United Kingdom debate over veils
Encyclopedia
The British
debate over veils began in October 2006 when the MP and government minister Jack Straw
wrote in his local newspaper, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, that, while he did not want to be "prescriptive
", he preferred talking to women who did not wear a niqab
(face veil) as he could see their face, and asked women who were wearing such items to remove them when they spoke to him, making clear that they could decline his request and that a female member of staff was in the room.
Straw said he told the newspaper this information to open a debate on the subject, and not because of the upcoming deputy leader election
in the Labour Party
. Straw was Foreign Secretary at the time of the Iraq War and since 1979 has been the Member of Parliament
for the constituency of Blackburn
, where at least one quarter of the population are Muslim
. Straw later stated that he would like to see the veil "abolished" altogether, adding that he was worried about "implications of separateness".
Straw's views were met with a mixed response, with some agreeing to the idea of a debate, some arguing that Muslim women should not wear veils in the United Kingdom
, and some, such as the newspaper the Daily Express
, calling for the veil to be banned. Others were opposed to Straw's intervention, and some accused him of encouraging prejudice.
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."
is a requirement for modesty in both men and women. This concept is known in Arabic as hijab
, which refers to far more than Islam and clothing
. The word "hijab" has entered English and other European languages with a somewhat different meaning, referring either to sartorial hijab
, or to one article thereof, namely the headscarf
worn by many Muslim women.
Muslims follow various schools of thought (madhhab
s) which have differences of opinions on Islamic law
(sharia). Women who wear a face-veil tend to observe the hadith
s (sayings of Muhammad
) instructing women to cover all that is not essential, which some interpret as everything except the eyes and hands. This belief is a minority position.Most Muslims(who believe in covering) believe women should allow their faces to be visible, but should cover the hair (and, in many cultures, the throat as well). An even smaller minority wear all-covering garments such as the burqa
. Wearing the niqab is mandatory for women in Saudi Arabia
at all times while in public, except during the Hajj
(annual pilgrimage). These rulings (fatwa
) are based on the understandings of modesty and the public display of the body (awrah
).
and an attack on a woman wearing a niqab.
Burkha Babes Special" and competitions to "Burn a Flag
and Win a Corsa" and "Win hooks just like Hamza
's", was prepared to run as page 6 in that day's edition till members of the National Union of Journalists
refused to co-operate on the grounds that it was deliberately offensive to Muslims. Zoo Magazine
, one of the classic "lads' mags", instead announced plans to publish a double-page spread making fun of Muslim law. (Ben Knowles is the deputy editor of the Star, and former editor of Zoo.) The section will be labelled "Your all-new veil-friendly Zoo!", while other headlines include "Public stoning
s!", "Beheadings!" and "Absolutely nobody having any fun whatsoever". The magazine, which regularly features naked women will, on these pages, instead feature a woman in a burqa, with the heading "A girl! As you've never seen her before!".
announced that 98% of its readers who had taken part in a phone-in poll on the subject supported a ban on the veil.
Ipsos MORI
conducted a more thorough opinion poll on 11 October 2006 . 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.
correspondent John Gibson
said the veil "is clearly a sign of separation, clearly a sign of wanting to avoid assimilating in the western culture, whether it's here or Britain or Italy. And it is clearly a sign of a subculture that wants to establish its own rules separate and apart. Speaking as an American: no Sharia law, no veils. If you're here, be American," a remark which prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations
to encourage people to complain about Gibson's remarks.
is scheduled to be debated in the UK Parliament on January 20, 2012, during 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.
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.
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".
For historical context, see the case of the Victorian
travel writer Lady Florence Dixie, who claimed she was the victim of an assassination attempt near her home in England by foreign male terrorists dressed as veiled women.
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. There are powers to refuse entry to persons who cannot be satisfactorily identified.
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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
debate over veils began in October 2006 when the MP and government minister Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
wrote in his local newspaper, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, that, while he did not want to be "prescriptive
Prescriptivism
Prescriptivism may refer to:* Linguistic prescription, the prescribing of rules for language* Universal prescriptivism, a meta-ethical theory of the meaning of moral statements...
", he preferred talking to women who did not wear a niqab
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
(face veil) as he could see their face, and asked women who were wearing such items to remove them when they spoke to him, making clear that they could decline his request and that a female member of staff was in the room.
