Veil-Controversy in England
Published by Haseeb October 16th, 2006 in Current News
Earlier this week, A senior British Cabinet minister has sparked fury by saying that Muslim women who wore full veils made community relations more difficult. In response, many Muslim organizations and leaders were offended by the statements and expressed discomfort with them.
Were these Muslims overly sensitivie to the ministers remarks? Maybe, maybe not.
And this past weekend, A Muslim teaching assistant was suspended for refusing to remove her veil in class. (She is allowed to wear the veil in public corridors, just not when in class) Now while I wholeheartedly believe this suspension is unwarranted, it begs the question: How she got such a job? (at a private Catholic school); didn’t her employer know about her preference to wear niqab before she was hired?
Well the answer to this is no. During the interview (with a male interviewer) - she didn’t have her niqab on! (She said she initially thought she would have had a female interviewer).
Dont get me wrong - I sincerely believe her suspension is wrong. Freedom of religion is something the modern western world (America, Western Europe, etc.) takes great pride in and musn’t be compromised. All women should and must have the right to dress however they choose. Nonetheless, on the same token, Muslims should take an honest approach at trying to understand the other side. Niqab is something totally foreign to western culture, - its totally foreign to me (and I’m Muslim!). It is seen as a communication barrier when dealing with people one on one (and Im not even touching on ‘oppression-related issues’). Moreover, this sister never made clear her preference to wear niqab. Now if that matters or not is another (yet crucial) issue.
However what I found most intersting was several students’ response to this issue (She taught at en elementary school). Here are a few select quotes I got from BBC News: I love how honest kids are 
My teacher wears a veil and I don’t think it’s bad, as she’s not hurting anyone. It’s up to people to choose what they want to wear.
Jack, 9, London
I think this is terrible. Muslim women are simply following their religion. We talk of world peace but we can’t possibly obtain it if we treat people this way.
Ciara, 12, Carlingford
I am a Muslim boy and my mummy says she’s happy to be married to a Muslim husband who is not too strict with all these things and allows her to dress like normal women.
Akeem, 12, Birmingham
I think veils are bad because you can’t see who you’re talking to.
Neil, 12, Manchester
I think it’s really unfair. People have their own religion and people should respect that. They are doing no harm so I don’t see what the problem is!
Rachel , 12, Hayes
My mum wears a veil because she says her beauty is only for my dad to see. What’s wrong with that?
Humzah, 9, Maidstone
Update: And even more recently, Prime Minister Tony Blair was questioned on this very issue. His response:
“It is a mark of separation and that’s why it makes other people from outside the community feel uncomfortable.”
“No one wants to say that people don’t have the right to do it — that’s to take it too far — but I think we do need to confront this issue about how we integrate people properly with our society and all the evidence is when people do integrate more they achieve more as well.
“I’m not saying anyone should be forced to do anything,”
I can understand the niqaab or face veil controversy because on the one hand in a society where people are not used to it, we have to be more sensitive in educating and de-sensitizing non-muslims to the face veil. On the other hand in America you have freedome to practice your religion so long as you do not trample upon other folks rights, which, niqaab is a very personal issue. In AMerica, there are certain places where you cannot wear the niqaab or face veil due to security reasons, such as, at the bank or whne you are stopped by a police officer if you are speeding or something. And this is purely for security reasons(also on your drivers license, etc). So muslims have to understand this, also there are differences of opinion on the niqaab issue in general, such as that is i sunnah muakkidah or fardh, etc.
I personally follow the opinion that this is preferred sunnah, hence, I have not attempted to wear niqaab to work but I try to wear it everywhere and I know of many women that do the same. Personally, I am terrified of wearing this at work because of the reaction of co-workers, boss, due to their not being use to it and the more professional environment you work in the harder it is for yu to even consider wearing the niqaab and so some people live a double life for fear of rejection and ostracising(spell?) from their work or professional community due to lack of understanding.
On the other hand, many muslim countries are ideal in which women can wear the niqaab and work in many sectors of soceity without any repercussions or ostracization(spell?). And professions such as teaching, engineering, medicine, etc are not without a share of veiled(niqaab wearing) muslim women professionals.
I have a strong problemwhen I see a veiled/scarf wearing sister, with a lot of make-up, colored contacts, etc. AstughirfirULLAH.
