BBC: (Jack) Straw's veil comments spark anger

[Eugene]

Last Updated: Thursday, 5 October 2006, 22:37 GMT 23:37 UK

Straw's veil comments spark anger

Jack Straw, the ex-foreign secretary, has angered Muslim groups
by suggesting women who wear veils can make relations between
communities more difficult.

The Blackburn MP says the veil is a "visible statement of separation
and of difference" and he asks women visiting his surgery to consider
removing it.

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He wrote in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph that he feared "wearing
the full veil was bound to make better, positive relations between
the two communities more difficult".

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Later Mr Straw, who has defended the right for women to wear headscarves,
asked BBC Radio Lancashire: "Would those people who do wear the veil think
about the implications for community relations?"

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Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5410472.stm

Also: Straw dislikes all Muslim veils - BBC

Related Reuters article from today:

UK minister's veil comments stoke Muslim ire

By Michael Holden
Reuters
Friday, October 6, 2006; 7:08 AM

LONDON (Reuters) - A senior British cabinet minister said on Friday it would
be better if Muslim women did not wear full veils, inflaming anger among the
country's Islamic community and sparking heated debate on social integration.

Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw provoked a mixture of anger and
derision on Thursday after he said the wearing of veils made community
relations "more difficult" as they acted as "a visible statement of separation
and difference."

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However, he defended Muslims right to wear headscarves, hijabs, unlike the
French government which banned them from state schools sparking protests
across the Islamic world.

While British newspapers and commentators applauded Straw's stance, which he
said was designed to provoke a "mature debate," many Muslims reacted with anger.

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Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100600279.html