I would not want to live in France as a Muslim immigrant under Sarkozy regime however, why does Islam designate women as the gatekeepers of virtue? Are men weak perverts ready to erupt at a sight of woman's hair? Wouldn't women be turned on by men's?

Freedom to choose? Does a girl born into culture, religion that requires her to cover at age 9 have freedom to choose?

Here is a choice: Freedom from religion. It has been rising again after the fall of communism and chipping away women's rights bit buy bit. If burqa is so virtues, let the men wear it.

I am totally baffled by so-called feminists who assert that women have a "right to choose" to wear a burqa. There were post-Civil War slaves who "loved" their former masters, too, but that didn't make slavery right.

Somewhere, there's a midpoint between a Britney Spears wardrobe and a burqa. Okay, don't wear high heels--wear flats. Wear loose fitting slacks. Wear long sleeves. Wear a scarf and sunglasses (just not in a bank, because at least in the US, you're in trouble if you do that). There are LOTS of ways to be modest and non-sexual without wearing a bag with eye-holes.

Teachers in burqas? Are you serious? If my child had a woman-in-a-bag for a teacher, I'd pull her -- OR him -- out of that class immediately. What kind of message does that send to children? We are clear about the damage done to children who see their father beat their mother. What about seeing their mother wear a bag all day? What lesson does that send?

Choice or no choice, I'm with Sarkozy on this one.

Sarkozy and half of these letter writers simply betray their prejudice and their arrogance. They say more about themselves than they realize.

Sarkozy seems to think he's the Sun King - "L'etat, c'est moi!" - and can say for French people everywhere that "the burqa is not welcome here". Well, M. Sarkozy, the burqa is welcome, for some people, and not welcome, for some other people. Please sit down, take a breath, and remember that you're only a public servant.

These letter writers show only a little less arrogance. As Tracy says, they presume to tell women what is and isn't comfortable. This is an odd activity. If they want to get good at it, they might practice on nuns, wearers of stilettos and bikinis, and so on. But why won't they?

They won't because their snits about burqas are only hypocritical masks for anti-Muslim prejudice. It would be a lot more honorable if they'd be up front.

Or they presume to tell us that the burqa is a sign of oppression. It is, for some women, and for most women - being women - it's a sign of which clothes they choose to wear.

There is oppression in most marriages - Muslim or atheist or whatever - by husband or by wife. And it's not the job of the state to prevent it.

One thing almost all of the participants can agree on - the Muslim patriarch at home, the French "feminist", the legislators who cheered, and our own Sun King Sarkozy: we have a perfect right to tell women what they can wear in public. [There is a distinctive garb worn by many Muslim men, but they are not Sarkozy's concern.]

What we have here is simply the latest chapter in a very long book: the story of the oppression of women, often of color, often poor, by men [sometimes with the help of "feminist" women], typically white, typically well off, and always arrogant.

It's up to us to write the last chapter of that book, first by ceasing our own oppressive activity, then by doing what we can to free others. It will be easier to do these things if we stop telling other people what clothes to wear - if we each drop our pretensions to be some kind of Sun King.

I strongly believe that it would be very wrong for France (or any other government) to ban, discourage or restrict any form of ethnic or religious clothing (or practice), if they do it with the following motivation:

1. out of intolerance or hate for Islam, or the religions of any minority groups, or

2. to force minorities to adopt the majority culture, thereby assimilating them.

If my religion requires the wearing of the burka, my religious community must be free to encourage & promote it without undue interference from government, as long as we respect just laws & human rights. The secular nature of a country must never, never be used an an excuse for the denial of anyone's religious & cultural rights.

However, we cannot deny that women are still oppressed, both by their families & communities. Sometimes, this oppression is even justified in the name of religion, culture and tradition. An example would be the old Hindu/Indian practice of suttee, where a widow would be burnt to death on the funeral pyre of her husband. If France were to face a suttee problem today & ban it, I'm sure all of us would praise France, because we all (hopefully) realize that killing people violates their human rights.

Granted, suttee is a very extreme & old example, but there are many other examples of the oppression of women still existing today, such as forced marriages, "honour killings", female genital mutilation, "domestic" violence, exclusion from national & public life, subservience at home, unequal treatment, etc. We face similar injustices in Malaysia too.

So, In my opinion, the French burka issue must be decided based on 2 questions:

1. What is the motive & objective of the French government? Do they have a hidden agenda behind this condemnation of the burka?

2. What do Muslim women in France really want? Does the burka in any way oppress them & are they in any way being coerced into wearing it?

In order to find the answers, there needs to be respectful, open & honest dialogue, within communities & between them, with no prejudice & stigma attached to minority cultures & religions. At the same time, religious communities should take the initiative to engage with governments to discuss issues vital to national harmony. Most importantly, the views & wishes of Muslim women (who are directly affected by this ruling) must be heard & respected.

The desired end result must be the freedom to rightfully practice ones religion & culture, and the upholding of human rights for all. Each of us has the right to choose what we believe in, wear & do; therefore, if I want, of my own free will, to wear a burka, no government should ever unreasonably stop me.