Straw said he told the newspaper this information to open a debate on the subject, and not because of the upcoming deputy leader election
Labour Party (UK) deputy leadership election, 2007
The 2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election was a British political party election for the position of deputy leader of the Labour Party. John Prescott, the previous deputy leader, announced on 10 May 2007 that he was standing down from that position and that he would be leaving as deputy...
in the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Straw was Foreign Secretary at the time of the Iraq War and since 1979 has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the constituency of Blackburn
Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackburn is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The town currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It has elected Labour MPs since its re-creation in 1955.-Boundaries:The constituency...
, where at least one quarter of the population are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
. Straw later stated that he would like to see the veil "abolished" altogether, adding that he was worried about "implications of separateness".
Straw's views were met with a mixed response, with some agreeing to the idea of a debate, some arguing that Muslim women should not wear veils in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and some, such as the newspaper the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, calling for the veil to be banned. Others were opposed to Straw's intervention, and some accused him of encouraging prejudice.
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."
Background to the debate: the face veil in Islam
One of the tenets of IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is a requirement for modesty in both men and women. This concept is known in Arabic as hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
, which refers to far more than Islam and clothing
Islam and clothing
Adherents of Islam are concerned with clothing in two contexts: clothing for everyday wear, inside and outside the house; and clothing required in specifically religious contexts....
. The word "hijab" has entered English and other European languages with a somewhat different meaning, referring either to sartorial hijab
Sartorial hijab
This list of types of sartorial hijab indexes styles of clothing found in predominantly Muslim societies commonly associated with the word hijab...
, or to one article thereof, namely the headscarf
Headscarf
Headscarves or head scarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman's hair and her head. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as for warmth, for sanitation, for fashion or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness, out of modesty, or other...
worn by many Muslim women.
Muslims follow various schools of thought (madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
s) which have differences of opinions on Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(sharia). Women who wear a face-veil tend to observe the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s (sayings of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
) instructing women to cover all that is not essential, which some interpret as everything except the eyes and hands. This belief is a minority position.Most Muslims(who believe in covering) believe women should allow their faces to be visible, but should cover the hair (and, in many cultures, the throat as well). An even smaller minority wear all-covering garments such as the burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
. Wearing the niqab is mandatory for women in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
at all times while in public, except during the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
(annual pilgrimage). These rulings (fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
) are based on the understandings of modesty and the public display of the body (awrah
Awrah
Awrah or Awrat is a term used within Islam which denotes the intimate parts of the body, for both men and women, which must be covered with clothing. Exposing the awrah is unlawful in Islam and is regarded as sin...
).
Expressions of opposition to the wearing of the niqab
Following Jack Straw's opening of the debate, the following people went on the record with their comments:- Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, then Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, described veils as a "mark of separation".
- Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, then Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, 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".
- Labour MP Nigel GriffithsNigel GriffithsNigel Griffiths is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
, 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."
- Labour MP Phil WoolasPhil WoolasPhilip James Woolas was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury...
, 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.
- Labour MP Harriet HarmanHarriet HarmanHarriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
said she wanted to see the veil abolished, saying "The veil is an obstacle to women's participation, on equal terms, in society."
- Shadow Home SecretaryShadow Home SecretaryIn British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who 'shadows' the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and...
David DavisDavid Davis (British politician)David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
suggested that Muslims were responsible for white flightWhite flightWhite flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
, adding that the British may be "inadvertently encouraging a kind of voluntary apartheid".
- Bill DeedesBill DeedesWilliam Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes, KBE, MC, PC, DL was a British Conservative Party politician, army officer and journalist; he is to date the only person in Britain to have been both a member of the Cabinet and the editor of a major daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.-Early life and...
, a former Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, added his weight to the debate in an opinion piece in The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, saying that Islam "is the only faith on Earth that persuades its followers to seek political power and impose a law — shariaShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
— which shapes everyone's style of life", and that Islam "forbids" Muslims from conforming with British society.
- Simon JenkinsSimon JenkinsSir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
wrote a piece for The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
asking why Muslim women who wore the veil wanted to live in the UK; however, he cast doubt on the effectiveness of Straw's statements.
- Allison PearsonAllison PearsonAllison Pearson is a Welsh author and newspaper columnist. Her novel I Don't Know How She Does It, published in 2002, has sold four million copies and has been made into a movie of the same name starring Sarah Jessica Parker...
wrote in the Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
that women wearing the niqab, or as she phrased it "nose-bags over their faces" , "have no place on British streets". She added "It's not a nice sensation – to feel judged for wearing your own clothes in your own country."
