The CharmingBurka breaks no laws of the Koran, only taste

A great man (or was it Tim Gunn) once said that fashion had to be culturally relevant. To that end we bring you the CharmingBurka. The kit sends a "self-defined" picture of the woman beneath to every Bluetooth mobile phone in the vicinity. According to the project's mastermind -- Markus Kison -- no laws of the Koran are broken. Video? You'd better believe it, after the break.

Gallery: The CharmingBurka breaks no laws of the Koran, only taste

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[AnyKey @ Feb 7th 2008 6:44AM]

all I can say is...
wow.

[ExcavatE @ Feb 7th 2008 7:22AM]

Agreed.

[Mr. S. @ Feb 7th 2008 1:14PM]

I use to hate those things in Marathon... All floating around, and scaring the crap out of me.

[Kei @ Feb 7th 2008 6:06PM]

this is just stupid. As a Muslim I can just say that this doesn't even make sense. I know this is meant to be a joke, but if the women are covering themselves in the first place they wouldn't be bluetoothing their pics...

PLUS that is AFGHANI style, not an Arabic, Middle Eastern, or general Islamic style.

yes yes women in my family don't cover up and wear whatever they want (before someone chimes in and assumes they know what goes on :P)

[Hawazen @ Feb 7th 2008 7:21PM]

@john

Most moslim woment don't wear burkas, yet they wear cloth that don't show all their skin to everyone in the street as your sister does to attract more men.

wearing proper cloth is part of our culture and what our Kuran orders,love it or hate it thats not going to change anything.

I wouldn't criticize the bible. I know am limiting my "Free of speech", but its called manners.

[Jhongerkong @ Feb 8th 2008 12:18AM]

John, you are an idiot.

[jeeesus @ Feb 8th 2008 4:33PM]

in my position, i get a lot off calls about weather Muslims should wear this clothing.
and i say: fuck off, i am not muslim.

i forget what my point is.

this is silly (the comment and the gadget thingmajig)
do people still say that? i love that word.

anyway, christianity FTW!

[Vanillacide @ Feb 7th 2008 6:49AM]

This will be useful in the UK once our (current) politically-correct socialist fascist govenment declares that all British women have to wear burka so as not to "offend the muslim minority".

[crypt @ Feb 7th 2008 7:04AM]

Socialist Facist hey? Just like Mcbane vs the CommieNazi's?

[fgdfdfg @ Feb 7th 2008 7:15AM]

Wow, Nazis on Engadget...

[Vanillacide @ Feb 7th 2008 8:32AM]

Amazingly proof that I am on the right track is delivered today by the head of the Anglican church, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, who today says that "Sharia law is inevitable and unavoidable in the UK"

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7232661.stm

It took us a few hundred years to get rid of medieval laws in the UK, but now the country is importing someone elses's medieval law system because the British system is "offensive" to a tiny section of the population.

I wonder if I can invent my own law system, and claim it is my religious duty to follow it. First law: pay no tax!

[Wwhat @ Feb 7th 2008 8:33AM]

No he was merely talking about them, don't panic

[Liam @ Feb 7th 2008 8:41AM]

@Vanillacide

Well, adopting some aspects of Sharia law may be better than having honour killings. Of course, 'normal' courts would still deal with criminal cases, and non-muslims wouldn't have to submit to the rulings of such courts. It makes sense, as long as it doesn't get in the way of our own law.

The Archbishop is a very, very smart man, he rarely says something I disagree with. I have nothing but respect for him.

[Vagn Henning @ Feb 7th 2008 9:18AM]

Don't know if you guys remeber what happened in Denmark a couple years back. Something to do with depicting Mohammad, pbuh. One would think that the ban on depicting the Big M, pbuh, would not apply to non-muslims, since to us he's just another guy who went out into the desert an lost his wits, but think again! Sharia only applies to Muslims until that day when it applies to Non-muslims as well. Anyways, slightly less off topic, I think there is a general ban on depicting all living things. That's the reason for all those patterns and the absence of naturalist motives in Islamic art...

[Stubbs @ Feb 7th 2008 9:57AM]

I'm offended by that

[Cellenin @ Feb 7th 2008 9:51AM]

The problem is we live in a world that is afraid to "offend the muslim minority", They have to realize as long as they step foot in the evolved westernized world they MUST! Obey our laws and melt into our culture and ways...NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

[Richy @ Feb 7th 2008 11:58AM]

@Vagn Henning:

Yup, the muslim states got very angry about that. They even placed import sanctions to harm Denmark's trade.

However, for a country whose primary exports are bacon and beer, I'm guessing the effects weren't really noticed!

[Rex @ Feb 14th 2008 9:01AM]

@ the guy who said
"...who went out into the desert an lost his wits"
and then you wonder why we go crazy! HELLO! the guy is like a father figure to us, sure you don't have to like him, but atleast don't insult!
and the denmark thing...no no country could by law ban them, since they part of WTO, so even saudi arabia didn't, actuall people them selves stopped buying danish products...it did effect, coz denmark does have a major dairy sector...of course every body forget the boycott after a month, so no harm done

[nxtiak @ Feb 7th 2008 6:50AM]

Damn, that's fashionable, when do we get some girls in the USA to wear these on the beach?

[steve @ Feb 7th 2008 6:54AM]

American girls probably should wear them because they are obese!

[Vanillacide @ Feb 7th 2008 6:56AM]

When I worked in Arabia we used to go to the beach, the local men would be in speedos and the women would be in burka ... even in the sea, like big black jelly fish. The "No burning sheep on the beach" signs used to amuse us too.

[tcc3 @ Feb 7th 2008 8:42AM]

I see what you did there. Nothing like a cheap shot with a stereotype about a large group of people about whom it is fashionable to hate.

