Muslim Defendant Must Remove Veil to Give Evidence, Jury Hears

Rebekah Dawson

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rebekah Dawson appears in court for her trial on witness intimidation charges wearing a full-face veil, but will have to take if off before entering the witness box, court is told

A Muslim woman accused of witness intimidation has been ordered by a judge to remove her veil if she chooses to give evidence.

Rebekah Dawson, 22, attended the start of her trial at Blackfriars Crown Court in London on Wednesday wearing a full-face veil.

Judge Peter Murphy warned the jury hearing the case that it was “quite wrong” to be prejudiced against anybody because of their expression of religious faith.

He said Ms Dawson was “fully entitled” to dress as she chose and warned them to put aside any personal feelings they had about her attire.

However, he told jurors that he had ruled that she must remove her veil if she chooses to give evidence. » | Sam Marsden, and agencies | Wednesday, January 22, 2014

What's It Like Being a Muslim Woman in Scotland Today?

HERALD SCOTLAND: 'A THREAT", "a foreigner" and "oppressed".

Those are the three phrases Scotland's young people think of when it comes to Muslim women, according to a study of people aged 11 to 24 by the Amina Muslim Women's Resource Centre in Glasgow.

Staff from Amina, who visit schools and youth groups to educate young non-Muslims about racial stereotyping, found the results shocking considering young people are considered more open-minded and tolerant than their parents and grandparents.

While many Muslim women say such stereotypes do not shape their daily lives, others claim there is a growing hostility towards them.

In the coming weeks, three major events will address the question of what it means to be a Muslim woman in Scotland. One will address how the debate surrounding the Islamic veil is affecting Scottish communities, while the others will look at the experiences of Muslim women and Islamophobia in Scotland.

One young Muslim woman summed up her experiences of being seen as a threat, a foreigner or an oppressed victim, saying the sense of distrust was "subtle" and "something you can feel", adding: "You go in an environment where you are the only person with brown skin: people will be polite to you but you can feel there is a distance, something not spoken ... This is how we feel."

This, as well as the more outrageous incidences of racist abuse, is what these events hope to address. » | Special report by Matty Sutton and Imran Azam | Sunday, November 24, 2013

I Was Told I'd Have to Wear a Hijab, I said 'I Don't Think So': Today Programme's First Muslim Presenter on Why She Won't Wear the Veil

Mishal Husain

MAIL ONLINE: Mishal Husain, 40, was told to cover her face by Muslim train passenger / She is the first Muslim to present BBC Radio 4's Today programme / Cambridge-educated journalist said Koran didn't order women to wear garment / Comments reignite row about wearing of the veil in British society / PM David Cameron last month backed a ban on the garment in schools / Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would not want to be treated by a medic wearing a veil

The first Muslim journalist to present Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme has vowed never to wear a veil.

Mishal Husain - who joined the Today programme this morning - recalled the moment she was accosted by a fellow Muslim while boarding a train who told her she will soon have to adopt the face covering hijab.

She said: ‘He complimented me on my work and then said, “But you’ll have to wear a hijab one day.” “I don’t think so,” I replied.’

The Cambridge-educated journalist, 40, is the latest high-profile public figure to intervene in the debate about whether the veil is an acceptable item of clothing in Britain. » | Tom Gardner | Monday, October 07, 2013

David Cameron Supports Muslim Veil Ban in Schools and Courts

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has promised to support institutions such as schools, courts and immigration centres which ask people to remove Muslim veils.

The Prime Minister said that he would issue new guidelines to judges, teachers and immigration officers telling them when they can ask people to remove clothing such as the niqab, which conceals the whole face.

He told the BBC that generally people should be allowed to wear what they want, but said that exceptions should be made so that public bodies and staff could function properly.

“We’re a free country and people should be free to wear whatever clothes they like in public or in private. But we should support the institutions that need to put in place rules so that those institutions can work property,” he said.

Mr Cameron was speaking to the BBC at the start of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. » | James Kirkup, Political Editor | Sunday, September 29, 2013

Female Face - off: Muslim Veil Ban Finds Public Support in UK

A British judge who ordered that a woman could not testify in court while wearing a Muslim veil covering her whole face, except her eyes, has fueled debate.A recent poll suggested that 67 percent of Britons support a ban on Muslim women covering their faces. Polly Boiko has been to gauge public opinion in London, on a subject which is proving highly divisive.

WIKI: Nabila Ramdani »

Burkas Cast a Veil over Us All – So Ban Them

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cultural values that oppress and diminish women have no place in our society

Am I a racist? That’s what I was called on Twitter this week. It happens every time I express my loathing for the burka and the niqab, both hideous shrouds that hide a woman’s face from the world and prevent her – and, therefore, her children – from playing a full part in society.

My accuser on Twitter, one Imran Bhaloo, said it was offensive and racist of me to call a burka a shroud. “You have no right to evaluate culture,” he said. “A burka is not better or worse than a short dress, especially when you’re wearing it to impress someone. At that point, it ceases to be a choice. So how free are you?”

Actually, Mr Bhaloo, I do have a right to “evaluate culture”, as you call it. Mercifully, this is a country in which critical thinking is permitted: if we believe a practice stinks, then we say so. For example, if the Daughter comes downstairs wearing a skirt shorter than a text message, I culturally evaluate it and tell her to get changed pronto.

You ask me how free am I? Well, I’m a lot freer than those poor girls, as young as 11, who attend the Madani Girls’ School in east London. The school, it was revealed yesterday, requires all pupils to wear a burka, or a full-face veil and a long black coat, outside the premises. According to the school’s website, the uniform rule “conforms to the Islamic Code of dressing and must be adhered to at all times”.

How free is an 11-year-old who only sees her city through a letterbox slit, and who is obliged to dress in a way that intimidates people, prevents any connection being made, and ends up stoking even more racist feeling? How free are the children at the Ayesha Siddiqa Girls’ School in west London, which, like other private Islamic schools, requires pupils to wear a burka or jilbab (headscarf)? The Ayesha Siddiqa school had an emergency Ofsted inspection earlier this year that raised concerns about the 120 girls’ “welfare, health and safety”. » | Allison Pearson | Wednesday, September 18, 2013

My comment:

Finally, Brits are coming to the conclusion that the Islamic veil / burqah / niqab / hijab should be banned. It's taken a long time. Many of us have been saying this for years; but we were shouted down by the thought police (and the MSM) for being too intolerant and un-pc. Interestingly, Brits had a go at the French too, for being intolerant of diversity when they banned the burqah. But now, it seems, they have been proved right. They were, of course, right all along.

The burqah has no place in a progressive society. Ban it! – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Islamic Schools Making Girls Wear Veils and Burkas

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Young girls are being forced to wear burkas or full-face veils by Islamic schools in Britain.

A number of the religious schools enforce uniform policies where such clothing is mandatory, even for girls as young as 11.

Under the dress code stipulated by the Madani Girls’ School in Tower Hamlets, East London, all pupils must wear a black burka and long black coat when outside.

The girls must also wear headscarves in the classroom and the school says on its website that its uniform rule "conforms to the Islamic Code of dressing and must be adhered to at all times".

The Ayesha Siddiqa Girls School, in Southall, West London, insists its pupils wear a navy blue burka or Jilbab, a long, loose-fitting garment that does not cover the face, when walking between lessons, The Times reported.

According to the school’s website, it is "not willing to compromise on any issues regarding uniform". » | Rosa Silverman | Wednesday, September 2013

My comment:

There was a time in which I was truly proud to be British. Those days are long gone. How can I be proud of being British anymore when the establishment is too weak to stand up for the British way of life, too weak to stand up for what we believe in?

Do the politicians and so-called leaders not realise that to force girls as young as eleven to cover themselves up in this way is a form of child abuse? These children are being deprived of normal contact with other children, they are being deprived of their childhood, and they are being deprived of sunlight, which could lead to rickets. It will certainly not be good for their young skin; it will make many of those young girls spotty.

This practice should be stopped forthwith. The wearing of full veil coverings is not a requirement of Islam anyway. Islam demands of its female adherents modesty, not the full covering of all body parts. The wearing of the burqah and other complete coverings stems from Middle Eastern culture; it has little or nothing to do with Islam. (Not that I am making excuses for that backward religion.)

It is interesting to note that pre-pubescent girls are not forced to cover up even in Saudi Arabia. Even in Saudi Arabia, little girls are allowed to be little girls, and they can play with their contemporaries freely. So if little girls are allowed not to cover themselves before puberty in Saudi Arabia, why should we allow them to be covered up in these ridiculous garments here in the United Kingdom? These garments are unhealthy in more ways than one. They should be banned forthwith. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Asking Women to Remove Veil Is Not Racist, Says Former Extremist

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Asking Muslim women to remove their veils is not racist or Islamaphobic, a former extremist who is now a Parliamentary candidate has said.

Maajid Nawaz, a British-born Muslim who has since renounced his views and is standing as a Liberal Democrat, said girls and women should remove their veils in classrooms, courts, and banks. His intervention came amid a growing political row over the issue.

