all face-covering garments like the burqa and niqab for security, facial recognition and secular culture.
• Chad (58% Muslim) has had a full public ban with fines and confiscations of religious face coverings for a decade as a counter-terrorism policy.

There’s many more, but the demonstrated and documented facts are much louder than the irrational, hypocritical and baseless criticism of Senator Pauline Hanson by her detractors.

If Hanson’s Green, Labor and Liberal political opponents, self-servingly accusing her of disrespect, racism and Islamaphobia are correct and wish to be consistent, then we should be able to expect press releases today from them all likewise accusing Turkey, Egypt and Syria of Islamophobia.

A statement from Senator Pauline Hanson explains:

“This is about community safety, national security, women’s rights, public civility and social cohesion.”

That’s more or less exactly what the governments of Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Senegal, Chad, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria, Norway, Denmark, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Latvia, Portugal, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, and Canada’s Quebec explained as they all passed something similar to Senator Hanson’s proposed bill.

Dave Pellowe is the founder of 'Church And State', a nationwide ministry equipping Christians to be public salt and light: redeeming the culture and advocating for righteousness in government. Dave teaches Christians how God’s unchanging Word answers all the controversial questions. Specialising in what God says about complex ethical and social issues, Dave Pellowe is a guest speaker at churches, youth groups and Christian schools, TV, radio and podcast interviews and other secular and Christian forums where love of Truth and honest thinking are valued. [more]

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