- Trevor KavanaghTrevor KavanaghTrevor Michael Thomas Kavanagh is a journalist and formerly the Political Editor of the Sun newspaper.Trevor Kavanagh was educated at Reigate Grammar School before leaving school at 17 to work for newspapers in Surrey and later Hereford. In 1965 he emigrated to Australia, working on several...
wrote in The SunThe Sun (newspaper)The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
that Muslim women were wearing the niqab "to provoke us", while the following day Sun columnist Jon GauntJon GauntJonathan Charles Gaunt , is an English radio talk show presenter, TV Personality, newspaper columnist, social commentator and spokesman....
wrote "enough is enough, forget lifting veils, Labour should remove the kid glovesKid gloves- Music :*"Kid Gloves", by Rush from the 1984 album Grace Under Pressure*"Kid Gloves", by Rory Gallagher from the 1990 album Fresh Evidence*"Kid Gloves", by Fountains of Wayne from the 2005 album Out-of-State Plates...
and treat Muslims the same as every other British citizen. And it's not just me saying this. Even the Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, in a leaked report, is saying the Government has shown preference to Muslims and has contributed to the divisions in modern Britain."
- Speaking to The Jewish ChronicleThe Jewish ChronicleThe Jewish Chronicle is a London-based Jewish newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world.-Publication data and readership figures:...
, French philosopherFrench philosophyFrench philosophy, here taken to mean philosophy in the French language, has been extremely diverse and has influenced Western philosophy as a whole for centuries, from the medieval scholasticism of Peter Abelard, through the founding of modern philosophy by René Descartes, to 20th century...
Bernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
said that "the veil is an invitation to rape".
Expressions of opposition to the raising of the issue as a public debate
- Ken LivingstoneKen LivingstoneKenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, then Mayor of LondonMayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
, said that he was "amazed by his [Straw's] insensitivity", adding that "bearing in mind this person [the constituent] has come to you to ask for something, the power imbalance in that relationship means it’s completely unacceptable behaviour on Jack Straw’s part. That a powerful man can say to a completely powerless woman, I think you should take your veil off, I think is completely and utterly wrong and insensitive."
- The Respect party urged Straw to resign. "Who does Jack Straw think he is to tell his female constituents that he would prefer they disrobe before they meet him," George GallowayGeorge GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
said in a press release. "For that is what this amounts to. It is a male politician telling women to wear less."
- The Socialist Workers PartySocialist Workers Party (Britain)The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
said that Straw's words allowed for an "open season for all who want to blame Muslims for the problems in Britain and to blame the victims of racism for the racism in society".
- Jon CruddasJon CruddasJonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He was first elected in 2001 to the seat of Dagenham....
, a Labour MP and another 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."
- Writing in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Madeleine BuntingMadeleine BuntingMadeleine Bunting is an English journalist and writer who is an Associate Editor and columnist on The Guardian.Born in Oswaldkirk, North Yorkshire, Bunting was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where she read History, and won a Knox postgraduate fellowship to study Politics and teach...
claimed that Straw's "singling out" of Muslim women actually intensifies the division that Straw says he wants to remove.
- RabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Alex Chapper of the IlfordIlfordIlford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
Federation SynagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
wrote that "I feel his comments were totally unacceptable and display, at best, insensitivity to, and at worst, an ignorance of the laws, customs and practices of Islam. It is nonsense to suggest that, 'women who wore veils made community relations more difficult', rather it is remarks such as these that create divisions and intolerance in Britain," adding "if you're going to single out for condemnation, or even ban, one style of dress where do you draw the line? Could the kipahKippahA kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
or sheitelSheitelSheitel is the Yiddish word for a wig or half-wig worn by Orthodox Jewish married women in order to conform with the requirement of Jewish Law to cover their hair. This practice is part of the modesty-related dress standard called tzniut. The word seems to be derived from the German word...
be next, are they divisive in Mr Straw's eye?."
- Daniel HannanDaniel HannanDaniel John Hannan is a British journalist, author and politician who is currently a Member of the European Parliament, representing South East England for the Conservative Party and the European Conservatives and Reformists political group...
, prominent Conservative MEP and columnist for The Daily Telegraph, stated that "clothing ought not to be a matter for the courts." He also pointed out that other highly offensive pieces of clothing (to him) such as Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
T-shirts, Che GuevaraChe GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
T-shirts, and Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
T-shirts are inherently considered legal due to freedom of expression.
