Burqas on a bus? This viral photo shows anti-Muslim rhetoric run amok

What’s wrong with this picture? Read on.

The image showing the inside of a bus gained international attention and some headlines in major news outlets not because of the trick it plays on the average eye, but rather because of the reactions it triggered.

The photo came across an anti-immigrant Facebook group out of Norway where people thought they were seeing a bus full of women wearing burqas, the traditional Muslim veil that covers women from head to toe, according to reports in several outlets, including The Washington Post.

Turns out they’re just empty bus seats.

The image, which came after Norway proposed a burqa ban earlier in the year, provoked reactions from members of the Facebook group called “Fedrelandet viktigst,” Norwegian for “Fatherland first.”

“It looks really scary, should be banned. You can never know who is under there. Could be terrorists with weapons,” one comment read, according to The Independent, a British news outlet.

BuzzFeed News reported that a former Norwegian politician, Sindre Beyer, took screenshots of the image and the subsequent discussion on the Facebook group. Beyer shared those on his Facebook profile.

The traditional veils have stirred contentious debate in Europe and other parts of the world where some countries have outlawed people from wearing them in public. Burqas naturally attract attention and are seen as the most visible aspect of the Muslim faith.

In Germany where a partial burqa ban passed this year, chancellor Angela Merkel criticized the religious canton known as sharia law for enforcing such tradition. “The full facial veil is inappropriate and should be banned wherever it is legally possible,” she said.

Defenders of the burqas have argued that such bans infringe on freedom of religion among Muslim women.

That bus seats were confused as burqas was the subject of much conversation on the internet where the image was quickly circulated and discussed as evidence of anti-Muslim rhetoric run amok.

So, do you see what’s wrong with this picture?

Tell us what you think: Does the photo and its discussion underscore an irrational fear of burqas?

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet. 

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

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