22 September 2013

The niqab debate: 'Is the veil the biggest issue we face in the UK?

.... Talat agrees that there are always ways of negotiating issues of security. "I understand that safety is paramount, of course, but how safe do women now feel at Birmingham Metropolitan College? The decision might have been revoked, but how safe, how included, does a Muslim woman who wears a veil now feel, or does she feel like an outsider?"

When this debate is raised, one sad outcome, says Salma Yaqoob, "is a lot of Muslims actually resent the Muslim women [who wear the veil] as well, because they think: 'You're causing this grief for us.' So that intolerance is infectious. It's like: 'Come on, we're getting all this negative attention again, can't you lot just stop it.'" [guardian.co.uk, 16 September] Read more