I believe each person has the right they may be able to recognize another, in case that other injures them. The only reason another might refuse that right is because they want to live in darkness, or they're ugly as hell.
Posted on 10/17/2006 9:54:24 PM PDT by MadIvan
Britons gave overwhelming backing last night to a call for a ban on full-face Muslim veils.
Ninety-eight per cent of Daily Express readers agreed that a restriction would help to safeguard racial harmony and improve communication.
Our exclusive poll came as ministers stepped up the pressure on Muslim leaders to demonstrate "real leadership" in the fight against extremism.
Thousands of readers registered their alarm amid mounting concern that the veil is a barrier to good race relations.
The controversy was underlined by yesterday’s Daily Express revelation that bosses at a medical school have barred Muslim students from wearing the veil. Instead, they must show their faces when talking to patients and in meetings with colleagues.
The debate – sparked when the Commons Leader Jack Straw said he had asked women to remove their veils during meetings – continued yesterday as two Cabinet ministers joined the row.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly dismissed claims that the Government was "demonising" Muslims, insisting everybody had a part to play in responding to the extremist threat.
"This is not just a problem for Muslim communities. The Far-Right is still with us, still poisonous, still trying to create and exploit divisions," she said.
"Extremism is an issue for all of us. We all must play our part in responding to it."
Councils will have to set out how they intend to prevent radicalisation in their communities. After talks with police chiefs and local authorities, Ms Kelly said: "We really have to raise our game. We have to work in a new way to face up to the size of the threat."
She refused to back down on moves to withdraw support for Muslim groups that failed to take a leading role in tackling extremism but said the Government was "absolutely committed" to working with organisations with a "genuine commitment" to pluralism.
In a letter to Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, she rejected claims that ministers would not work with those who disagreed with Government policy.
But she added: "I don’t accept that those in leadership positions can be passive in tackling extremism and yet expect government support. The question the public are not unreasonably asking is why should any organisation object to taking a leadership role in tackling extremism?"
Her letter followed Dr Bari’s claim that ministers were "marginalising" Muslims with comments such as Mr Straw’s suggestion that Muslim women should remove their veils.
Dr Bari said: "What is happening… has been a barrage of demonisation of the Muslim community to such an extent that the community is now scared and feels vulnerable."
The decision to ban veils was taken by Birmingham University school of medicine. In the Daily Express poll, 98 per cent of readers said veils should be banned from all hospitals.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said women who covered their faces were failing to take their full place in society.
"The veil is a symbol of women’s subjugation to men," she said. "Women who are heavily veiled, whose identity is obscured to the world apart from their husbands, cannot take their full place in society."
But one Muslim Labour MP accused colleagues of playing into the hands of racists. Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, warned that "hype" over a small number of people encouraged "Muslim-bashing".
"The only people this will benefit is the Far-Right BNP," he warned. "It will also encourage extremists from the Muslim community who will say, ‘We told you so’."
Labour former Home Office Minister John Denham said ministers’ comments were exacerbating matters.
"In a situation where there is too little understanding between the Muslim community and the wider community, and vice-versa, it seems to be producing a defensiveness and lack of willingness to debate on the Muslim side and in the majority a sort of generalised feeling that Muslims as a whole pose some sort of threat to our entire way of life," he said.
Tory leader David Cameron said everyone in Britain had a right to wear what they liked although Mr Straw had "raised a legitimate issue".
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Banned?
That is a little much for a free society.
I favor veils for alleged women such as Christianne Amanforsure, and of course for Helen Thomas.
2 people read the Daily express. How they get this percentage?
I bet they are also jumping over each other in the Muslim community to declare Fatwas and Jihads agaisnt radical Islam and Osama Bin Laden right?
If the ban does not pass people should start wearing ski masks
in protest.
Wearing it is a little much.
This will be a good test of who and what the British government represents, themselves, political correctness and multiculturalism, or the people.
How bout a kangaroo trial and execution?
Well, I understand perfectly. Britons (and everyone else for that matter) have the right to have a good look at whoever is approaching them for whatever reason. If you want to hide your hair from public view, fine with me. However, there's no good reason to hide your face in public. Only bank robbers and KKK members hide their faces in public. Hardly the kind of company a good Muslim woman should want to be line up with.
Regards, Ivan
Long past time to tell the muslims to piss off.
The Arabs ban things such as women driving and women in bikinis. I don't see a single problem with banning veils, and anyone who santimoniously squawks about "free societies" should go live in a Muslim country for a while and enjoy their "freedom."
Maybe total freedom isn't quite what we thought it was. Everything needs moderation and limits, even freedom; especially when too much "freedom" is endangering the survival of your country.
"That is a little much for a free society."
I agree. I wouldn't support that kind of measure here.
Hear hear! "Pass the grapes dear, and you missed a spot..."
The veil is a perfect cover for terrorists. Literally.
"The veil is a perfect cover for terrorists. Literally."
True but I can't see banning it in a free society. It'd be like banning backpacks.
I believe each person has the right they may be able to recognize another, in case that other injures them. The only reason another might refuse that right is because they want to live in darkness, or they're ugly as hell.
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