“With one article in a local newspaper, Jack Straw has built up the walls of ignorance and division ever higher. A Muslim community that has been on the defensive for years is now finding itself facing a barrage of criticism about the way it chooses to express its faith; jeopardising its basic right of religious freedom. I oppose Mr Straw asking Muslim women who talk to him to take off their veils, not because I believe the veil is compulsory in Islam but rather because his politically motivated opinions have created a climate of intolerance against the veil and those who wear it.”

Rajnaara Akhtar, chair of Protect-Hijab, in the Times, 10 October 2006