Last year I lived with one other Muslim and two Christians. Within our circle of friends were also practising Hindus and those of no faith. You can imagine the nightmare over dietary requirements when we get together for a barbeque! But we were motivated enough to have mutual respect for one another. Sometimes we debated about our religions and even disagreed quite heavily, but we had a common purpose among ourselves. Whoever hosted a meal would go to lengths to accommodate everyone else. Sometimes it was a bit of a nightmare but our intentions dictated that we were more comfortable when we were all accommodated.  That created a tremendous amount of appreciation, and in turn, harmony.

Of course Jack Straw has every right in this society to ask a Muslim woman whether she would like to uncover her face – but why does he think she would make a special exception for him?  And just what is the agenda here?

Mr Straw “felt uncomfortable about talking to someone 'face-to-face' who I could not see”. Quite frankly, we felt uncomfortable about the foreign office bombing innocent Iraqis on deceitful intelligence, but that’s not a path I wish to go down today.

Cohesion

So what’s the issue: cultural cohesion or communication?

Let us be clear here. Just what are British values? When someone makes a comment “When in Rome do as the Romans do” – one of the most popular comments on BBC’s ‘Have your Say’ on the issue of Jack Straw’s comments on the Muslim niqab as worn by some Muslims, this begs the question:

Which are the ‘Romans’ here in the UK and what do they ‘do’?

Is being a ‘Roman’ in the UK a Christian? An atheist? A secularist? A capitalist? What about the white British female Muslim convert who dons the niqab? Where does she fit into the equation? Has she given up the right to be a ‘Roman’ once she becomes Muslim? If so, let us be clear about it! Let us not talk of human rights and then lay conditions on certain segments of society.  We do not wish to carry on making assumptions about what is British, only for the big boys to come along with a new set of laws.  Either we pride ourselves on multiculturalism or we pride ourselves on oneness.

So which is the ‘Roman’ way and where did I sign on the dotted line?

Communication

First we assumed eye contact was imperative – but even the niqab does not blot the eyes out. Now Mr Straw wants Muslim women to show him their face. If we pander to his whims, what if one was not comfortable with seeing just the face ten years down the line? Which line do we cross before we agree that such an individual is making sexual advances?

 That may seem like a startling example but consider this: some women are completely comfortable showing their legs in public. What would we say to a man who told another woman: “I’m just not comfortable sitting with you when you have your legs covered?”

Just because the majority of women in the UK see absolutely nothing wrong with exposing their face, do we imagine that one who has grown up with the niqab would not see this as a sexual advance, however subtle? Especially considering that the reason many Muslim women do not feel personally justified uncovering their faces is because the face is the essence of the woman’s beauty?

Of course face to face contact adds to the value of communication. But do we stop communicating over the phone just because we do not see someone’s facial expressions? Muslim men do not complain about wanting to see a woman’s face if she chooses to wear niqab, when they belong to the same community as them!  In fact, more devout Muslim men feel they are able to talk more comfortably with the opposite sex when they have the niqab on!  How would Mr Straw feel if we were to all of a sudden "politely request" that all women who want to speak to us put on a veil before talking?  Would we not be accused of the very thing with which we are being charged right now?

Jack seems too experienced a politician for this statement not to be loaded with an agenda, though what exactly the desired outcome is will be seen in the following days, weeks or perhaps months.  But in the meantime perhaps Blackburn's Muslim constituents who have continually voted in Mr Straw should turn the tables and ask who is it that that is truly making social cohesion “more difficult”?

Source: MPACUK

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