Jack Straw says Muslim veil is "statement of separation"

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Thursday October 5, 2006

London- Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw revealed Thursday that he is in the habit of asking Muslim women to remove their veils when they visit his constituency office. Straw, whose constituency of Blackburn, northern Britain, has a high percentage of Muslim citizens, said he made the request because he "feels uncomfortable about talking with someone whose face you cannot see."

Straw's remarks, in a regular column for a local newspaper, have provoked anger from Muslims who accused him of discrimination, the British Press Association said Thursday.

"The veil is a visible statement of separation and difference," the article said.

Straw wrote that wearing the full veil "was bound to make better, positive relations between the two communities more difficult."

Straw, who is now Leader of the Commons, the Lower House of the British parliament, described how an incident a year ago made him reconsider his views on the issue.

He said a veiled woman greeted him: "It's really nice to meet you face-to-face, Mr Straw."

Straw's article continued: "It was not the first time I had conducted an interview with someone in a full veil, but this particular encounter, though very polite and respectful on both sides, got me thinking."

"In part, this was because of the apparent incongruity between the signals which indicate common bonds - the entirely English accent, the couples' education (wholly in Britain) - and the fact of the veil."

"Above all it was because I felt uncomfortable about talking to someone 'face-to-face' who I could not see."

He was concerned about the wider implications for community relations of the "increasing trend" of Muslim women wearing veils.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission said Straw was "selectively discriminating."

Chairman Massoud Shadjareh said: "It is astonishing that someone as experienced and senior as Jack Straw does not realise that the job of an elected representative is to represent the interests of the constituency, not to selectively discriminate on the basis of religion."

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency