Muslims to pay school's legal fight to uphold niqab ban

[Ms DD]

Muslims to pay school's legal fight to uphold niqab ban

By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor

Last Updated: 2:42am GMT 07/02/2007

 

Comment on this story Read comments

 

 

In pictures: Degrees of veiling

A Muslim group has offered to help fund a school's legal battle over its refusal to let a pupil wear the niqab in class.

 

 

Veiled woman: The niqab, which covers the whole face apart from the eyes

 

 

In an unprecedented move, the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford (Meco) has written to the head teacher to say it is prepared to contribute to a fighting fund.

 

Taj Hargey, Meco's chairman, said he was also willing to organise a campaign among Muslims nationally to resist "this largely Saudi-driven campaign to make the niqab a compulsory requirement for Muslim women".

 

Dr Hargey's offer comes as the school, which cannot be identified because of a court order, faces the prospect of an expensive legal fight without any backing.

 

Buckinghamshire county council, the local authority for the school, is unwilling to underwrite a challenge which it believes could cost as much as £500,000.

 

A court on Thursday is due to decide whether the school's decision not to allow the pupil, aged 12, to wear the veil should go to a full judicial review. The school, which already allows girls to wear head scarves called hijabs, drew the line at the niqab, which covers the whole face except the eyes.

 

It is insisting that the family accepts the uniform policy but the father has been given legal aid to fight a human rights case.

 

advertisementLast year the law lords ruled that a school in Luton, Beds, was justified in barring Shabina Begum from wearing a jilbab, a long loose gown, to classes but it took a long and expensive legal fight.

 

The judges made clear that their ruling applied only to the Luton case and it is unclear whether other courts will consider the judgment to have established case law.

 

If the court allows the case to proceed, the school may be forced to back down, potentially rendering any policy on uniform unenforceable at any school threatened with legal action.

 

The case is complicated because the girl's sisters were allowed to wear the niqab when a different head was in charge. A new policy has been introduced which the father is challenging. The girl has not been excluded, but has been out of school since early October.

 

In his letter to the school, Dr Hargey said the father's insistence on his daughter wearing the niqab was a "non-Islamic imposition upon your institution".

 

He added: "We are strongly committed to offering you our full and unequivocal support in banning face-masks at school. We trust that you will continue to resist any move to implement this kind of minority ethnic obsession, which has no foundation whatsoever in the transcendent sources of Islamic law."

 

Dr Hargey said that since the school's dress code already allowed the option for Muslim girls to wear the hijab, there was no need for full-face covering.

 

Paul Goodman, the Conservative MP for Wycombe, has pressed the county council to back the school. But although it says it supports the school's right to decide its own dress code, the council has not promised to fund a legal defence.

 

Mr Goodman said: "My own view is that we don't want veils in our schools. Veils are a sign of separation."

 

The school has sought to stay out of the wider cultural issues involved and has taken a stand for "educational and security reasons".

 

The Department for Education is said to be watching the case closely because of the potential for wider implications if the school has to back down or loses a human rights case.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/05/nveil05.xml

 

I think it is ridiculous that a 12 yr old wants to wear niqab in school. But my concern is the muslims (meco) who are paying the school's legal fees. Will this cause even more rift among muslims or will it aide in bringing communities together?

[N.O.R.F]

Educational Centre of Oxford (Meco)

Horay the moderates

[Resistance]

They are Sufis, this group has been getting rather generious media coverage lately.

[N.O.R.F]

Are you sure?

[Ms DD]

I am all for muslim clerics and scholars crossing the Rubicon and reaching out to British(Western) society promoting multiculturalism and diversity.

 

Is this action by meco a feasible and pragmatic option and will this ameliorate the fraught relations that currently exist?

[Resistance]

Most positive Northener, check their website.

 

These days even the so-called Moderates are being attacked left-right-center, only last night Newsnight did a report on King Fahad school ( how more moderate cant they get ) on how they teaching hatred towards Jews.

[Blessed]

I say, it furthers divisions within the Muslim community, confuses the non-Muslims on the veil and tramples upon individual freedoms, which is most un-Islamic.

