Why Can't We All (Just) Get Along? (Does it matter if women wear the veil?)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Does it matter if women wear the veil?
Date:	22/10/06 (283 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rights of the Individual

Disadvantages: Rights of the Majority?

I’ve been gripped on Saturday nights recently but found myself wondering why, exactly. The thing is, whilst millions have been tuned into the X-Factor and a subsequent dose of Ant and Dec, I’ve been following the new series on Channel 4 called *“Hitler’s Holocaust”. It’s yet another documentary about the Nazi’s Final Solution; yet another set of revelations as to just how evil the Nazi regime really was. I’m not sure why I watch it bearing in mind I already have a fair idea as to how Hitler’s attempt to wipe out all of the Jews in Europe mapped out but the programme-makers continue to find further, previously undiscovered, atrocities and the watching audience continues to gasp in horror. And yet debates in the current climate flare up about Muslim women wearing veils. It’s a strange old world and one where I question myself for watching such documentaries and berate myself for not being more interested in the struggle for integration in this country, at least as far as the intricacies of religious dress wear is concerned.

Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons, started the debate by making it known that he preferred women that wore the niqab (a full veil covering the whole head apart from the eyes) to remove it when seeing him in his surgery. His comments were subsequently supported by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Racial Equality. The fact is that many people, including Muslims, feel that the all-encompassing niqab is repressive to women. Others feel that to ask a woman to remove a veil is an encroachment of their individual human rights. In a liberal society based on democracy then it becomes one of those issues that teeters on the fence of common sense. In the spirit of true democracy then the solution should be provided by the decision of the majority. The reality today is that the voice of the minority is more powerful than it has ever been and issues like this have a habit of becoming blown out of all proportion.

An issue closely allied to Jack Straw’s comments is the teaching of young children while wearing a niqab. The impact on children is a concern and the rights of the children themselves should take precedence over the individual rights of a woman wearing a veil. Perhaps not so clear cut is what happens when the teacher/assistant is not in front of a class in which case where the teacher or classroom assistant is willing to remove her niqab if no adult males are present then maybe the school should attempt to accommodate her wishes without jeopardizing the interests of the children concerned. This was not endorsed when a recent court case involving the rights of a teaching assistant wearing a face veil in a school in Tewksbury went to appeal and the school assistant lost.

My limited understanding (for which I apologise) of the wearing of veils extends to it being a rite of modesty amongst Muslim woman and a way of deflecting any sexual intentions from the male population. This mainly affects single, unmarried women but varies greatly from country to country and from community to community. I understand it’s even banned in Turkey and Tunisia although other countries like Afghanistan see it as almost obligatory.

To add fuel to these already burning fires, Nyamko Sabuni, 37, has caused a storm as Sweden’s new integration and equality minister by arguing that all girls should be checked for evidence of female circumcision; arranged marriages should be criminalised; religious schools should receive no state funding; and immigrants should learn Swedish and find a job. Supporters of the centre-right government that came to power last month believe that her bold rejection of cultural diversity may make her a force for change across Europe. Her critics are calling her a hardliner and even an Islamophobe. Apparently, Sabuni believes all immigrants must try to become proficient in Swedish and argues for a total ban on veils being worn by girls under the age of consent, which is 15 in Sweden. She is quoted as saying “Nowhere in the Koran does it state that a child should wear a veil; it stops them being children. By putting a veil on a girl you are immediately saying to the outside world that she is sexually mature and has to be covered. It’s wrong.” Interestingly, Sabuni is, herself an immigrant, born in Burundi. Consequently, Muslim groups in Sweden are organising a petition to have her removed from government.

Of course, this recent fracas comes not long after the vilification of Pope Benedict XVI who, speaking in Germany, quoted a 14th Century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things. As a result, Pakistan summoned the Vatican's ambassador to express regret over the remarks, as parliament passed a resolution condemning the comments. Not only that: The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said the remarks "aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world", Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya condemned the Pope's comments, in Iraq, the comments were criticised at Friday prayers by followers of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference said it regretted the Pope's remarks.

When you ponder on the tinder box nature of the current state of play with the Muslim community, you can’t help but speculate on how much is down to the continuing integration of people into the country and how much is linked with the sad state of affairs in Iraq. We know that the 7/7 Bombings were as a direct result, we know that the British troops would like to come home and we know that there are those within our community that would support further radical actions within these shores. Personally, I find myself wondering why it is that I never hear about outrages committed against the Hindu community or the Buddhists or anybody else apart from the Muslims. I conclude that it simply has to be all part of the bigger problem in the Middle East and I worry that the combined US-UK approach to what borders on colonialism in the Middle East is no longer appropriate in this day and age where communication makes the world a very small place and the legality of acts like the invasion of Iraq are questioned more than they’ve ever been.

Today’s news carries quotes from the head of the Commission For Racial Equality – Trevor Philips – that the current debate may spiral into racial violence if tolerance isn’t achieved on both sides of the debate. With racial attacks reportedly up 600% since the 7/7 London Tube Bombings, the feeling is that it wouldn’t take much to spark fresh violence. Writing in The Sunday Times today, he refers to the infamous, police beating of Rodney King that was captured on film and led to race riots in Los Angeles 15 years ago. With a phrase that makes me think of Jack Nicholson’s Joker in the Tim Burton, Batman movie, Rodney King is credited with asking “Why can’t we just get along?” Maybe that question sums up the whole episode.

It’s 61 years since the end of the Second World War and the ensuing Nuremberg Trials that brought some of the Nazis to book for their war crimes; crimes so heinous they beggar belief. For anyone that’s caught up in the veil wearing debate and rates it as a ten on their Richter Scale of nationalistic abhorrence then I would encourage you to watch the series on Channel 4 on Saturday nights. It may provide you with some context; it may even make you realise where issues like this can ultimately lead. Whichever it is, remember we are a liberal nation that prides itself on its democracy and Human Rights record. Also, remember what could happen if ever we let this change.

Thanks for the read (and for any of the previous 299) and be sure to let me know *your* thoughts.

Mara.

*I tape and watch X-Factor and Ant and Dec to watch later *grin*

Summary: Overview of the Veil Issue