The 'Veil' of Jack Straw
Elias Harfoush Al-Hayat - 10/10/06//
The campaign against wearing the veil, which is taking place in Britain these days, whether reflected by the statements of its politicians or in newspapers columns, is part and parcel of the general atmosphere of the Muslim community's relations with the majority of British society, especially since the blasts of July 7 last year and the plot to blow up aircraft across the Atlantic, in which it was said that British Muslim citizens planned to carry out in August this year.
The remarks of former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that he would prefer Muslim women at his constituency not to wear veils when they visit him to present their cases must make the Muslim community pay attention to the social change taking place in the country. Straw's remarks are not a result of a casual tendency, but the man himself said in an article he wrote in this regard that he had carefully considered his remarks before he expressed them in public.
When he was foreign secretary, and also when he was at the helm of the Home Office, which is directly concerned with migration issues and relations with the communities, he had never been known to have any hostile or racist attitude toward Muslims, who make up one third of the voters in the constituency for which he has been able to retain his seat in parliament.
The reason why the Muslim community in Britain should pay attention to such remarks is that they put the members of this community again in the forefront. Although Straw's position toward the veil does not enjoy the support of the majority, even among his colleagues in the government or between commentators and intellectuals, the circumstances in which this position is taken are different from those 20 or 30 years ago, when British society was less indifferent to what a Muslim woman puts on her head or face when she walks in the street.
This means that, to the British citizen in general, the veil is not the problem. The problem is the political 'declaration' about this clothing set against the backdrop of security. In this framework, one can understand the news that was leaked yesterday in some right-wing British newspapers about a wanted British terrorist disguised as a veiled woman. This is not strange in any way, as some Arab countries have faced the same problem in their pursuit of wanted terrorists.
In other words, the security environment that has emerged in recent years has led to a decline in the readiness of the European societies in general, and British society in particular, to accept the social aspects and the religious affiliations that run contrary to the general social pattern. It would be an exaggeration to say that this is limited to the Muslims, because hostility against them is linked to the hostility toward Islam.
The Catholics in Britain, for instance were subjected to such campaigns that went beyond skepticism, when the conflict in Northern Ireland with the British government and its army was at its peak. Certain neighborhoods in London, for example, were subjected to constant surveillance by Scotland Yard, simply because they were Catholic. Moreover, if the matter has something to do with a campaign against a certain religion, we must ask a question: Why were there no such campaigns when the doors of this country were wide open to the waves of immigrants of different colors, religions and sects, and who have obtained British nationality, earning their living from working in this country and their children given the opportunities to learn in its schools and universities, something they could not afford in the countries from where they immigrated?
True, one must not forget the fact that there are racist tendencies in British society. This is the case in every country. Such tendencies reject a stranger's looks and religion, simply because he is a stranger. However, for the sake of their interests, at least, it is the duty of the leaders of the immigrant communities, chiefly the Muslim ones, to try their utmost to keep these trends at a minimum.
The Muslims have another duty: to seek to integrate into the community rather than live in seclusion. Those who are opposed to the veil justify their opposition by saying that the veil wearer wants to give a message to those around her: "I do not want to be a part of your society."
It is difficult for a person to live in a society while he is in daily conflict with it. Do we not ask immigrants to respect our cultures and traditions? Is it not natural for the societies that receive us to ask the same of us? These societies have granted the immigrants citizenship and have given them the opportunity to participate in public life, which amounts to participating in political decision-making.
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