 

Also, in response to the head teachers excuse, divisive is to impose your own ideas on appropriate dress on others.

[Strawberry_Xu]

I personally don't see the point of niqabs, but I have to agree with Kimiya that muslims endorsing bans on them only serves to confuse the non-muslim majority.

 

The point is not whether Islam strictly requires niqabs, the point is that a woman should have the freedom to wear whatever she wants. These girls and their families believe that it is a strict requirement, therefore any ban would strongly conflict with their beliefs.

 

We can't allow the government to dictate which forms of religious expression are acceptable and which laws of the Shariah we should follow. Only muslims should consult amongst each other how to apply the laws of Islam.

 

However, I'd hesitate to have girls wear the niqab at such a young age and I do understand how this is a problem at school. But Meco could have handled this better by instead of choosing sides, they consulted with the girl's family, advising them on pushing for things that are not essential when there so many other things to fight for, etc.

 

But I would never agree with a ban on the niqab, however young they are, because any division between Muslims on the issue of freedom of expression will cause the government to pursue even more Islamic customs.

[NGONGE]

Originally posted by Kimiya:

I say, it furthers divisions within the Muslim community, confuses the non-Muslims on the veil and tramples upon individual freedoms, which is most un-Islamic.

 

Also, in response to the head teachers excuse, divisive is to impose your own ideas on appropriate dress on others.

Both sides are not doing any of us any favours here. A 12-year-old wearing a niqaab and an organisation that sees how silly this is coming out and openly fighting it! You really couldn’t make any of it up even if you tried.

 

I don’t at all agree with the schoolgirl and her family. Their actions are selfish and unnecessary. This business of ‘freedom of expression’ that you speak about, ayaayo, is akin to the old Islamic tale of the guy in the boat that decided to dig a hole in his own section knowing full well that the boat will sink as a result. It’s all about his freedom of expression, after all!

 

There are strict rules to adhere to and then there are compromises. The niqaab, by the agreement of most scholars, is not a strict necessity. Yet, everyday you get some Muslim women causing a furore over their insistence to wear the niqaab and their freedom of expression! One, surely, cannot have two masters. Are you fighting for Islamic rights or for Western style freedoms?

 

The Islamic organisation that offered to fight against this and pay the fees don’t even seem to realise the connotations of their actions and the impression they give (to Muslims, Westerners don’t concern me here). Theirs is a worse mistake than the girl and her family. For at lest the girl and her family are only individuals representing themselves and their mistakes (or otherwise) can only be attributed to them. But when a so-called Islamic organisation enters the fray and declares against its fellow Muslims, it has drawn the battle lines and signalled a clear starting point for squabbling and division!

 

It’s a great shame that there does not seem to be any common sense or at least an agreement on what we should consider as ‘common sense’ (middle ground, et).

[Strawberry_Xu]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

There are strict rules to adhere to and then there are compromises. The niqaab, by the agreement of most scholars, is not a strict necessity. Yet, everyday you get some Muslim women causing a furore over their insistence to wear the niqaab and their freedom of expression! One, surely, cannot have two masters. Are you fighting for

Islamic rights or for Western style freedoms?

God knows that even when we agree on the basics of Islam, there are great variations on what we define as Islamic. There are many scholars who believe that the niqab is compulsory (mind you, I personally don't agree). It is impossible to have a single body of muslims who speak for every other muslim out there, to help us define what exactly constitutes as Islamic. If this girl and her family strongly feel that they are violating an Islamic directive by not wearing the niqab, no one can claim that they are merely following a culture. Wearing the niqab becomes a religious expression.

 

I personally have doubts about this family's intentions, and I feel this case is unnecessary, dubious and probably doing more harm than good for the Muslim community. But whether you call it 'western style' freedom or not, the point is, since we cannot agree on what these 'clear' rules are, we should always stand behind the most inclusive interpretation of freedom of religious expression.

 

EDIT: I still think some scholars should advise this girl's family and present them with proofs based on revelation, and get them to change their minds through education. If they still insist, then let them take whatever action they feel is necessary to uphold their beliefs.

