Ban the veil or fear the future
February 8th, 2004
A letter to the Sunday Times which was published on 8th February 2004.
Minette Marrin’s article on the Muslim headscarf (hijab) is positively Huttonesque in its conclusions. Most of it explains that wearing the hijab (sometimes virtually a mask) is not so much a religious duty as a mark of separateness.
Marrin then stresses that there are other signs of Muslim children drawing away from British society, with groups like Al-Muhajiroun (which celebrated September 11th) propagandising on their behalf.
Yet bizarrely Marrin concludes that a minority of a minority should, in the name of freedom, be allowed to break a school dress code upheld by the majority of parents.
As a devout Englishman I believe in the democratic principle. If a majority of parents want to have a school uniform or dress code, then they and the head teacher should be free to have it, free of interference from busybodies such as the Commission for Racial Equality and Al-Muhajiroun.