Burkas should not be worn where it compromises safety

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar, the late Dr Tantawi, famously, and provocatively made female students remove the face-veil in the classroom. This was a brave thing to do at the premier place of Sunni Muslim learning. Was he right to do it?

It is clear that the fundamental principle of freedom of belief and of the right to manifest one’s own belief must continue to be upheld in a free society, whether for Christians, Muslims or anyone else.

Such a principle does not, however, exist in isolation and has to be balanced against other considerations of the common good and of public order.

As far as the wearing of the Burka is concerned, there are, first of all, questions of safety.

Naturally, it would be quite inappropriate for the Burka to be worn whilst driving or operating certain kinds of machinery. It is dangerous even whilst crossing the street!

There have also been many cases in different parts of the world where terrorists and other criminals have made a getaway by disguising themselves with a burka.

For reasons of security then, where identity has to be established, the wearing of the burka cannot be permitted. This would include airports, immigration control and access to public buildings.

This must also be so where a high degree of social interaction is required. Stephen Timms, the former Labour minister, has recently been stabbed by a woman in a burka who had come to his constituency surgery.

This lends urgency to Jack Straw’s plea that the Burka should be removed in the context of one-to-one interviews.

It is impossible to imagine how it could be worn in certain kinds of professions; by GPs, for instance, or nurses caring for patients, or by teachers in classrooms.

There is also the issue of consent. I have aunts who have worn the burka freely and have abandoned it equally freely, but motivations cannot be assumed.

In a free society we must make sure that no one is forced to wear a form of covering that surely limits freedom of movement and social interaction.

I am not, then, in favour of an outright ban. Women should be free to wear it in domestic contexts, while visiting friends and colleagues and elsewhere, but only if this is not compromising public or personal safety, endangering national security or impeding professional or social interaction.

In those circumstances, it is difficult to see how it can be allowed and we must acknowledge that Dr Tantawi was right.

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