Theresa May, the Conservative Home Secretary, said “women should be free to decide” for themselves whether to wear a veil. She said it was not for the state to “tell people what they should be wearing”, but added that at schools and courts removing veils may be a “practical necessity”.

Earlier this week, Jeremy Browne, the Lib Dem Home Office minister, told The Telegraph that there should be a “national debate” about whether veils should be banned in public.

MPs and senior judges subsequently called for national guidance to clarify the issue. Mrs May told Sky News that she did “not think the Government should tell women what they should be wearing”. » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Muslim Woman Rebekah Dawson Must Remove Niqab While Giving Evidence, Judge Rules

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Muslim woman has been given permission to wear a niqab during a criminal trial but must remove it while giving evidence, a judge has ruled.

Judge Peter Murphy made the ruling in the case of Muslim convert Rebekah Dawson, who is facing trial for allegedly intimidating a witness.

The 22-year-old had claimed her religious beliefs dictated that no male other than her husband could see her face.

Lawyers for the defendant had argued that forcing the 22-year-old convert to remove her niqab in court would be a breach of her rights under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

But in a lengthy ruling, Judge Murphy said it was of "cardinal importance" to the adversarial system that a jury could see a defendant's face while giving evidence.

The issue first arose when Mrs Dawson refused to lift her veil in order to identify herself at a plea and case management hearing at Blackfriars Crown Court. » | Martin Evans, Crime Correspondent | Monday, September 16, 2013

Related »

Fully Veiled Women Hinder Progressive Islam

THE INDEPENDENT: Toleration is good but not when it prevents fair interrogation and robust argument

First a British judge, then dedicated educationalists running a British college have been defeated by the aggressive guerrilla army of Muslim Salafists and their misguided allies. At Blackfriars Crown Court, Judge Peter Murphy ordered a 21-year-old, veiled defendant to show her face. The accused had been charged with witness intimidation and pleaded not guilty. Whatever the results of that case, she and her supporters certainly intimidated the judge, who backed down so the trial could proceed.

Birmingham Metropolitan College was similarly cowed and had to reverse a directive forbidding students from covering their faces. One hooded lady crowdsourced a protest against the college. Some overexcited student union members, Muslim objectors and online petitioners have forced a U-turn. Shabana Mahmood, MP for Ladywood, Birmingham, welcomed the capitulation. Happy days. Muslim women can now to go to courts and college in shrouds.

That all-covering gown, that headscarf, that face mask – all affirm and reinforce the belief that women are a hazard to men and society. These are unacceptable, iniquitous values, enforced violently by Taliban, Saudi and Iranian oppressors. They have no place in our country. So why are so many British females sending out those messages about themselves? » | Yasmin Alibhai Brown | Sunday, September 15, 2013

My comment:

'Progressive Islam'? That's an oxymoron if ever there was one. – © Mark

No-one Has a Human Right to Hide from Justice behind a Veil

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Looking back through my cuttings files, I see that my second column after I started writing on this page in December 2001 was on the subject of multiculturalism.

The then Labour Home Secretary, David Blunkett, had declared that British Muslims needed to realise that some of their cultural practices were incompatible with British values.

For his pains, he was accused of helping to promote racism. Plus ca change! Twelve years on, we are having the same argument.

Last week, Birmingham Metropolitan College dropped its ban on female students wearing the Islamic veil that covers the whole face except for the eyes, or even covers the eyes as well with a mesh.

This ban had been in place for eight years, along with a similar edict against hoodies and hats to ensure students were always ‘easily identifiable’.

Eminently sensible and overwhelmingly obvious, you might think. And apparently there had been no protest until recently, when a Left-wing student activist, Aaron Kiely, organised a 9,000-name petition after an anonymous student complained to a local paper that the ban discriminated against her right to wear the full-face veil.

A threatening demonstration was also on the cards. In the face of this pressure, the college shamefully backed down and modified its ruling to allow students to wear ‘specific items of personal clothing to reflect their cultural values’.

Amen to that last sentiment. A liberal society should, indeed, permit cultural or religious minorities to wear distinctive clothing — but only if that doesn’t get in the way of an institution’s ability to enforce basic standards of security, which the full veil most definitely does, since it obscures the identity of the person beneath the covering.

But it does more even than that. It destroys nothing less than the presumption of equality on which human communication is based.

For the full veil radically alters the balance of power between the woman it conceals and those attempting to communicate with her. This is because while they cannot see her face, she can see theirs. » | Melanie Phillips | Sunday, September 15, 2013

Jeremy Browne: Ban Muslim Women from Wearing Veils in Schools and Public Places

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Britain should consider banning Muslim girls and young women from wearing veils in schools and public places, a Home Office minister has said.