AsSalamualikum,
Yeah i totally agree, if she wanted to wear niqab then she shouldve mentioned it or said something. Not just pop up and say SURPRISE lol. But it is totally hard to find jobs with jalbab or niqab. I wear jalbab..so i know..lol, but alhamdulilah, no one said life is easy and plus if you can find a place to work thats cool with it, thats awesome, i love my co-workers. Your right about it being foreign and i think niqab is such a beautiful thing but the way she did this whole thing is not very honest. In regards to the SISTER from United States i dont know where you going with your statement. Instead of talking about what these girls are doing why dont you approach them. Has it come to the point that we will allow our brothers and sisters to walk around doing haram but we dont want to say anything because we dont want them to get mad at us or hurt their feelings.. blah blah. The fall of the Bani-Israel was that no one told them what they were doing was wrong. Theres nothing wrong with pulling the sister away and talking to her nicely and softly mentioning ayahs in the quran or whatever…and explain for instance how color contacts are zena, if they choose to continue that is between them and Allah
SWT not you, youve done your job in telling them what is right and wrong, you cant force anyone to do something they dont want them to do. But tell them that what theyre doing is wrong and try to get closer to that sister maybe some of your piety can rub off on her 
May Allah
have mercy on us all
hey what if the only contacts you have is colored?
the person has to be able to see? right? and you are not decieving people are you?
I was actually watching an episode of Shaykh Hamza’s Rihla on MBC (satellite Arabic TV) and he was talking with a recently con/reverted Muslimah from the UK (I think she’s actually a judge–people of knowledge and intelligence converting to Islam–subhanAllah, Alhamdulillah). She was saying that it is actually very difficult to get a job in the UK, she was specifically referring to finding lawyer positions, if you walk into your interview with a hijab on. She actually went so far as to recommend that women, when going for interviews, should take it off for the interview (not that I personally recommend this) and then after having been hired and a week of working, then come in with it on. So I can understand somewhat, after listening to her, where this woman would be coming from by not telling them that she would be coming in with niqab.
Anyway, I thought it was interesting that that was one of the few episodes of Shaykh Hamza’s Rihla series I was able to catch and it somewhat pertains to this topic.
May Allah
grant us understanding of our religion and give us the strength to please Him despite adversity.
I was so outraged by this..it all seemed to be VERY random with Mr Straw coming out with this comment and the controversy it has created is just phenomenal. I can on one hand see where Mr Straw is coming from with his comment..he said it in an obscure way- as if it was better for the women to remove it- for their own safety, yet you see a sense of fear- a fear that these womem are defying the idea of integration and are themselves a threat.
I never understood that instead of continuing Englands acceptance of different cultures they have placed a stance on integration to the extent one becomes a product of societies expectations (in the sense of changing appearance and adopting the countrys cculture).
As for the teacher, the story as i know is that she is allowed to wear the niqab in the halls of the school-outside of the classroom, BUT inside the classroom must remove it- the argument being she is teaching young kids. Obviously there is some unfairness (and inconveniance) in this issue of her having to remove her niqab and then putting it back on each time she wants to exit the room. The fear however is that because of the publicity the sister has had in her case, people may start to believe her to be taking advantage of the situation (when there has been some negotiation on the subject)…and there may be in place a ban.
Another issue being bought up is the whole ‘oppressed’ women thing..and is not helped by comments from sisters aka Sarah? (i think thats her name the one from ‘the aprentice’ last year)…saying comments such as ‘they are oppressed, people look at my mum and me like we are freaks because we do not wear the hijab’…to give you a jist of her comments. It comments like this which make a bad situation worse, firstly it is from a muslim, who herself at her own accord is saying that the niqab is oppressing. it brings into the minds of the people less educated on the matter to think, this lady here isnt wearing it..shes integrated and shes muslim..so why cannot the rest do the same.
It funny though that whilst they make the whole ‘oppressed women’ comment i have only seen one muslim woman wearing the niqab through-out all of this…and as she said what Mr straw said about removing the niqab is the same as asking her to remove an item of clothing, and how would HE feel if he was asked to remove an item of his clothing before he could speak to a person.
As for the issue of wearing the hijab etc etc is something that prevents you from not getting a job in the UK is so true…i went for a volunteering role at the local charity shop..they had signs up everywhere saying they needed help..i asked the assistant whether they still required any help. The assistant looked at me..went ‘behind the scenes’ and came back with a reply of no. At first i had a suspicioon it was because i wore the hijab..but thought i was being paranoid (still had that feeling though)…next week i walk past the shop and they still have a massive board sign saying they need help desperately…i was going to do a little experiment by sending in my non-hijabi friends to see if they got the role..but just left it at that. I mean its just volunteering job at a local charity shop..its soo much more competitive for a professional job.
man i’ve written too much..(maybe they are right i do write essays..oh well)
everyone in the U.K seems to be empathising with the sister, yet i feel like, inadvertadly, all this has resulted in so much more rasicm than usual…attacks on random niqabis etc…I totally agree, she should hav wore it to the interview, and the sister shouold hav understood, that a catholic school, would hardly have her interests at heart??!
a catholic school?
and she wants to wear niqaab, there? in a classroom of young children?
