The Evening Standard reveals the results of a new YouGov poll, commissioned as part of its “great Muslim debate”:

“People were split over whether Muslim girls should be allowed to wear a veil, such as the hijab, in schools, with 44 per cent supporting a ban and 37 per cent opposing such a restriction…. Nearly 11 per cent said Britain should keep the religious schools it has but not allow any new Muslim, Hindu or Sikh schools…. Seven per cent said Christian and Jewish schools should be allowed but not Muslim, Hindu or Sikh ones….. Overall, three quarters of people believe Muslim leaders could do significantly more to prevent the growth of extremism in their own community, with only 14 per cent saying they are doing all they reasonably can.”

Evening Standard, 6 September 2006

The Express reports on plans to offer “burka-style” gowns to Muslim women hospital patients:

“Last night Conservative MP Philip Davies, who has campaigned against political correctness, said the dress would stir up resentment on wards because patients would believe others were getting special treatment…. ‘It is another example of political correctness because it is the sort of thing that has been brought in because the words “faith” and “race” have been mentioned. The average patient on a ward will look at this and be resentful because they will say to themselves: “This has been brought in because it is a Muslim request”. They themselves may have other requests, like more visiting hours, more flexible meal times or a brighter lamp for their bedside table, but they know they’ve got less chance of achieving this. A burka-style hospital gown is only high on the priority list because of the politically correct world we live in.’ … The burka is the latest move to stir debate on priorities in the hard-pressed NHS.”

Of course, the garment in question has nothing in common with a burka, but the term is presumably chosen because it has associations with Afghanistan and the Taliban.

Daily Express, 5 August 2006

Allison Pearson writes: “Several opinion polls have measured Muslim anger with Britain. No survey has yet recorded the rest of British society’s anger and distress with Muslims. Yet you only have to start a conversation on the subject to unleash a flood of feeling. ‘I never thought I’d say this, but…’ People who don’t consider themselves racist are wondering how to deal with these new and dismaying thoughts.”

This is “a tragedy for the UK, which has done so much to accommodate its immigrant groups. Too much, probably. We failed to spell out the cultural norms we expect everyone to respect, with horrendous consequences. That letter from Muslim MPs warning the Government to change its policy on the Middle East because it was ‘inflaming extremists’ was a bloody cheek, quite frankly.

“Millions of Britons are angry with Tony Blair over Iraq. But he is our democratically elected leader and the foreign policy of this country is not going to be decided in a mosque in Waltham Forest. As for the suggestion by Dr Syed Aziz Pasha that Britain should introduce Islamic laws on family affairs, which apply only to Muslims, well, words fail me. Where would the concessions end? All women to cover their heads? Jews thrown into the sea? Burqa King? The Moral Maze presented by Michael Burqa?”

Daily Mail, 16 August 2006