Category Archives: Hijab

Veil to be banned on Dutch buses?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

De Volkskrant has the latest on the continuing political saga of whether, and to what extent, burqas should be banned in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that there’s only a limited number of women wearing this type of garment, the issue keeps stirring up strong political sentiments.

Earlier, the cabinet agreed that burqas would be banned for government workers and at schools. On Friday, the government is expected to announce that burqas will also be banned from public transport. And for those of you cynical enough to believe that all of this has anything to do with Islamophobia, the ban, if introduced, will also apply to balaclavas and crash helmets.

De Volkskrant writes that a ban on burqas was first proposed by Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders in 2005, but the previous cabinet never got round to it as a result of internal divisions.

The current government coalition has decided against a general ban on burqas, arguing that a ban is only justified when the garment in question “seriously hampers integration and communication”.

However, when this is the case, societal interests outweigh religious freedoms such as the wearing of burqas. It will come as no surprise that the Freedom Party does not think the ban is going far enough, and has submitted a bill banning the wearing of burqas not only in all public spaces, but also at home.

Expatica, 7 February 2008

Muslim mums win discrimination appeal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Two Muslim mothers have won a court appeal against a municipal pool in Gothenburg that required them to take off their veils and body-covering clothing. The Court of Appeal for western Sweden found the City of Gothenburg guilty of ethnic discrimination and ordered the authorities to pay the women 20,000 kronor ($3,000) each in damages.

The women, Houda Morabet and Hayal Eroglu, were at the pool separately on two different occasions in April 2004, accompanying their young children but not to swim themselves. Both were wearing veils, long pants and long-sleeved tee-shirts because their religion does not allow them to reveal parts of their body in public.

In its judgment, the court said that the actions of the swimming pool lifeguards, who insisted that the women should change into tee-shirts, could be deemed discriminatory even if this had not been their intention.

The nature of Sweden’s discrimination laws mean that it was up to the City of Gothenburg to prove that the request for the women to remove some of their clothing had nothing to do with their religion. “In the view of the Court of Appeal, the City of Gothenburg did not succeed in doing this,” the court said in a statement.

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Joan Wallach Scott in London

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Politics of the VeilPublic Lecture

FRENCH GENDER EQUALITY AND THE ISLAMIC HEADSCARF

with Professor Joan Scott

Date: Thursday 24th January 2008
Time: 6.30 pm – 8.00 pm
Venue: New Theatre, East Building, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE

Professor Scott takes a critical look at one aspect of the ban on Islamic headscarves enacted in 2005 in France. She will examine ‘a clash of gender systems’ as a way of trying to understand some of the force of the reaction to Islam there. Joan Wallach Scott is a Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Politics and History at Princeton, NJ. She is author of Gender and the Politics of History and, most recently, The Politics of the Veil. The event will be chaired by Professor Anne Phillips. Free admission and open to all. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

For more information please contact:
Tel: 020 7955 6043
E-mail: events@lse.ac.uk

BNP flyers circulated in Burnt Oak

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BNP changing face of london leafletThe Hendon & Finchley Times has reported that racist leaflets promoting the far-right British National Party have been distributed in Burnt Oak and Colindale in north London.

The flyers contrast a scene from 1950s Britain with three women in Islamic veils. Under the 1950s picture of an all-white street party the leaflet states: “… this is the way London used to be… If you would like London to be like this again, then support the British National Party.”

The paper states that the likely source of the flyers is the BNP presence in Harrow, where the fascists stood a candidate in a council by-election in December. Their candidate, Howard Studley, received 56 votes and finished last.

As Henry Grunwald of the Board of Deputies pointed out, the BNP’s aim in contesting that election was to win support within the Jewish community on an anti-Muslim programme, and their leafleting in Barnet may well have the same objective.

The Hendon & Finchley Times quotes Shakil Ahmed, of the Hendon Mosque, as saying that relationships between different communities in Barnet are good, but that there are always concerns about such views spreading.

He told the paper: “We don’t know what affect this is going to have. The worry in view of the nature of the flyer is that the hatred is going to be targeted at Muslim women on the streets dressing in this particular way. I don’t think we’ve had that many incidents in Barnet, but I’ve heard of things in Brent, where women in headscarves have been attacked for nothing. That’s not far away, so it is a concern.”

Barnet councillors have said that they will investigate whether the BNP flyers breach anti-racism laws.

Muslim athlete disqualified over uniform

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Juashaunna KellyWASHINGTON – A high school track star has been disqualified from a meet because officials said the custom-made outfit she wears to conform to her Muslim faith violated competition rules.

Juashaunna Kelly, a senior at the District of Columbia’s Theodore Roosevelt High School, has the fastest mile and 2-mile times of any girl runner in the city this winter. She was disqualified from Saturday’s Montgomery Invitational indoor track and field meet.