- Baroness Warsi, a Conservative peer who is serving as the first female Muslim Cabinet Minister in the history of Her Majesty's Government, has defended women's right to wear the burka. She has said, "Just because a woman wears the burka, it doesn't mean she can't engage in everyday life. If women don't have a choice they are oppressed." She has also said, "There are women who wear the burka who run successful internet businesses which don't require you there face to face."
- Minister of State for Immigration Damian GreenDamian GreenDamian Howard Green is a British politician who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Ashford since 1997. He came to national prominence after being elected in his constituency. Before standing for parliament, Damian Green was Channel 4's business editor...
has labeled a ban on face-coverings as "unBritish" and "undesirable" for a "tolerant and mutually respectful society" like the U.K.
Expressions of opposition to the tone of the debate
- John DenhamJohn Yorke DenhamJohn Yorke Denham is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen since 1992. He has previously served in the Cabinet, as Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills from 2007 to 2009, and then as the Secretary of State for...
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.
- Writing in the Edinburgh Middle East ReportEdinburgh Middle East ReportThe Edinburgh Middle East Report , often abbreviated to EMER, is Scotland's only periodical dedicated to the Middle East. Founded in 2006 by George Richards and Camilla Hall, two students at the University of Edinburgh's Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Department, the Report covers political,...
, a journal on Islamic and Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern affairs, Jess McConnell, Islam Editor, suggested that the entire debate was the result of "media speculation" and cited YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
is' increasingly liberal attitudes towards the veilLiberal movements within IslamProgressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements)...
as proof of the debate's superficiality.
- Trevor PhillipsTrevor PhillipsTrevor Phillips OBE chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a former television executive and presenter...
, the chairman of the Commission for Racial EqualityCommission for Racial EqualityThe Commission for Racial Equality was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.-History:...
, said "I think it's right for him to say 'would you mind not making me feel uncomfortable' in this case, as long as it is clearly understood the answer to that can be 'no'." He later followed up these comments by saying that he feared that the debate "could be the trigger for the grim spiral that produced riots in the north of England five years agoBradford RiotThe Bradford Riots were a short but intense period of rioting which began on 7 July 2001, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It occurred as a result of heightened tension between the large and growing ethnic minority communities and the city's white majority, stoked by confrontation between the...
". 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."
- A number of individuals, including India KnightIndia KnightIndia Knight is a British journalist and author. She is known for her contribution to the British media, as well as her books: My Life on a Plate, Don't You Want Me?, The Shops, Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet and The Thrift Book , all of which are published by Penguin books...
, George GallowayGeorge GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
and Ken LivingstoneKen LivingstoneKenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, compared the plight of Jews in 1930s Britain with that of contemporary British MuslimsIslam in the United KingdomIslam has been present in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707, though it was not legally recognised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812. Today it is the second largest religion in the country with estimates suggesting that by 2010 the total Muslim population had reached 2.869 million.The...
, especially in light of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Cable StreetBattle of Cable StreetThe Battle of Cable Street took place on Sunday 4 October 1936 in Cable Street in the East End of London. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, overseeing a march by the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley, and anti-fascists, including local Jewish, socialist, anarchist,...
.
- Writing in the Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Peter ObornePeter ObornePeter Oborne is a British journalist and political commentator. He was educated at Sherborne School and The University of Cambridge. He is a Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph columnist, author of The Rise of Political Lying and The Triumph of the Political Class, and, with Frances Weaver, the...
said that the debate included "the nastiest and most irresponsible politics I have seen from a mainstream political party in my life, and we will all pay a horrible price for such cynical opportunism" as it will "encourage extremism, whether from white supremacist parties like the BNPBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
or within Islam itself".
Accusations of Islamophobia
- Nazir Ahmed, Baron AhmedNazir Ahmed, Baron AhmedNazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed is a member of the House of Lords, having become the United Kingdom's first Muslim life peer in 1998. Many of his political activities relate to the Islamic community both in the UK and abroad, and he has often attracted controversy...
, the first Muslim peer in the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, accused the Government of sustaining "a constant theme of demonising" the Muslim community. Lord Ahmed told BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Sunday programme that it had become fashionable amongst ministers to "have a go at the Muslims".
- Pola Uddin, Baroness UddinPola Uddin, Baroness UddinManzila Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin is a British Labour politician, and community activist.-Background:Uddin was born in a village in Bangladesh. She moved with her parents to the United Kingdom in 1973, when she was 13 years of age, and she grew up in the East End of London...
