As with everyone else here, I don’t know all the details of the story. It is interesting that the woman didn’t wear her veil on the initial interview though. I definitely believe people have the right to witness to their faith. But why couldn’t she just wear a veil that covered her hair with her face showing? Or she could have worn a Muslim symbol on a necklace as we Catholics do with crucifixes/medals, etc. That would be just as much of a witness as a veil with just the eyes showing.

I do feel that there are genuine concerns with terrorism around the world. It’s not just a perception. As one poster stated, if a woman wears a veil with just the eyes showing, anyone could impersonate her and sneak into the classroom unnoticed. This could put the children’s lives at risk, whether they be British children or kids of any ethnic minority.

donna

Certainly understandable to ask her either to get another position or remove the ‘mouth covering.

I agree with the orientation issue. I have a number of homosexual friends and it is amazing that people act towards them with this, “I’ll tolerate your presence as long as you do not explicitly confess your sexuality”. Take about red tape in human relationships!

Oh, and by the way, he wears a tench coat!

On the other, I’ve witnessed and been the target of some pretty nasty barbs because of religion in a so-called “tolerant” society, and I know I’ve been guilty of the same to other denominations, mostly ones who try to convert me while I’m eating lunch. Like you, the article raises a bunch of big questions I don’t have answers for.

I think about this in connection with other issues like gun violence at schools. How many kids are singled out for being “different” because they have piercings or blue hair or trench coats? Again, a visibility issue.

I also think of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies and again there’s that visibility thing. Such policies purport to be ‘tolerant’ of people’s sexual orientation as long as it is not made public/visible.

I will have to think more on this visibility thing because I think it also has to do with Holly’s comment about this issue being “a cultural habit at the root of small and vast evil.”

More comments on this issue? Please write.

Which conceals everything but her eyes. I think that it is her religious right to cover herself if she wishes, but in a culture which views accountability as being “visibility” both literal and figurative, she did become an excellent figurehead for the “war on terror and oppression”.

Some would probably think she is oppressed, but amazingly, most Muslim women wear the veil because they like it; they feel it saves them from being used by men for their appearance.

I do not agree with those women who refuse to remove their niqab for their ID cards and such, but in every day life, I think it makes for a good teachable object and a way of broadening student’s horizons and teaching them about tolerance and understanding.