UK heads towards national debate on the face veil in public areas (and education)

[Infinite Chaos]

Seems that the recent case of a muslim woman who refused to remove her face veil for "religious" reasons

http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/170667-defendent-told-remove-burka-crown-court-judge.html

is sparking calls for a National Debate in the UK on the face veil in public spaces.

A Muslim woman can stand trial wearing a full-face veil but must remove it to give evidence, a judge ruled on Monday. It comes as a Lib Dem Home Office minister called for a debate on girls wearing veils in some public places.Jeremy Browne said he was "uneasy" about restricting freedoms, but urged a national debate on the state's role in stopping veils being imposed on girls.
His comments came after Birmingham Metropolitan College dropped a ban on pupils wearing full-face veils, amid protests.

I'm particularly disappointed in Birmingham's decision to drop their ban. I work in a college and I support the ban on face veils in classrooms and schools, I also support the idea of face veils being banned in court when the wearer is called upon to give evidence / enter a plea or accuse someone else of a crime.

I don't support a ban on veils in public, that right to wear clothes on the street is fine by me.

I think the judge got it wrong this week by giving in and allowing the accused to wear her veil when entering her plea for the crime of intimidating a witness. Justice has not been served today.

Equally, the decision in Birmingham is (I believe) the wrong one; as a lecturer, I have to sit through yearly training on safeguarding, child safety and watch for the signs of abuse and victimisation. That I cannot do if someone is wearing a veil - possibly covering bruises, possibly even being someone else entirely in a classroom.

Certain areas demand the ban in my opinion - education and the courts.

Noe: This should also cover balaclavas and any other non-medical method to disguise or conceal the face.

 

[Gardener]

As far as concealing one's identity in public places is concerned, by allowing such dress you also take away a citizen's ability to identify the perp in the case of a crime committed while concealed.

Deference to extremist religious/cultural practices should not include a license to commit crime with near impunity.

 

[gunner]

Seems that the recent case of a muslim woman who refused to remove her face veil for "religious" reasons

http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/170667-defendent-told-remove-burka-crown-court-judge.html

is sparking calls for a National Debate in the UK on the face veil in public spaces.



I'm particularly disappointed in Birmingham's decision to drop their ban. I work in a college and I support the ban on face veils in classrooms and schools, I also support the idea of face veils being banned in court when the wearer is called upon to give evidence / enter a plea or accuse someone else of a crime.

I don't support a ban on veils in public, that right to wear clothes on the street is fine by me.

I think the judge got it wrong this week by giving in and allowing the accused to wear her veil when entering her plea for the crime of intimidating a witness. Justice has not been served today.

Equally, the decision in Birmingham is (I believe) the wrong one; as a lecturer, I have to sit through yearly training on safeguarding, child safety and watch for the signs of abuse and victimisation. That I cannot do if someone is wearing a veil - possibly covering bruises, possibly even being someone else entirely in a classroom.

Certain areas demand the ban in my opinion - education and the courts.

Noe: This should also cover balaclavas and any other non-medical method to disguise or conceal the face.

I welcome any debate, I just hope it's a real debate and does not dance around issues for fear of upsetting the Muslim community. I differ from you, in that I would not worry much if a total ban were put in place. That said, I accept it may cause unnecessary provocation, so I'm probably just ambivalent over a total ban. I would say, any institution or commercial property that would want an individual to remove it for security reasons, then I agree with that as well.

Paul

 

[SBu]

Seems that the recent case of a muslim woman who refused to remove her face veil for "religious" reasons

http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/170667-defendent-told-remove-burka-crown-court-judge.html

is sparking calls for a National Debate in the UK on the face veil in public spaces.



I'm particularly disappointed in Birmingham's decision to drop their ban. I work in a college and I support the ban on face veils in classrooms and schools, I also support the idea of face veils being banned in court when the wearer is called upon to give evidence / enter a plea or accuse someone else of a crime.

I don't support a ban on veils in public, that right to wear clothes on the street is fine by me.

I think the judge got it wrong this week by giving in and allowing the accused to wear her veil when entering her plea for the crime of intimidating a witness. Justice has not been served today.

Equally, the decision in Birmingham is (I believe) the wrong one; as a lecturer, I have to sit through yearly training on safeguarding, child safety and watch for the signs of abuse and victimisation. That I cannot do if someone is wearing a veil - possibly covering bruises, possibly even being someone else entirely in a classroom.

Certain areas demand the ban in my opinion - education and the courts.

Noe: This should also cover balaclavas and any other non-medical method to disguise or conceal the face.

People should not have the right to conceal their identity. The right to worship freely and exercise your religious principles does not include such cultural spin offs like veils etc. So it should be up to the people to decide if they're ok with this privilege to wear face covering veils, or not. I think there are more good reasons to restrict this practice than to allow it.

 

[Andalublue]

As far as concealing one's identity in public places is concerned, by allowing such dress you also take away a citizen's ability to identify the perp in the case of a crime committed while concealed.

Deference to extremist religious/cultural practices should not include a license to commit crime with near impunity.

This would then make the wearing of masks, wigs and false facial hair, balaclava and ski masks, full-face motorcycle helmets, Groucho Marx 'tache and glasses disguises, face paint, smog protectors and snoods pulled over the nose all liable to be outlawed. I'd have thought that a liberal such as yourself would think that was going too far.

 

[Sharona]

People should not have the right to conceal their identity. The right to worship freely and exercise your religious principles does not include such cultural spin offs like veils etc. So it should be up to the people to decide if they're ok with this privilege to wear face covering veils, or not. I think there are more good reasons to restrict this practice than to allow it.

I am very sensitive to Muslim sensibilities and their concepts of modesty.. however, if you want to live in the West you have to give up the veil.