Muslim woman speaks out after courtroom ban

I must agree with Andy on some degree. Many religions expect everyone else to be tolerable of their religion but rarely return the courtesy. To each his/her own, is that such a hard concept? People are constantly surrounded by advertising to 'convert' or 'embrace' a certain faith yet how many times do you see or receive a pamphlet saying 'renounce your religious ways and become atheist'?

I only wish Islam was as tolerant towards other religions as New Zealand is as tolerant to Islam. Talk is easy and it is cheap, actions however speak volumes, and the actions of the global Islamic community say something quite different to what these New Zealand women are saying. Shirley, those searching for religous truth may find what they determine to be truth, but that is subjective and only applies to that individual. What may be truth to you could be interpreted as science fiction to others, but at least you are free to practise what you believe in New Zealand which is more than can be said for some Islamic countries. I wish you well.

The best outcome for this would be confirmation that the Judge was in error and our rights to dress as we please (except, quite rightly, that faces must be shown for security reasons) is a basic right in good old God's Own Country.

As well as that, I encourage anyone to investigate Islam and find out for themselves whether it is totally incompatible with the supposedly Western ideals that Mike mentioned. But be warned: much of what you read is a cultural interpretation rather than coming from the religion. Just as NZ, a supposedly Christian country, has laws which contravene the Bible (such as legalised brothels and same-sex marriages), so many Middle Eastern countries have un-Islamic laws. Islam gave women rights 1500 years ago that Western women only got in the past 150 years, such as the right to own property ourselves and not have it automatically ceded to our husband upon marriage.

Good luck to all who search for the truth.

for some reason its very hard to believe that baning yasmin from court room was a mistake from the judge's behalf.you can hardly find anyone who after all the media coverage and 'controversy' surrounding hijab, doesnt knw that alot of muslim women wear hijab..and as for yasmin accepting the judge's apology, its not really about forgiveness, its about standing up for your rights and not letting anyone specially a person who is supposedly trained to judge members of public based on law, walk all over us.bringing the matter into publics view i think would help reinforce what the law and ethics grants us in terms of our right to freedom of thought, belief, spiritual practices.& i dont really see what the big fus is around the whole issue of hijab, its nt harming any1 if anything its actually introducing some respect towards women in such demoralising societys.its easier to interact proffisionally with a woman who is dresd modestly then a woman with a mini skirt and low neck top on.i mean how you dress reflects your character & hw u wnt to portrayed and seen by others..wearing a head scarf is all about modesty and its about how much you are willing to cover up given the type of men u r dealing wth and the occasion.if you really think about it,wht islam advices women is not that different to what a father would advice his daughter irregardless of his religion, its all about staying protected not becoming an object of entertainment for men who got nothing beter to do then sit around perve on random women and yell nasty disrespectful comments.and if a woman refuses to be like that, all of a sudden you all point the finger at her calling her ignorant.& as for yasmin i think she has a strong charactr, it takes courage to be 'strange' as the society here wod put it and dress differently.i have seen how vicious people could get when it comes to seeing something they are not acustomed to..and im proud of her for taking the judge thing seriousl & actualy doing something about it

Well said jameela!
As for you Andy- no one is stoping you from expressing your point of views and yes u talk about NZ being Free- so leave us alone to practice our own faith.why are you all interfering with our headscarf? we are more than happy and prou of it.
We( muslim women) are not gonna allow ourselves to be used as sex objects in the games of many sexiest men. I have lots of western women who by the way are beautiful and accepting of our difference. You Andy with all due respect, need to learn to not judge islam on the basis of what you have seen some muslims may do or say. As for islam experience first hand? do share- coz maybe we could come to some understanding of our different ways of thinking. As for islam comin with a warning, funny aint it that thousands revert to islam and you reckon it needing a warning sign. LOL -- if only you could quit smoking, u'd know islam is for all nations, gender and race. But you'd have to be open minded to actually find the beauty of islam, because u might have eyes but you are blind.

Mike and Co, the controversy over the wearing of the veil (hijab) has always been a subject of great debate predominantly in non Muslim Societies, where it is condemned as being a symbol of oppression of Muslim women. I cannot understand why everyone is being so belligerent over the issue of Muslim women wanting to freely express herself by adhering to the practices of her own faith. We demand nothing more than to possess our right to wear the veil which serves the purpose of protecting a Muslim woman and preservation of her dignity and modesty giving her respect. Western ideals encourage women to exhibit their beauty by promoting nudity displaying women as sex objects, so is this the type of freedoms you speak on and want to impose on Muslim women who prefer to adopt a more conservative approach in covering. The NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990 affirms the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief including the right to hold and embrace views without interference, protects the right to express religion and belief in worship, observance, teaching and practice, affirms the right of minorities to be free from discrimination which unfortunately Yasmeen Ali was not given the freedom to express the day Judge Geoff Rea barred her from entering the courtroom simply for observing the veil.
Ms Ali and myself are New Zealand citizens who have “embraced Islam” it has really opened our eyes at how ignorant and intolerant some fellow New Zealanders are towards Islam and especially the issue of “Hijab” what attempts have you's made lately to investigate what the hijab truly means to a Muslim woman from a Muslim woman’s perspective?. Let this be your next class assignment for the week. Peace!

Sorry Bint Omar but this is (still) a free country and I can (still) quote what I want until sharia is introduced in NZ.
As for not understanding the context dear Imam, it is not a very difficult ‘book’ to understand, at least some of the hadiths are more interesting. It is funny that whenever somebody takes the time to ‘understand’ Islam and finds out what it really stands for they accuse you of not having the knowledge to comment on it.
As for ‘beautiful way of life’ I have seen and experienced it first hand and I like to pass if you don’t mind. I already have one useless and deadly compulsion (smoking) and I don’t need another.
Good luck with converting the ignorant. I think religion (and Islam in particular) should come with a health warning...”Conversion to Islam might be hazardous to your mental (and physical) health.”

wow-- New Zealanders are usually very bright and friendly and loving people. however it appears to me that sme ppl in this discussion board aint human. 1stly Goodd on you Yasmine- well done, its about time someone stood up for single minded judges.

yes islam encourages forgiveness and this should teach ppl a lesson that muslim woman are free and have there own God given minds.

Andy,please dont qoute the Qur'an if you dnt understand its context, because from where i stand, its very obvious that u have no knowledge of the history of this beautiful and fast growing way of life ( Islam).

Out of the frying-pan into the Islamic hell fires of death, sucks to be you Yasmeen.

Congratulations Yasmeen I am glad you found something that suits you! However, quoting the Bill of Rights is a bit rich from a Muslim as Muslims believe that Sharia, being the system of divine law based on the Koran, has prevalence over any other law.
Hope you don’t change your mind. You know what they think about apostates in Islam.....
A female apostate must be either executed, according to Shi'a scholars and Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam. At the same time, all schools of Islamic jurisprudence agree that any Muslim can kill an apostate without punishment.