Will opponents of the right of Muslim women to wear the veil consider this?

Interesting!

I'm also one who's not opposed to the veil, except perhaps in certain security situations e.g. airports.

I think it's because many of us live in secular societies and there's a general unspoken covenant to not flaunt religion, so the wearing of veils (and huge crosses, etc) makes us feel a little uncomfortable. Hey, some people even get wound up by goths and punks just for looking different. The veil is probably especially awkward as so much of our interaction is based on seeing faces and expressions, so it's a bit disconcerting to have that blocked.

But hey, that's personal choice.

Avatars are a bit different as that's not so much about modesty as internet anonymity, as there's a genuine concern about identity theft and abuse of information, though to be honest it's probably not a huge problem. Or in some cases we just can't be bothered snapping ourselves and going through the rigmarole of transferring, resizing, uploading etc...

Edit:

Aggy - you've shaved!

i dont think its wrong ,its just like saying Jews wearing those hats , or nuns wearing those black and white outfits . if its what they believe in , then i think no body should take that away from them ,or criticise them for it . imagine as a non muslim , your married ,have a beautiful wife and kids . and d when your wife dresses up and goes out she looks stunning , and if another guy looks or passes comment on her then you would feel a bit annoyed or upset . and maybe if your wife is fed up with you she might stray , now imagine your wife covers her head and body , and only you get to see whats behind the scarf or under the veil , wouldn't you feel proud that she would do that for you . and that would also prove she has no interest in showing herself off to other men , . that is why a lot of the women do it . and although a lot of people might not agree with it , you have to admit its kinda nice . if a woman is bald she is always going to look basically the same . but if a woman has hair then she can colour and style it which changes the way she looks . so if someone sees a woman walking down the road all cove rd up , no one is really going to make much of a move on her, which means its left to her husband to see .

I don't oppose the veil as an option, I oppose women being forced to wear the veil. And I just don't care enough to put up a real picture of myself. A cartoon is fine.

I have absolutely no opposition to Muslim women wearing the niqab, hijab, abaya or burka if this is what they so desire. Women the world over choose what to wear each and every day. Muslim women should also be afforded this choice.

It is when the wearing of these items becomes mandatory that I have an issue with it. Case in point: Several years ago, in Saudi Arabia, fifteen schoolgirls died while trying to escape a fire. The mutaween beat them back into the burning building because the girls weren't properly covered. In Saudi Arabia, it is preferable to allow women to burn to death than to allow them to be seen without the abaya. You can read about it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1874471.stm

Why don't I use my real picture? I choose not to.

No, I don't think so.

The very reason I have this avatar and the name is that I don't want people to pay any attention to what I look like. The only thing that should matter in an argument is what is actually said, not what the other person looks like.

I am here to make arguments and I what I look like has nothing to do with that. You're equivocating between cyberworld and the real world, which doesn't work very well.

No, it's not hypocritical, cause in here, I'm sitting at home (or work). Totally different situation if I tried to put a cartoon picture across my face and walk into a bank or a store. On this particular issue though, if they want to wear it... fine. But they should not be allowed to wear it anywhere that I can not walk into with a ski-mask on... This is for the protection of society in general. Just like with a drivers license. My face has to be visible in it. So should theirs.

And this is my pic ^_^ Quit vomiting, it's not that bad =P~~~

Its not hypocritical at all. I would personally find it fun to set up my avatar instead of just uploading a picture, or maybe they couldnt find a picture of themselves. They are not 'hiding' themselves, its just preference. Like I prefer to wear the veil.

"Download a picture?" If I knew how I would. We have hundreds of Muslim women in this town. Absolutely none of them wear a veil. But then, we don't have extremist xians either.

Not even close to being somewhat like the same thing. "Avatars" are personas that we assume for various interactions that we have on the net. In RL, I do not cover my face.

Attractive women get hit on so much that they don’t have time to get to know every single man who wants to talk to her. Within 30-90 seconds, she’s going to decide if you’re a “maybe” or a “no.” A lot of that comes from how you dress. Read here http://attractanywoman.emuy.info/?PZ3g

It’s not just being fashionable. It’s about projecting who you are. Mixed messages are confusing and make women think you’re trying to hide something or be someone you’re not. Lawyers don’t wear ripped jeans. Musicians don’t dress like accountants. Fun, confident men don’t dress to blend in. And so on.