Kelly was wearing the same uniform she has worn for three seasons while running for Theodore Roosevelt’s cross-country and track teams. The custom-made, one-piece blue and orange unitard covers her head, arms, torso and legs. Over the unitard, she wears the same orange and blue T-shirt and shorts as her teammates. The outfit allows her to compete while adhering to her Muslim faith, which forbids displaying any skin other than her face and hands. “It’s not special,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t make me perform better.”

But meet director Tom Rogers said Kelly’s uniform violated rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which sanctioned the event.

Associated Press, 16 January 2008

Shop bans head scarves and hijabs

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Whitegate Wines noticeShoppers wearing head scarves have been banned from a shop because the owner said they cannot be properly identified.

The ruling at Whitegate Wines off-licence and Convenience Store, Padiham Road, Padiham, includes those wearing the hijab – the traditional Muslim head wear. A sign on the door states: “Due to CCTV coverage all headwear must be removed before entering the shop.”

One customer complained after he sent his 13-year-old daughter in to buy a soft drink and crisps on her way back from school. He said: “She returned empty-handed. I then went in with my wife and she was told she would not get served. First we tried to explain that unlike a hoodie or a hat Muslim women wear the hijab for religious reasons. Then we tried to explain that if a bank accepts customers wearing a headscarf then shouldn’t that mean this shop should too? But the staff were having none of it.”

Owner Tom White said security was the overriding concern. “The police told us that a person is more identifiable if all the headgear is removed. So we have decided to implement the policy across the board so as not to favour anyone. I have also been told I am perfectly within my rights to do this. As you may understand shops such as ours are targeted by shoplifters and security is therefore a major concern for us. The policy has been in place for about a year and a half. In that that time shoplifting has gone down.”

When asked if any Hijab wearing women had committed any shoplifting in the past Mr White said, “No”.

Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 15 January 2008

And note the readers’ comments on the report. For example: “About bloody time someone has the guts to stand up to these people. You cannot walk into a bank with a crash helmet on or pay for petrol, so why should they be allowed to wear these Hijab. Am not a racist but if people want to live in our country then they should abide by our rules. When me and the wife go on holiday to places like Dubai we have to abide by their rules, ie no drinking alchohol. Lets get control of this country. Well done again Tom White.”

Straw ‘the hypocrite’ in Muslim veil ruling, says Tory MP

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Philip Davies (2)Jack Straw was accused of hypocrisy yesterday after censuring a magistrate who refused to deal with a case in which a Muslim woman wore a face veil.

The Justice Secretary issued a formal reprimand to Ian Murray even though Mr Straw himself famously asks women to remove their veils in his constituency office. Mr Straw said in October 2006 that veils were “a statement of separation and difference”.

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, a West Yorkshire constituency with a strong Muslim presence, said: “He is a complete hypocrite. Jack Straw tells everyone that he will ask anyone who wears a veil to remove it, then he turns round and disciplines someone for following his line. People are fed up to the back teeth with continual concessions to minority groups, in particular in the courts.”

Daily Mail, 9 January 2008

Veil row magistrate reprimanded

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A magistrate has been reprimanded for refusing to deal with the case of a Muslim woman because she was wearing a veil covering her face. Ian Murray walked out of court when Zoobia Hussain, 32, first appeared at Manchester Magistrates’ Court in June. Ms Hussain, from Crumpsall, who was accused of criminal damage, was wearing a veil covering her entire face. The Office of Judicial Complaints said Mr Murray had been given a formal reprimand and further training.

BBC News, 8 January 2008

A Muslim headscarf can make a big difference…

Posted on by Bob Pitt

If you’re a woman who wears a Muslim head covering or hijab, a lot of people might think you look pleasant enough but they wouldn’t necessarily want you living in their neighborhood.

That’s one conclusion to draw from research done by our friends at HCD Research Inc., using their MediaCurves technology. They showed more than 600 people photos of the same woman, one in which her hair was uncovered, the second in which her head was covered with a hijab or Muslim head covering. According to the HCD Research:

The study was conducted by HCD Research, using its mediacurves.com web site during January 2-3, to determine whether Americans possess different views of a woman based on whether or not she wears traditional Muslim headwear.

Participants were divided into two randomly assigned groups. Members of each group were asked to view one of two separate photos of an attractive young woman. Neither photo was identified in any way. Each sample was then asked identical questions about the woman, her age, perceived personality, activities, and how acceptable she might be as a neighbor.

One-third of participants indicated that they would rather have the woman with the traditional headwear live in another place, another city, and maybe out of the U.S, as opposed to living in their neighborhood. However, a clear majority of participants (89%) reported that the woman without the shawl would be welcome in their neighborhood.

It’s ironic that as President Bush prepares to travel to the Middle East to talk to Israelis and Palestinians about living side by side in peace and security, so many Americans would say that they wouldn’t want to live side by side with a woman in a hijab.

Baltimore Sun, 4 January 2008