Boris Johnson, the wily faux-buffoon of British politics, has done it again, causing the twittering classes to reach for their blood pressure medicine. This time he has compared the appearance of women who wear burqas to that of letterboxes, thus committing the sin of Islamophobia. At least, that is what the traders in outrage claim. But if you take time to read the offending article, you will find that Johnson drew the analogy in the course of criticizing Denmark's ban on wearing the burqa in public places. He was defending the right of Muslim women in Western Europe to wear the veil, and denying the right of governments to ban it.
The anger that has greeted his article takes us to the heart of several of the problems that now afflict liberal democracies. At the time of writing, Johnson has resisted the calls to apologize— rightly, in my opinion, if only to show contempt for confected outrage and fake repentance—though he now faces investigation by his own party.
Read Full Article »