This is a great, thought-provoking column and I agree with the conclusions. I see the creep in my neighborhood as I drive among women in full bhurkas (with only slits for the eyes) commandeering Mercedes or vans. Common sense (which we’ve lost) would tell us that such garb interferes with the driver’s ability (I almost had one hit me the other day), as well as present a security risk. I don’t mind all the other flowing ethnic garb, as long as the face is uncovered.
Simply the proposal to use Sharia law in mediation is disturbing in the same way. Here, in the U.S. mediation is often ordered by the courts in divorce cases. But does a priest, minister, or rabbi do the mediating? Not that I’ve heard of. Certainly, parties in private can seek the advice of such clergy, but I have yet to hear a request that disputes adjudicated by religious figures be granted any kind of legal authority. So like the full burkha, the request itself is an expression of aggressiveness, an attempt to impose one’s ways on another culture. I see it as a provocation.
