British debate over veils

Description

Straw said he told the newspaper this information to open a debate on the subject, and not because of the upcoming

In 2010, Jack Straw publicly apologised over his 2006 comments, stating "If I had realised the scale of publicity that they [his comments] received in October 2006, I wouldn’t have made them and I am sorry that it has caused problems and I offer that apology."[2]

Background to the debate: the face veil in Islam

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One of the tenets of

Following Straw's comments, support came from fellow Labour members, the then-opposition Conservatives, right-wing national press and others.

Tony Blair, then Labour Prime Minister, described veils as a "mark of separation",^[3] and Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, agreed with this approach, adding that he thought it would be "better for Britain" if fewer Muslim women wore the veil, and that he supports "what Jack Straw has said".^[4]

Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, then Deputy Leader of the Commons, said "it's all very well for Muslim women to say that they feel comfortable wearing the veil but ... the veil does not make other people feel comfortable. In that way it could be said that they are being selfish."^[5] Phil Woolas, another Labour MP, who had a position in charge of race relations policy, said that Muslim women wearing the veil are "frightening and intimidating" and congratulated Straw for starting the debate.^[6]

The Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis of the Conservatives, suggested that Muslims were responsible for white flight, adding that the Parliament may be "inadvertently encouraging a kind of voluntary apartheid".^[7] Bill Deedes, a former Conservative Party politician, added his weight to the debate in an opinion piece in The Daily Telegraph, saying that Islam "is the only faith on Earth that persuades its followers to seek political power and impose a law – sharia – which shapes everyone's style of life", and that Islam "forbids" Muslims from conforming with British society.^[8]

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has had a policy to ban full-facial coverings since 2010, while the British National Party (BNP) favoured banning it only in schools.^[15] In 2014, UKIP clarified their stance, favouring only a ban at schools and places where security is a concern,^[16] while the BNP are now in favour of a total ban.^[17]

Opposition to raising of the issue

Opposition to the debate mainly came from left and far-left politicians, parties and newspapers,^[18] but also from some Conservative politicians.^[19]

Jon Cruddas, a Labour MP and a candidate for the post of Deputy Leader, suggested that ministers were playing "fast and loose" with religious tensions adding, "The solution does not lie in an ever more muscular bidding war among politicians to demonstrate who can be tougher on migrants, asylum-seekers and minorities. Nor is it in using racial or religious symbols to create controversy. That only makes the situation worse. It is not the role of politicians to play fast and loose with symbols of difference, especially when they drive the political centre of gravity to the right as a consequence."^{[citation needed]}

Writing in The Guardian, Madeleine Bunting claimed that Straw's "singling out" of Muslim women actually intensifies the division that Straw says he wants to remove.^[21]

• John Denham MP said that the debate was "flawed" as the government appeared to be "grandstanding" for the sake of the majority rather than actually listening to the Muslim minority.^[24]
• riots in the north of England five years ago". He said that the debate "seems to have turned into something really quite ugly", adding, "we need to have this conversation but there are rules by which we have the conversation which don't involve this kind of targeting and frankly bullying."^[26]
• A number of individuals, including India Knight, George Galloway and Ken Livingstone, compared the plight of Jews in 1930s Britain with that of contemporary British Muslims, especially in light of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street.^[27][28][29]
• Peter Oborne spoke out at length about the debate: "New Labour has given up on the Muslim vote after the Iraq war, so it's now bashing Muslims to get back the white working-class vote and the veil row is a very carefully orchestrated political strategy."^[30]
• ISBN 978-1-84954-750-5
  ), argues that veiling conceals abuse. It is a passionate treaties against what she—as a Muslim, feminist and liberal—considers being submission to a misogynistic symbol of women's inferiority. "The veil," she argues, "in all its permutations, is indefensible and unacceptable."

• Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed, the first Muslim peer in the House of Lords, accused the Government of sustaining "a constant theme of demonising" the Muslim community. Lord Ahmed told BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme that it had become fashionable amongst ministers to "have a go at the Muslims".^[31]
• Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin, the first female Muslim peer in the House of Lords, said that "we have attacked those who would be our greatest allies in meeting the current challenges of terrorism and radicalisation." She warned that the row over veils had caused "havoc" in the Muslim community and created "a feeling of vulnerability and demonisation of Muslim women".^[32]
• John McDonnell, a Labour MP, wrote in his blog that "if anyone doubted that Islamophobia existed in our country they should be in no doubt after reading and listening to the torrent of bigotry and prejudice pouring out of some of our national press and from our main media outlets over the last 48 hours".^{[citation needed}
  ]
• On 21 October 2006 the Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Council of Britain organized a rally called "Unite Against Islamophobia" which was to take place in George Square in Glasgow; the coalition also issued an open letter against Islamophobia.^[33] Around 300 people attended the event.^[34]
• A group calling itself the
  Westminster Central Hall.^[35]
• The playwright
  double standards of the liberal anti-Islam agenda".^[36]
• After Salman Rushdie gave his opinion that the veil "sucks", the former leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, Iqbal Sacranie, said "Islamophobes are currently doing all they can to attack Islam and it doesn't surprise me he is now jumping on the bandwagon."^[4]