, 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 communityIslam in the United KingdomIslam has been present in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707, though it was not legally recognised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812. Today it is the second largest religion in the country with estimates suggesting that by 2010 the total Muslim population had reached 2.869 million.The...
and created "a feeling of vulnerability and demonisation of Muslim women".
- John McDonnellJohn McDonnell (politician)John Martin McDonnell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington since 1997; he serves as Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Labour Representation Committee, and the "Public Services Not Private Profit Group"...
, a Labour MP, wrote in his blog that "if anyone doubted that IslamophobiaIslamophobiaIslamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
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".
- On 21 October 2006 the Stop the War CoalitionStop the War CoalitionThe Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
and the Muslim Council of BritainMuslim Council of BritainThe Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...
organized a rally called "Unite Against Islamophobia" which was to take place in George SquareGeorge SquareGeorge Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is named after King George III.-Historical development:George Square was laid out in 1781, part of the innovative Georgian central grid plan that initially spanned from Stockwell Street east to Buchanan Street—which...
in GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
; the coalition also issued an open letterOpen letterAn open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
against Islamophobia.
- A group calling itself the British Muslim Initiative called for a rally to defend religious freedom and demand an end to attacks on Muslims to take place on 20 November 2006 at Westminster Central HallWestminster Central HallThe Westminster Central Hall or Methodist Central Hall is a Methodist church in the City of Westminster. It occupies the corner of Tothill Street and Storeys Gate just off Victoria Street in London, near the junction with The Sanctuary next to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and facing...
.
- The playwright David EdgarDavid Edgar (playwright)David Edgar is a British playwright and author who has had more than sixty of his plays published and performed on stage, radio and television around the world, making him one of the most prolific dramatists of the post-1960s generation in Great Britain.He was resident playwright at the Birmingham...
wrote in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that he was "shocked" at the levels of anti-Islamic prejudices that came to the fore during the debate, writing "the furor over the right to wear the veil has exposed the double standards of the liberal anti-Islam agenda".
- After Salman Rushdie gave his opinion that the veil "sucks", the former leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, Iqbal SacranieIqbal SacranieSir Iqbal Abdul Karim Mussain Sacranie, OBE served as General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain until June 2006. He arrived in UK in 1969. He was founding Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain , and served four further years as Secretary General from 2002 to 2004 and 2004 to...
, said "Islamophobes are currently doing all they can to attack Islam and it doesn't surprise me he is now jumping on the bandwagon."
Violent attacks
Muslim groups blamed Straw's comments in part for an arson attack on an Islamic centre in the Scottish town of FalkirkFalkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
and an attack on a woman wearing a niqab.
Media spoof
The Daily Star was prevented from publishing a mock-up page of what it would look like if it was run by Muslims. The mock-up "Daily Fatwa", which promised a "Page 3Page Three girl
Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page...
Burkha Babes Special" and competitions to "Burn a Flag
Flag desecration
Flag desecration is a term applied to various acts that intentionally destroy, damage or mutilate a flag in public, most often a national flag. Often, such action is intended to make a political point against a country or its policies...
and Win a Corsa" and "Win hooks just like Hamza
Abu Hamza al-Masri
Abu Hamza al-Masri is an Egyptian Sunni activist known for his preaching of a violent and politicised interpretation of Islam, also known as militant Islamism or jihadism...
's", was prepared to run as page 6 in that day's edition till members of the National Union of Journalists
National Union of Journalists
The National Union of Journalists is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists .-Structure:...
refused to co-operate on the grounds that it was deliberately offensive to Muslims. Zoo Magazine
Zoo Weekly
Zoo is a weekly lads' magazine published in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 29 January 2004, as the second weekly men's magazine in the UK after the similar and rival magazine Nuts)...
, one of the classic "lads' mags", instead announced plans to publish a double-page spread making fun of Muslim law. (Ben Knowles is the deputy editor of the Star, and former editor of Zoo.) The section will be labelled "Your all-new veil-friendly Zoo!", while other headlines include "Public stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
s!", "Beheadings!" and "Absolutely nobody having any fun whatsoever". The magazine, which regularly features naked women will, on these pages, instead feature a woman in a burqa, with the heading "A girl! As you've never seen her before!".
Opinion polling
Tabloid newspaper the Daily ExpressDaily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
announced that 98% of its readers who had taken part in a phone-in poll on the subject supported a ban on the veil.