Jeremy Browne, a Liberal Democrat, said there needs to be a national debate about whether the state should step in to protect young women from having the veil “imposed” on them.

Mr Browne said he is “instinctively uneasy” about banning behaviour, but suggested the measure may still be necessary to ensure freedom of choice for girls in Muslim communities.

The Home Office minister is the first senior Liberal Democrat to raise such deep concerns about Islamic dress in public places. A growing number of Conservative MPs also want the Government to consider a ban.

The debate was given momentum last week when David Cameron’s spokesman said the Prime Minister would have no problem with the veil being banned in his children’s schools.

Tory MPs, including a vice-chairman of the party, have now voiced support for Mr Browne. » | Christopher Hope, and Steven Swinford | Sunday, September 15, 2013

New Dark Age Alert! Will Judge Lift Muslim’s Veil of Secrecy?

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A senior judge will come under pressure on Monday not to set a “dangerous” legal precedent by allowing a Muslim defendant to wear a full veil in a criminal trial.

The case comes amid a growing row over the wearing of niqabs and burkas in schools and colleges as well as in the court room.

An alliance of Islamic groups and Left-wing activists have been accused of conspiring to put pressure on institutions to overturn existing bans on the wearing of full-face coverings.

In a London courtroom tomorrow, lawyers acting for a 22-year-old Muslim woman will argue her right to religious freedom will be breached if Judge Peter Murphy orders her to remove her veil.

Chris Grayling, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, is understood to be monitoring the case closely, while senior figures in his ministry firmly believe “it is in the interests of justice for a jury to see the face of the accused”.

The woman’s lawyers are likely to bring an action against the court for breach of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights if the judge rules her trial - for intimidating a witness - should go ahead in November with her face visible to the court.

Article 9, enshrined in British law through the Human Rights Act, guarantees “freedom of conscience, thought and religion”.

The woman’s case has received backing from Liberty, the civil rights campaign group, which has supported the defendant through earlier hearings. » | Robert Mendick, Chief reporter | Sunday, September 15, 2013

My comment:

Wearing the full-face veil is not an article of the Islamic faith. Islam teaches that women should be dressed modestly at all times. Covering one’s face is not necessary in order to be modest. The full Islamic veil is culture-bound, not religion-bound. So the judge need not bellyache over this one. – © Mark

Birmingham College U-turns over Ban on Muslim Veils

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Birmingham college has made a u-turn on its controversial ban on Muslim face veils, just hours before a mass demonstration by hundreds of students.

Birmingham Metropolitan College was accused of discrimination when they ordered all students, staff and visitors to remove any face coverings so individuals are "easily identifiable at all times".

However, they backtracked after a protest petition attracted 8,000 signatures in 48 hours and their policy brought criticism from politicians.

Hundreds of students had planned to gather outside the Matthew Boulton city-centre campus at 2.30pm today to voice their opposition to the policy.

Last night the college said: "We are concerned that recent media attention is detracting from our core mission of providing high quality learning. As a consequence, we will modify our policies to allow individuals to wear specific items of personal clothing to reflect their cultural values. » | Hayley Dixon | Friday, September 13, 2013

Filipino Women Teachers Are Banned from Wearing Veils in the Classroom

MAIL ONLINE: Government bans Muslim teachers from wearing veils in front of pupils / Muslim Office claims so far no complaints have been received / It comes as France considers extending a ban on veils to private sector / Paris still counting the cost of riots after woman ordered to remove veil

Women teachers have been ordered to remove their veils when teaching in the classroom in the majority Catholic country of the Philippines.

It is the latest twist in the ongoing controversy over the wearing of the religious garment, that sparked a riot in the French capital Paris on Friday.

An order was sent out by the Filipino Government yesterday instructing female teachers to take off their religious veils in a move that was claimed would build a better relationship between teachers and pupils.

Education secretary Armin Luistro said it was part of reforms designed to make schools more sensitive to religion. Muslim schoolgirls will still be allowed to wear the veil in schools as well as 'appropriate clothing' in gym class.

But while female Muslim schoolteachers can wear the veil outside class, they have been told to remove the veil during lessons so they can interact better with students.

The order stated: 'Once the teacher is in the classroom, she is requested to remove the veil.'

It added the move would help aid 'proper identification of the teachers by their pupils, thus promoting better teacher-pupil relationship'.

It would also help the teaching of languages, where 'lip formation' plays a role in pronouncing certain letters.