Violent attacks

Muslim groups blamed Straw's comments in part for an arson attack on an Islamic centre in the Scottish town of Falkirk and an attack on a woman wearing a niqab.^[37][38][39]

Media spoof

The

Opinion polling

Ipsos MORI conducted a more thorough opinion poll on 11 October 2006.^[42]

This found that 51% of the public agreed (saying they "strongly agree" or "tend to agree") that Straw was right to raise the issue, with 31% saying he was wrong. It also found 61% agreed with the statement: "By wearing a veil Muslim women are segregating themselves". However, 51% of the public thought that Straw's comments would damage race relations, and 77% agreed that "Muslim women should have the right to wear the veil".

In July 2010,

Yougov conducted a poll of 2,205 adults in Britain, it found that 67% supported a complete ban on wearing the Burka across Britain.^[43]

A further Yougov poll, in August 2016, suggested 57% of British people favoured banning the burka in public, with 25% being against such a ban.[44]

In 2018, following Boris Johnson's comments on the Burka, Sky found that 59% agreed that a Burka ban should be put in place, with 26% being against a ban.^[45]

Foreign commentary on the UK debate

Speaking of the British debate,

Council on American-Islamic Relations to encourage people to complain about Gibson's remarks.^[47]

Parliamentary debate

A

Second Reading debate. The bill would make it an offence to wear a face covering in certain public and private venues in the UK.^[48] Hollobone has since submitted the bill for debate again.^[49]

Further cases

The veil in schools

The debate was compounded when

Aishah Azmi was sacked from a Church of England school after refusing to remove her niqab in front of the small children she had been hired to teach. She had not mentioned this condition at her job interview, at which she had not worn a niqab. She took her case to an employment tribunal, which saw, unusually, many British politicians commenting on it before it was heard. They included the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who said he supported the school's actions, and race relations minister Phil Woolas, who said she should be "sacked". Azmi lost her case for unfair dismissal but intends on appealing the decision to a higher court.^{[needs update}

]

On 20 March 2007, new guidance was given to schools in England that they will be able to ban pupils from wearing full-face veils on security, safety or learning grounds. Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said successive ministers had failed to give proper guidance about schools' obligations regarding religious dress and "to now proceed to issue guidance against Muslim communities is simply shocking".^[50]

jilbab, a long gown. The former Mayor of London and former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, opposes having children wearing veils.^[53]

The veil in crime

Veils have been accused of hindering the fight against crime:

• Sharon Beshenivsky, is believed to have dressed in a niqab in order to flee Britain, though the Home Office said the claim was unlikely to be true as women can be asked to lift veils in identity checks.^[54]
• A man wanted on terrorism charges is believed to have dressed in a burqa, which covers the body and face entirely, in order to escape the police.^[55]
• The male terrorists responsible for the 21 July 2005 London bombings fled disguised in burqas.^[56]
• White male criminals robbed the London department store Selfridges in burqas in June 2013.^[57]

The veil and identification at national borders

Conservative politician

Douglas Hogg asked minister Liam Byrne what instructions had been given to officers at borders in dealing with people wearing veils or other garments obscuring their identity. Byrne stated that in accordance with the Immigration Act 1971 all persons arriving in the United Kingdom must satisfy an immigration officer as to their nationality and identity. Where there are sensitive or cultural reasons why it is not possible for a person to remove a veil or other garment at the immigration control, they will be taken to a private area where a female officer will ask them to lift their veil so that their identity can be verified.^[58] There are powers to refuse entry to persons who cannot be satisfactorily identified.^[59]

The veil in court

In November 2006, The Times reported that a judge adjourned a court case and took advice after lawyer Shabnam Mughal twice declined to remove her niqab. Judge George Glossop requested that she do so as he was struggling to hear her during the hearing.^[60]

In August 2013, a judge ordered an East London Muslim woman to remove her veil during her trial. However, in September, a compromise was reached that she would only have to do so while giving evidence. The judge, Peter Murphy, said "the niqab has become the elephant in the courtroom".^[61]

See also

• Islamic dress in Europe
• Burka by country
• Criticism of Islam
• Criticism of multiculturalism

References