For the past two weeks, the image of Islam's most iconic symbol, the black veil drawn across the face, has been plastered all over British television and newspapers.
The debate about the niqab, as it is called, was kick-started two weeks ago by a cabinet minister's comments. But it gained new urgency Tuesday when Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair waded in, calling the veil a “mark of separation” that makes others feel uncomfortable.
“Difficult as these issues are, I think they have to be raised and confronted and dealt with,” he said during his monthly news conference.
No one believes his remarks and those of others in the cabinet were accidental. Every comment, every gesture by New Labour is carefully considered. But one question was on nearly everyone's mind Tuesday: Why is the British government pushing this debate now?
Some Britons, including Muslims, welcome the debate. Others are suspicious the government is creating a scapegoat to draw attention away from the messy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Paul Kelly of the London School of Economics said tackling the failures of multiculturalism is the last platform for Labour as Chancellor Gordon Brown takes over the party, which he is expected to do next year.
“Brown has talked in a general sense about what that debate would be. He has talked about creating a common, strong sense of Britishness and creating a core of values for everyone to buy into. So in a sense, it is saying, ‘Let the debate start,' “ Prof. Kelly said.
“. . . But Brown hasn't given substance to his previous speeches, which is partly why we have this problem now about what exactly ‘British identity' means.”
The current controversy began when House of Commons leader Jack Straw wrote in a newspaper article Oct. 5 that he was asking women in his Blackburn constituency office to remove their veils because it made communication difficult.
The storm continued to rage last week when a primary-school classroom assistant, Aishah Azmi, was suspended for refusing to remove her veil while teaching. Phil Woolas, Minister for Community Cohesion, Race and Faith, said she should be fired. Tuesday, Mr. Blair said he “fully supported” the school authority's decision to suspend her.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also joined the fray Tuesday, saying that Muslim immigrant women should not be completely “hidden” behind full veils if they want to integrate and become part of Italy's future. He made the remark after being asked about Mr. Straw's comments.
In the immediate aftermath of the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks on London's transit system, the government's response was to push for new laws, including mandatory identification cards for every British citizen and giving police the power to detain terrorism suspects for 28 days without charge.
Now, the fight against terrorism has shifted to challenging the values of multiculturalism. In August, a commission was launched to look at multicultural tensions because, as one minister said, “global tensions are being reflected on the streets of local communities.”
However, most Muslims — even those who agreed with Mr. Straw — expressed suspicion at the government's motives.
Azzam Tamimi, at the Institute of Islamic Political Thought, said the debate is meant to deflect the government's foreign-policy failures.
“I don't even support the veil, but I think politicians are trying to make it an issue because they want to find a scapegoat for their failures,” he said. “They are losing in Iraq, in a quagmire in Afghanistan and started a war in Lebanon.”
Since less than 1 per cent of the 1.5 million Muslims in Britain are fully veiled, it should hardly be major issue, some argue.
But Adil Salahi, a scholar at the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Association, said Muslims are divided on the issue and the debate needs to be held in public because there is no basis for the veil in the Koran.
Special to The Globe and Mail
