Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ Boris

August 15, 2018 • 10:15 am

This week’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “apt”, is about the fracas caused by Boris Johnson when, in a Torygraph editorial (now paywalled), he criticized the Danish niqab ban but also criticized the niqab itself, saying that its wearers look like a “letterbox”. So hated is Johnson that, although the letterbox comparison was offensive and inept, people were unable to even assess his substantive argument, which came down in favor of allowing Muslims to wear what they want while criticizing the veiling practiced by many Muslim women.  Here Jesus and a burqa-clad Mo have a conversation about it laden with puns. 

 

Don’t forget that because I republish the Jesus and Mo strips every week, this entire website is banned in Pakistan, and the American firm WordPress acts as an agent for the Pakistani government by implementing that ban.

27 thoughts on “Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ Boris”

  2. Alright now THAT’S funny. Jesus n Mo is often funny in sardonic ways, but this one gave me the giggles.

    1. It was funny to the letter, I’ll give it that.

      Which reminds me of comedian Rowan Atkinson’s response:

      “Atkinson wrote to The Times, saying: “As a lifelong beneficiary of the freedom to make jokes about religion, I do think that Boris Johnson’s joke about wearers of the burka resembling letterboxes is a pretty good one.

      “All jokes about religion cause offence, so it’s pointless apologising for them.

      “You should really only apologise for a bad joke. On that basis, no apology is required.””

      https://news.sky.com/story/rowan-atkinson-among-those-leaping-to-boris-johnsons-defence-over-burka-comments-11468114

      1. Have you seen the “Not the Nine o’clock News ” sketch about the BBC Series “Songs of Praise ” ?
        “And My God, Didn’t The Hat Shop Do Well This Week ” is my fav line .

  3. Just an ordinary letterbox then, not ‘Satan’s Letterbox’ as I have only heard the slot described.

  4. Not only do the eye slots appear to function as receptacles for letters and small packages, they also are capable of delivering curious stares.

    1. I’ve actually had an eye gesturing conversation with a full burqa wearer…
      her eyes said, what the hell, i’m confused!
      I had to soften my eyes and pose a facial expression of, please remain calm everything is ok and we’re good to go.
      It was over a misunderstanding and an over reaction (not hers or mine )
      It could have been that she understood english perfectly well but it never got to that… just eyes, i only hope (i was in a way, apologising) she got the message.

      1. There’s confusion here between a niqab and a burka. The garments and terms are not interchangeable. I have a burka and the eyes are completely covered, so no way to tell what the eyes are doing. A niqab, yes, but not a burka. The burka has a net-like grill over the eyes. Here’s a picture illustrating various kinds of Islamic female covering https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/651554/Burka-Niqab-Face-Veil-Muslim-Islamic-Hijab-Chador-Khimar-Women-Dress-Headscarf-Ban. The distinction is made clear in this illustration.

        2. More photos: this an amalgamation of burka and niqab https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/standard/Angst-vor-der-BurkaInitiative/story/15462288
          Another variation. Dig the eyeglasses.
          https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2014/10/20/parigi-turista-con-velo-allopera-i-coristi-o-se-ne-va-lei-o-noi-e-la-donna-e-cacciata/1162642/.

          Then I found this — the “Omani burka,” which is not at all like the Afghani burka, or any other covering I’ve seen, looks like something one could buy in a S&M shop. https://www.iran-omantour.com/UAE-Oman/slides/Omani%20burqa.html, It resembles a fancified medieval branks or “scold’s bridle,” the hoary contraption used to punish women who were “scolds” http://www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-torture-devices/branks-torture-device/an-iron-scolds-bridle-mask-used-to-publicaly-humiliate-woman-scolds-bridle-gossip-bridle/.
          But the Omani burka seems to have derived from from bedouins devising being female protection from sandstorms, not twisted religious modesty.

  5. I agree that the observations are amusing and apt. However, I have to ask whether it was really sensible for someone who still thinks he might one day be prime minister (though very unlikely) to say these words. We know that Boris’s brain and mouth usually work without communicating with each other, but I’m not sure that’s really a feature that we should applaud in a possible future leader (does Trump come to mind?).

    1. I seem to recall Boris receiving a ringing endorsement to be the next PM from our cloddish president while he was standing on the dais with Theresa May.

      Class act, that Donald.

  6. Well if Catholic nuns can be penguins then we can also have Islamic letterboxes…and christian clergy dog collars.

    rz

  7. Hmm, Boris was being polite, I call them Black Sacks.

    I hasten to add, many (most?) Muslims don’t wear this ridiculous garb. Shoulda seen my Pakistani tenant’s daughters on a Friday night, dressed for a night out. Very elegant.

    cr

    1. Oh, and by the way, in case it’s not obvious, I don’t find Boris’s comparison offensive or inept. (And I’m not a Boris fan). If you wear stupid clothes or behave in a stupid fashion (like the guard at Arlington the other day) you’re just begging to have your absurdity pointed out. IMO.

      cr

  8. Maybe “Going Postal” should be replaced by “Going Jihadi” since postal workers got a bad rap after a few high profile mental breakdowns among their ranks. Statistically, postal workers are no more likely to “go postal” than any other low skilled employment category.

  9. Everyone whatever you do don’t say they look like Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still because that would be offensive.

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