This article appeared in the August 1, 2009 edition of the Calgary Herald. Many readers shared the same thoughts as I on the content of the article, and my response was:
While reading Ms. Saleem’s highly offensive column, I began to feel a need to defend not only myself, but all men of Western civilization. She seems to believe more in the need to be protected from the “glaring or inquisitive eyes” of males than in some obscure religious requirement to wear the niqab. I’d like to let her know that not all of us are lecherous, slobbering dogs constantly sizing up every woman we see on the street for the purposes of our own “inappropriate desires.” The niqab may or may not be a part of Islamic faith, but it is definitely not a way for women to find respect. The “surprise and sympathy” she feels is justified and I certainly won’t apologize for it. When I see this type of behavior out in the real world, it says to me, “You are a white man from the West and I need to be protected from your sexual desires.” While it may be common in Muslim countries to blame a rape victim for provoking her attacker with her attire (or lack thereof), here in Canada we have evolved past this way of thinking and I would like to suggest to the writer that the average infidel running around on the street in Canada has more respect for women than the average pious Muslim.