I mean who is she wearing a niqaab in front of?
I think people are taking this niqaab issue to an extreme, it is not fardh, dont make it fardh.
If you want, immigrate to a muslim country, they have been there for centuries. Try to integrate there with the niqaab.(food for thought).
Asslamu ‘alaykum wa’rahmatullahi wa’barakatuhu,
a must listen to Fareena Alam’s (editor of the muslim magazine Q-news)documentary on Jack Straw’s comments:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/unveiled
Fee Amaanillah Ameen
ASA, Haroon Siddiqui, a columnist for The Toronto Star has a good article on this issue.. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1160825229052&call_pageid=970599109774&col=Columnist969907621513
I told y’all British Muslims were GAY
Asslamu ‘alaykum wa’rahmatullahi wa’abrakatuhu,
Article related to this: ‘Even other Muslims turn and look at me’
Muslim journalist Zaiba Malik had never worn the niqab. But with everyone from Jack Straw to Tessa Jowell weighing in with their views on the veil, she decided to put one on for the day. She was shocked by how it made her feel - and how strongly strangers reacted to it…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1924101,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1
we should consider two inter-related issues
1. the limit and extent of liberal principles that organizes the British society- A society that very much takes facial recognition seriously within public sphere. Problem such as checking IDs for banking or credits are easy to answer. However, when people start becoming involved with educational or political system then we have problems with people expectations about how one should interact. to what extent muslims should accomodate and to what extent non-muslims should accodomate? Can it be only one way accomodation?
2. Niqabi women, historically within Muslim communities, generally did not become extensively involved in public functions. A new problem that requires rethinking of the issues dealing with niqab within muslim minority context where muslim women are increasingly becoming involved in public sphere in ways and at a rate unpredecented in recent muslim history. Should compromises be made? Or should one seek jobs where one does not have make compromises to one’s understnading of religion?
Yet, Liberal principles should be disinterested about what one’s find offensive. One’s right to follow a religion as she understands it must not be taken away. So how to balance principles and social reality?
I think British Niqabi muslims have to decide whether they are willing to live with the consequences (for ex- being discriminated socially) of wearing a niqab. Increasinlgy certain section of British society are acting in a hostile manner to niqabis and have become bery vocal against it. Niqabis may have to decide what they are wiiling to forego in order to follow what they believe God commanded them to do until situation on the ground changes. Muslms won’t be able to please everyone in England nor should they try to but they should cling to that aspect of british seular principles that will allow them to live in a dignified manner.
I find it interesting that all western Muslim scholars (including Shaykh Nuh (who is arguably the most strictest)) all adivse women NOT to wear the veil in the west…
Great points.
Wow! I can’t believe there’s even any controversy! She basically hid the fact that she wore hijab so she could get hired. And then walks in wearing it! She’s veiling herself from kids? Thats a little too weird for me, honestly. If she’s afraid of her kids being turned on, she shouldn’t leave her house! Plus, this is an elementary school - thats like your mom for half the day. You can’t even see her. Plus, it really does make communication very very difficult. You can’t really ‘hear’ the person when theyre covered up bc youre missing out on other communication cues. And its a terrible idea to suggest that women who want to be lawyers should get their jobs in a dishonest way by trying to trick the employer. That will just make them deny jobs to EVERY muslim woman. What a useless controversy.
Secular principles are not about what you or I find offensive. if subjective sense of offensiveness was prescribed into law then it would not be a secular principle. It is within the civic rights of a person to dress how he/she wants and wherever she wants. British muslims should never give up civic rights in order to appease the dominant culture.
WE must come to see secualr principles as ways of politically organziing different religious and ethnic communities. Currently for some the situtation boils down to this “I dont like you wearing niqab therefore I am going to find ways to pass laws or create uncomfortable cultural situations so that you are forced into my way of thinking.” THIS GOES AGAINST THE VERY IDEA of LIBERALISM. Very simply Liberalism is all about people living an elective life with out harming another. Once British Muslims start giving up their civic rights (its irrrelevant whether one exercses it or not) the dominant culture is going to demand more cultural concessions. It is scary some of the reasoning are being offered in British media are very similar to arguemtns used by Tunisia, Morocco, France or Turkey in order to ban Hijab or Niqab.
There needs to be a shift in defending the wearing of niqab from an islamic basis to a liberal basis which is suppose to be core organizing idealogy of Britain.
