Burka not a religious garment, says Pauline Hanson

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has taken issue with the ­description of the burka as a ‘religious garment’.

Attorney-General George Brandis. Picture: AAP

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has taken issue with the ­description of the burka as a ­“religious garment”.

In her open letter pushing for a burka ban, Senator Hanson targeted Attorney-General George Brandis for reprimanding her for controversially wearing the garment into the upper house.

Senator Hanson also pointed to Islamic scholars who argue the burka is not a religious garment, saying instead that it is a symbol of “fundamental Islam and extremism”.

“Senator Brandis has a right to his view on my decision to wear a burqa into the Senate ... but he is both arrogant and wrong when he presumes to speak for most Australians,” Senator Hanson said. “I plan on replying to Senator Brandis when the Senate sits next in September.”

Senator Brandis cautioned Senator Hanson about causing ­offence to the “religious sensibilities of other Australians” after she entered the chamber wearing the burka, and he noted there were about half a million Australians of Islamic faith.

“To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to mock its religious garments is an appalling thing to do, and I would ask you to reflect on what you have done,” he said at the time.

The Australian yesterday asked Senator Brandis‘s office why he had referred to the Burka as a religious garment, whether he ­believed it to be a religious or cultural garment, and if he believed this was an “important distinction”.

It is understood Senator Brandis believes the issue of whether the burka is a religious or cultural garment is secondary to his primary concern: that Senator Hanson’s actions had the potential to cause serious offence to a particular group of Australians.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman and Labor’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, also referred to the burka as a religious garment after Senator Hanson appeared in the chamber wearing the covering.