Ipsos MORI
MORI
Ipsos MORI is the second largest market research organisation in the United Kingdom, formed by a merger of Ipsos UK and MORI, two of the Britain's leading survey companies in October 2005...
conducted a more thorough opinion poll on 11 October 2006 . 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
YouGov
YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...
conducted a poll of 2,205 adults in Britain, it found that 67% supported a complete ban on wearing the Burka across Britain.
Foreign commentary on the UK debate
Speaking of the British debate, Fox NewsFox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
correspondent John Gibson
John Gibson (media host)
John David Gibson is an American radio talk show host. As of September 2008, he hosts the syndicated radio program The John Gibson Show on Fox News Radio. Gibson was formerly the co-host of the weekday edition of The Big Story on the Fox News television channel.-Early career:Gibson earned a BA...
said the veil "is clearly a sign of separation, clearly a sign of wanting to avoid assimilating in the western culture, whether it's here or Britain or Italy. And it is clearly a sign of a subculture that wants to establish its own rules separate and apart. Speaking as an American: no Sharia law, no veils. If you're here, be American," a remark which prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
to encourage people to complain about Gibson's remarks.
Parliamentary debate
A private member's bill titled "Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill 2010-11", sponsored by Conservative MP Philip HollobonePhilip Hollobone
Philip Thomas Hollobone is a British Conservative Party politician who is both a Member of Parliament for the Kettering constituency and a member of Kettering Borough Council for the Piper's Hill ward .-Early life:Hollobone was educated at Dulwich College, London, and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford...
is scheduled to be debated in the UK Parliament on January 20, 2012, during 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.
The veil in schools
Aishah Azmi
Aishah Azmi is a British Muslim woman who came to public attention in 2006 after being suspended and then dismissed from her position as a classroom assistant in a Church of England faith school for refusing to take off her niqab when required to work in a classroom alongside a male teacher...
was sacked from a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
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
Employment tribunal
Employment Tribunals are tribunal non-departmental public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, redundancy payments and employment...
, 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
Phil Woolas
Philip James Woolas was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury...
, who said she should be "sacked". Azmi lost her case for unfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal
Unfair dismissal is the term used in UK labour law to describe an employer's action when terminating an employee's employment contrary to the requirements of the Employment Rights Act 1996...
but intends on appealing the decision to a higher court.
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
Islamic Human Rights Commission
The Islamic Human Rights Commission is a non-profit organization. Its stated mission is to, "... work with different organizations from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds, to campaign for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background.". The group is...
, 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".
The veil in crime
Veils have been accused of hindering the fight against crime:- Mustaf Jama, wanted for the murder of policewoman Sharon BeshenivskySharon BeshenivskyPC Sharon Beshenivsky was a West Yorkshire Police constable shot dead by a criminal gang during a robbery in Bradford on 18 November 2005, becoming the seventh female police officer in Great Britain to be killed on duty....
, is believed to have dressed in a niqab in order to flee Britain, though the Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
said the claim was unlikely to be true as women can be asked to lift veils in identity checks http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6195581.stm.
- A man wanted on terrorism charges is believed to have dressed in a burqaBurqaA burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
, which covers the body and face entirely, in order to escape the police http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article666149.ece.
- The male terrorists responsible for the 21 July 2005 London bombings21 July 2005 London bombingsOn 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks disrupted part of London's public transport system two weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The explosions occurred around midday at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations on London Underground, and on a bus in Shoreditch...
fled disguised in burqas.
For historical context, see the case of the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
travel writer Lady Florence Dixie, who claimed she was the victim of an assassination attempt near her home in England by foreign male terrorists dressed as veiled women.
The veil and identification at national borders
Conservative politician Douglas HoggDouglas Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham
Douglas Martin Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham PC, QC is a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1995-97, and was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 2010.Hogg's claim for cleaning of the...
asked minister Liam Byrne
Liam Byrne
Liam Dominic Byrne is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill since 2004, and was the Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2009 to 2010 before being appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 20 January 2011.-Early...
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
Immigration Act 1971
The Immigration Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration.The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of 1968, restricted immigration, especially primary immigration into the UK....
all persons arriving in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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. There are powers to refuse entry to persons who cannot be satisfactorily identified.
The veil in court
In November 2006, The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
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.
See also
- Islamic dress controversy in Europe
- Criticism of IslamCriticism of IslamCriticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...
- Criticism of multiculturalismCriticism of multiculturalismCriticism of multiculturalism questions the multicultural ideal of the co-existence of distinct ethnic cultures within one nation-state. Multiculturalism is a particular subject of debate in certain European nations that were once associated with a single, homogeneous, national cultural identity...