I was reminded of this story this week when the tale of Ms Carnita Matthews and her refusal to remove her burqa re-emerged. The burqa incident in NSW has received a lot of media attention and, sadly, far too much from those fanning flames of anti-muslim agendas.

For those unfamiliar with the case, a quick recap:

 

It all started last June when a police officer pulled Ms Matthews over for a random breath test. When he booked her for not displaying her P plates properly she got angry and claimed "all cops are racist". The next day she entered the police station and accused the officer of not only racism but of trying to tear the burqa off her face.

 

Unbeknownst to her the entire incident was caught on police car's on-board camera and he was cleared. And the little girl who cried wolf/racist was charged with making a deliberately false statement, found guilty and sentenced to six months jail. 

 

The case took a bizarre turn this week when an appeals judge found that as police could not prove that it was her that actually made the statement - because she again refused to remove her burqa when she made the false statement - he couldn't be reasonably sure that it was actually her. So she escaped punishment.

 

It's no surprise this caused some uproar. Nor is it a surprise that those making the most noise are the same old knee-jerk reactionaries who cry racism (or reverse racism), double standards and making generalisations about Muslims.

 

The simple matter of it all however is that Ms Matthews is an individual. Her actions are no more representative of her culture in the same way the drunken antics of a caucasian male on a Friday night don't reflect the average christian/white person. 

 

Yes, this case does grate emotionally because it feels as if she is playing the system; as if she's using her religion as a way to avoid due process. Personally I have a strong negative emotional response towards her as it appears she's not taking personal responsibility for her own actions and using trickery in a smug way to do so.

 

However, the talkback shows, xenophobes and extremist christians who are using this to criticise Islam and those who practice it, are acting just as poorly if not worse. We're a multi-cultural country and they need to start accepting that people are entitled to different beliefs and that religious beliefs are to be respected even if you don't agree with them.

 

Fear mongering on the other hand should never be tolerated.

 

Yes there's a lot in this case that leaves a lot to be desired. 

 

I hope police are now trained to call a female officer if someone refuses to show their face. Or possibly finger print them if they make accusations to ensure it is actually them. I hope the Muslim community doesn't act like Ms Matthews' supporters outside the court and give the haters an excuse. Acting aggressively was unnecessary and only served to underscore a negative stereotype of an angry sub-section of the community who have no interest in being part of the larger society. This is patently unrepresentative but doesn't help anyone.

 

Interestingly in the case of the twins murder trial justice was still served when the District Attorney charged them both with perjury (lying under oath) and they were sentenced to 25 years jail, so they still paid the price.

 

Sadly in the case of Ms Matthews, with the fear mongerers and xenophobes criticising an entire religion for her actions, I fear it's her culture that is paying a price. 

 

• < Prev
• Next >