Its none of their beeswax. How about if I decide I’m being “intimidated and threatened” by the appearance of old white people at bus stops? Perhaps they ought to roughed up a little because of my insecurities..eh?
Bottom line nazis, we will dress as per the dictates of our faith. We will eat and drink(halal ofcourse) as we per the dictates of our faith. We will perform our Salats as per the dictates of our faith. And guess what? Its none of your damn business and if its keeping you up at night, go and play Russian roulette with all chambers fully-loaded.
Whats so hard to understand about this: Niqab is Scary!
The only niqabi the west ever knew before knowing Muslims… was Darth Vader!
how does integration mean taking off the niqaab or hijab?
how does it mean being/looking/acting just like everyone else?
why should pple feel threatened or simply uncomfortable from someone who dresses differently?
isnt integration a matter of acceptance? not morphing a population into one identical being
isnt Europe supposed to be the most liberal, most secular place out there?
imagine all those other radical and crazy ways pple dress today
all the scandelous outfits and bizarre groups of pple
europe is so diverse you’d think that would be the place for anyone, where everyone could be accepted
it’s not right for muslim women to have to “trick”an employer
they should be proud of what they wear and what they represent
the only “oppression” niqaabis would face would be coming from the society they live in, not their own religion
in a perfect society muslims, or anyone for that matter wouldnt have to conform to given expectiations
its all politics
some very good points, the issue is not just concerning just this one muslimah though..you may argue she tricked her employer etc etc and is teaching young children. however the point has been stretched soo far that other niqabi’s are having the same ultimatums put to them..even if they have been working happily in a place of work for a while. Britain already has a racist political rise at the moment with the BNP getting into gradual power ( a mirror of the nazis)..issues like this may seem insignificant and easy to pass over by just simply removing the niqab as someone suggested but isnt this just a cue for the next step in oppressing islamic identity- why stop at the niqab…go like france ban the hijab….go one step further become inspired by the isrealis and prevent worship at mosques.
Why is there such a BIG issue with the niqab anyways..just recently they introduced the full gowns (with option of niqab)..for hospitals.
Salaam ‘Alaikum
Re: Blair (and other’s) comments: iPod headphones are a mark of separation from the rest of the world. Guess we ought to alienate and demonize them too. Oh wait…
salaam
just to get something straight - APPARENTLY she didn’t wear the veil in class - just when a male assistant/teacher came in to the classroom.
l
Assalamu alaykum
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/20/AR2006102001259.html?referrer=emailarticle
One of the better op-eds I’ve read in a long time….
By Yvonne Ridley
Sunday, October 22, 2006; Page B01
LONDON
salam brothers and sisiters.
first thing i’d like to say is ALI C if you don’t have anything decent to say, don’t say anything at all.
anyway getting back to the topic, i think there are two sides to this story. On one hand i think that by taking this issue to court it may have caused more problems for an already ’sensitive’ issue. muslims in england are already alienated by the rest of the communities. 0==(D)
from what i know, the sister had signed a contract and once she was in breach of it is when she was dismissed.she should have made it clear that she had intendid to wear the niqab right from the start.
However it is also good that she disputed here suspension. this is because today its the niqab, tomorrow it will be the hijab and what will stop them going even further. the goverment needs to know that we are not going to take this lying down. I don’t wear a niqab but i don’t see why someone else should not be ‘allowed’ to wear it. it is everyones right to practice their religion freely. you may only be able to see the eyes but i personally believe that you can tell so much from a persons eyes.
this is just another opportunity for the goverment to tell us that ‘muslims’ are the ones causing the barriers between communities, and that because there happens to be an area in a city or town that has mainly muslims living there, that they are ‘gettoised’ areas and we have made it like that. they say it is the muslims that must try to mix. are there not areas were there are mainly Black people living or mainly white or christian people living(?)! i don’t see anyone making a big deal out of that. and it is the Kafir that are teaching there kids not to mix with muslims!
Jack Staw may have started this but he just helped us see what people really think, because it wasn’t long before there were a whole lot of other MP’s were saying the same things.
so HA
Not only that any Tom, Dick or Harry thinks he can take a free shot at muslims.
By doing this they may have thought that they were warding off other Sisters from wearing it but it has actualy gone the other way. more sisters are no wearing it as a sign of protest..
I know i’ve gone on a bit but there was a lot that needed saying.
Salamu alaykoum!
This teacher has guts.I’m soon gonna be a niqabi inshallah.But I don’t think I will get a job with it hehe.Difficult enough to get it with hijab.But I don’t care since I will be at housewife.
Amina
wearing niqaab is a beauty. I love to wear it but still have problems with my parents. wish I could wore it after getting married, amin
kg
http://002evolves.blogspot.com