[Laba-X]

Originally posted by NGONGE:

The niqaab, by the agreement of most scholars, is not a strict necessity.

...Most Scholars? Any proof, mise waa waad iska duryameysaa sidii lagugu ogaa?

[Blessed]

Ngonge,

We meet again, seems like we both enjoy these tug-of-hijab wars.

 

There are strict rules to adhere to and then there are compromises. The niqaab, by the agreement of most scholars, is not a strict necessity. Yet, everyday you get some Muslim women causing a furore over their insistence to wear the niqaab and their freedom of expression!

I personally pass up on any discussion focused on appropriate or invalid forms of hijaab. There are differences of opinion, we should not only respect them but also put them aside when it concerns the defense of another Muslim.

 

Whether the family / niqaabis are being selfish or unnecessary would depend entirely on their conviction with regards to the obligation of niqaab and their intentions. Unfortunately, we don’t have any knowledge of either, so I’ll choose not to pass any judgment.

 

However, I do think that the family could employ some wisdom in this case. For starters, I would advice them to look for alternative schooling for their child. A Muslim child least of all a niqaab wearing child would fare much better if they weren’t placed in a state school. In saying so, this case has obviously moved to another level and we are now dealing with a court case and a Muslim organization that has sided with an anti-niqaab institution. It is at this point that we join the debate.

 

My main concern on this issue is that it opens up a can of worms where we could sleep walk into a situation where people feel that they are at liberty to discard aspects of Islam that they deem unaccebtable. As Xula pointed out, it may be the niqaab today but what happens when some institutions start banning the hijaab as it too is a symbol of division?

 

This business of ‘freedom of expression’ that you speak about, ayaayo, is akin to the old Islamic tale of the guy in the boat that decided to dig a hole in his own section knowing full well that the boat will sink as a result. It’s all about his freedom of expression, after all!

LOL! Silly analogy dear, take two [i don’t mean wives ]

 

 

One, surely, cannot have two masters. Are you fighting for Islamic rights or for Western style freedoms?

You are fighting for an Islamic dress style using the freedoms granted by the laws of the western countries that you live in. There is no contradiction between the two and it's certainlys not about having two masters, that’s something Khayr would say.

 

A Muslim living in a none-Muslim country does so with the understanding that you respect the laws and customs of that country. We both abide by and apply these laws when we seek redress in legal matters. Why do you have a problem with my reference to them with regards to hijab?

 

Most western nations pride themselves in granting individuals the rights to freedom of religion [as long as this doesn’t bring harm to anyone]. Until these laws are changed niqaabis are have the right to demand inclusion in British society.

[Ms DD]

Actually Ngonge makes sense here. Niqaab is not strictly compulsory. And in this day and age (with the current anti-Islam climate), it shouldnt be an issue. I however suspect that this isnt about niqaab but the anti-Islamic propaganda that became a surrogate for a social "integration.

In short, the indegenous populace are told : don't speak out against the "free market", don't object the abrogation of the human rights in the cases of Belmarch, Gizmo etc, because the "MOSLEMS" are out there to get you. The proof is the veil.

 

 

Niqaab can be worn for any sister who wishes to. However in life, there will be cases where it is compulsory for the women to reveal her face i.e. case of marriage, selling, giving gifts, debts, power of attorney, medical treatments, Hajj and ‘Umrah, every prayer of the day etc.

 

On the other hand this issue is one of freedom of religion which the West likes to mouth off - like other maxims like innocent until proven guilty and ensuring civil treatment of people in jails.

[Blessed]

Originally posted by Cambarro:

On the other hand this issue is one of freedom of religion which the West likes to mouth off - like other maxims like innocent until proven guilty and ensuring civil treatment of people in jails.

Yet, they hesitate to apply these laws as far as Muslims are concerned.

[Pujah]

By Xulaxu

We can't allow the government to dictate which forms of religious expression are acceptable and which laws of the Shariah we should follow. Only muslims should consult amongst each other how to apply the laws of Islam.

The above quote about sums up my feelings about this.

Whether niqab is compulsory or not is not the issue here rather the involved individual’s freedom of rights.