The Government’s Office of Muslim Affairs said it agreed with the education department’s measures, although it had not yet received a copy of the order. » | Stuart Woledge | Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Islamic Veil Arrest Sparks Violence in Paris Suburb

FRANCE 24: Around 200 protesters clashed with police in the Paris suburb of Trappes on Friday night following the arrest of a man who allegedly assaulted a police officer after his wife was stopped for wearing an Islamic veil in public.

A night of violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Trappes on Friday, apparently sparked by a row over France’s controversial ban on face coverings.

Reports suggest upwards of 200 people clashed with security forces outside the town’s police station from around 9pm on Friday night, with the violence continuing into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Demonstrators were seen throwing projectiles at police, while a number of bins were set on fire. Several pictures and videos purporting to show the violence have been posted on social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter.

Around a dozen vans carrying riot police were deployed to the area, while a helicopter was dispatched to carry out surveillance of the town, located around 27km west of the centre of Paris.

Order was restored at around 3am when the crowd began to disperse, a police source told Reuters. » | France 24 | Saturday, July 20, 2013

Mona Eltahawy on France's Banning of Face Veils

POLICYMIC: French Rapper Diam [sic] Converts to Islam and Wears Hijab in Defiance of Her Country Law » | Jessica Schreindl | Sunday, October 07, 2012

Egypt’s Maria TV Pitches Strict Vision of Islam

THE WASHINGTON POST: CAIRO — Maria TV, a new Egyptian channel that solely features veiled women, might be the first in the industry without a makeup room.

The satellite television project debuted this summer, and the women who work for it say they hope their images on TV will empower like-minded women across the region who adhere to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam known as Salafism.

But there is also a big role for men at the channel. Maria TV’s owner, Ahmed Abdallah, is a prominent Salafi preacher, well known in Egypt for his anti-Christian rhetoric. Abdallah and his son Islam, the channel’s chief executive, were arrested last month for burning a Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Sept. 11.

And while the women who work for Maria TV said they want to promote their belief that all Egyptian women should be covered, the channel also serves as a vehicle for what the CEO said was an effort to dim the influence of Christianity in the Muslim-majority region.

Those views would have met strong resistance during the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who kept a tight lid on fundamentalist ideologies until his ouster in February 2011. But Islamists have perhaps reaped the most benefit from the country’s revolution, and with a new Islamist president, varying segments of society, including Salafis like Abdallah, are competing to define the role of religion in Egypt.

In September, a woman wearing a cream-colored head scarf read the midday news on state television, as officials here lifted a decades-old ban on veiled female presenters on state TV. » | Henry Shull | Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Egyptian TV Channel Caters to Fully Veiled Women

NEW ZEALAND HERALD: The only visible female face in the Cairo-based studio of a new Islamic TV channel for women is that of a puppet. The human stars are all veiled from head to toe, with only their eyes showing.

Maria TV is run primarily by women. They operate cameras, present shows and interview female guests ranging from doctors to students of Islamic theology. But they cannot show their faces during the broadcasts, and no men are allowed on air during the female programming, not even for phone-ins.

Shrouded in long flowing black robes and scarves known as niqabs, with black gloves to match the women are distinguishable only by their voices and the slits for their eyes.

The channel, which was launched on Saturday to coincide with the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, is the brainchild of Ahmed Abdallah as part of a broader effort to expand his religious pan-Arab satellite station Ummah TV.

The shows range from beauty programs where presenters simply discuss make-up tricks without actually showing any to shows about medicine and marriage.

The puppet is used in a satirical show that pokes fun at major news stories.

"Even if you have the whole house lit with candles, do not be upset when your husband comes home from a long day at work and does not notice," said Abeer Shahin, the presenter of a show called "First Year of Marriage."

Abdallah, known by his nickname Abu Islam, said his goal is to show women that they do not have to reveal their beauty to the world in order to be seen. "I am broadcasting a new era for women who wear niqab, for a new kind of woman," said Abdallah, who wore a traditional white Egyptian robe for men known as a galabeya.

That effort mirrors the cultural changes under way in Egypt since conservative Muslims rose to power after Hosni Mubarak's secular regime was ousted during last year's revolution. » | AP | Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Bounty Offered to Report Face Veil
A Belgian right-wing politician has offered a financial reward to anyone who would report a woman wearing a face veil to the police. Face veils in public, worn by a small minority of Muslim women, was banned by the government last year. But right wing groups say the ban isn't being enforced because police are afraid it might lead to riots. Al Jazeera's Bhanu Bhatnagar reports.