Sharia By Any Other Name in New York

The most religious members of the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York have been at odds with each other and their neighbours as of late, doing everything in their power to remove women, particularly scantily-clad ones, from the public view. You see, in Chassidic Judaism, men are considered unable to control themselves, so much like with Muslims, women must be covered regardless of the temperature outside.

This week, signs were plastered all over Williamsburg in Yiddish and Hebrew, warning Jewish women that the fashions in the stores are not for them. For women who often work, shop, and serve their masters at home (men spend their time studying the Torah, Talmud, and Kabbalah), even wearing a t-shirt or using a cell phone in public could result in serious holy trouble. A mother who chooses to drive in Williamsburg could have her kids expelled from school.

WPIX caught some of the latest controversy which follows incidents where Rabbis have removed public bicycle lanes, vandalized advertising, and even erased images of America's most powerful woman from print media. What's more- women are asked to cross the street if a man approaches in the opposite direction, lest they tempt or scandalize them. In Brooklyn. New York. U.S.A.



If we are incensed about Christian Arabs being thrown out of the Dearborn Arab Festival or abortionists being attacked in Kansas, we should be upset about Satmars trying to impose their will on the diverse borough of Brooklyn. It's only fair. These folks have no desire to speak English, an average of 7 kids apiece and the vast majority collect food stamps or welfare, yet they wish to tell their taxpaying neighbours what to do lest they tempt the pious perverts into fondling them or worse. I'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but if they were a certain other group of immigrants, Republicans would be going insane.

Stop bowing to the whims of sexist cavemen, regardless of the name of their god, and demand they learn the self control they claim gays should have. If they don't like it, they can always move to Jerusalem, where they have a near 100% grip on the community. There, they'll be free to throw rocks at Saturday drivers and ban women from buses and maybe even put their daughters in burqas.

In America (these guys also try this crap in parts of Canada, but that's another article), you're free to practice whatever religion you please, or none at all, as long as you only oppress the members of your chosen cult and leave everyone else alone.

A double standard is one too many.