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Veil Issue Hits Britain
An interesting contrast of reactions to Muslim schoolgirls wearing headgear (or indeed, full-body gear) to proclaim their religious devotion.
In France, girls wearing the Islamic headscarf (the voile) is seen as a crime against the French State and by implication, civilization itself. Laws have been introduced banning the voile from schools to protect France's century old culture of secularism.
In hand-wringing, politically correct Britain, however, the response is rather less robust: UK schools have no objections to religious symbols. But when a fifteen year old pupil arrived at a Luton school wearing the jilbab (which allows only the hands and part of the face to be displayed) alarm bells started to ring.
Not because the schoolgirl may have been forced into the garmet by her parents or that such enthusiastic displays of religious values risks unsetting the delicate multicultural balance of the classroom - but because her zeal might make other Muslims feel bad for not being as dedicated as her.
The school's lawyer said,
"There could be two classes of people - those who wore the jilbab and those who wore the shalwar kameez (a tunic and trousers costume), with those wearing the jilbab regarded as 'better Muslims' than those who wore the shalwar kameez."
The student was sent home and ordered to change. That was in 2002: She hasn't returned to class since. Her lawyer argues that she has been suspended from school - the school's board claims she has simply stayed away. The lawyer is brandishing the EU Human Rights Act to support her client's case - something which might make the French sit up and take notice.