Can you say Baaaa too sheep?

[Vanillacide @ Feb 7th 2008 11:32AM]

@tcc3

That wasn't a cheap shot, it was sharing a personal experience. The signs at the beach really did say that.

[E71 @ Feb 7th 2008 9:32AM]

@steve:

As oppose to British girls who are so fugly?

Nice teeth BTW.

[Student Driver @ Feb 7th 2008 11:13AM]

@E71

Hey! At least the yellow helps obscure the bizarre directions the teeth are pointing in. I guess national health care doesn't cover dental work (unless you're Richard Hammond).

I always thought that if you're going to live somewhere, you should make an effort to follow their rules and culture. At a minimum, you shouldn't be surprised by their existing culture, anyway.

[NG @ Feb 7th 2008 6:54AM]

NOT funny..
why would you laugh at other people religion clothing?

[nxtiak @ Feb 7th 2008 6:56AM]

Because it's ridiculous.

[fgdfdfg @ Feb 7th 2008 7:08AM]

Because laughing is nice (independently of which naive religion specifically you laugh about, be it islam or christianity)?

[Adam @ Feb 7th 2008 7:02AM]

Ridiculous? Like Santa Clause? The "virgin" marry?

Hummmmm....delusional much?

How can you expect others to respect you when you don't respect them? Don't answer that. I'm not interested in your "insight". RHETORICAL QUESTION, Farley!

[Hlynur @ Feb 7th 2008 7:25AM]

@NG

Because it's freaking histerical! If something is stupid and silly you should have a good laugh at it even if it's part of someone's religion.

Obviously, the oppressive and misogynistic mentality of Islam is nothing to laugh about but this "invention" is ridiculus and therefore deserves ridicule.

[A-Deca @ Feb 7th 2008 8:02AM]

@Adam

1. Santa Clause has nothing to do with religion (unless your religion is consumism)

2. It's Virgin Mary, not marry (although she was in fact married!) :-)

In any case, it is perfectly legit to laugh about this, and it has nothing to do with lacking respect. As vanillacide said, if something cannot stand up to laughter then it is not robust nor "democratic".

Here you can see some of difference between the western "Christian" world and the _fundamentalist_ Islamic world: we can make fun as much as we want of Christianity without consequences. We can criticize it, reject it, make up jokes about Jesus and draw irreverent images, and people accept it as par ot freedom of speech and expression. Try making fun of Islam in an Islamic country, see what happens.

Of course, if you made fun of Christianity a few hundred years ago, you got burned at the stake... but we've grown up since then.

[superfresh @ Feb 7th 2008 8:24AM]

Because it's all part of our ridiculous desire to please gods that don't exist.

[NG @ Feb 7th 2008 8:27AM]

@Hlynur
It's somebody else's thing, you gotta respect it.
i dont like it more than you do, at least i don't talk about it.

[Bloobie @ Feb 7th 2008 8:37AM]

A-Deca: Accepted as par with freedom of speech and expression? You may want to tell that to the Christians who protested and pretty much killed "The Last Temptation of Christ", the Catholics who boycotted and flooded forums about "The Golden Compass", and the in-bred, funeral-protesting a-holes over at the Westboro Baptist Church.

[Wwhat @ Feb 7th 2008 8:38AM]

It isn't even in the koran, the burka, it's just a way for fat stupid macho arabs to suppress women.
But then, all religion seems to be into that, even buddhism.

[Dave @ Feb 7th 2008 9:01AM]

So like can she drive wearing linus's blanket over her head?


I'm sorry but I couldn't have a chick walkin around in the office lookin like a welfare 8 year old on halloween.

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Feb 7th 2008 11:30AM]

@A-Deca

People haven't grown up if they chop your head off...

[Dorf @ Feb 7th 2008 4:57PM]

Because laughing is better then what the other side does, which is chop off heads.

[NG @ Feb 7th 2008 5:00PM]

@ dorf
thats a good point brother..lol

[zack_s_moore @ Feb 8th 2008 10:48AM]

b/c it's sexist.

[dame ethyl @ Feb 8th 2008 3:31PM]

i don't laugh, i spit on it, it infuriates me.

[Mark @ Feb 7th 2008 6:54AM]

haha. great!

[Vanillacide @ Feb 7th 2008 7:02AM]

Why wouldn't I laugh at anything to do with religions, or the people who follow them?

If a religion can't stand up to laugher or ridicule then it's hardly the robust truth is it?

[Shane @ Feb 7th 2008 8:10AM]

One of the best comments in this thread. I agree wholeheartedly!

[Liam @ Feb 7th 2008 8:52AM]

Well, I think a belief has to be able to stand up for itself, yeah. All major six world religions, and Atheism can certainly stand up for themselves. If someone's really comfortable in their beliefs, they should be able to take (polite) criticism. Then they're credible.

Religions that don't fall into this category; Scientology.

[Shane @ Feb 7th 2008 7:09AM]

Religion sucks. The Truth FTW!

(waits for the obligatory "A Few Good Men" quote--for this post to get ranked down and that post to get ranked up)

[jimmy @ Feb 7th 2008 9:35AM]

do you think bible thumpers read gadget blogs?

[Shane @ Feb 7th 2008 9:40AM]

Some, yes, but they thump their bibles digitally. :-)

[Chip @ Feb 7th 2008 11:39AM]

The difference being that Christians won't rise up and kill people that differ with them and call it a peaceful religion.

[Wwhat @ Feb 7th 2008 11:47AM]

uhm, peaceful religion? ever read history? ever seen images of americans spreading peace in iraq? and with the rest of the christians in afghanistan?
Even heard what happened in ireland?
Yeah christianity is sooo peaceful..
Let's not get silly.