| Topic: | Ruth Cadbury and Boris Johnson | |
| Posted by: | John Bradley | |
| Date/Time: | 26/07/19 15:01:00 |
| I am no apologist for our new PM and I have a great respect for our current MP, but I have to correct one of Ms Cadbury's comments ref. Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson's comments concerning what he thought about women wearing the burqa have been repeatedly reported out of context. In the Daily Telegraph article in which the comments were made he was highly derogatory about … the Danish. Yes, the Danish. The Danes had introduced a law banning the wearing of the burqa in public and police had been humiliating Muslim women in public by forcibly removing them. This, Johnson argued, was not the liberal attitude one normally associates with the Danish people. Johnson went on to say that while there was no Quranic requirement to wear the burqa, that he thought the were degrading to women and ridiculous nevertheless if an adult woman wishes to wear a full-face covering in public then she should be able to do so. In short Johnson was arguing against intolerance and in favour of a Muslim woman's right to wear a burqa even (or perhaps especially) when he (i.e. Johnson) personally disagreed. In short he was upholding the maxim: "I disagree with every word you say, but shall fight to the death for your right to say it." That, at least in my mind, is the mark of a true liberal. Now whether Johnson is the right person to lead the country is a moot point and one which I will not comment on, but beware of comments taken out of context. PS the original article was entitled 'Ah, Denmark". I'm sure you can find it on Google, like I did. |