Furrowing through an old newspaper lying about (“thelondonpaper” 21 Feb 2007), I read an article entitled “Pupil loses veil battle.” This polemic subject (integrating Muslims in Western cultures) is certainly grounds for much heated debate and one feels that one has to tread very lightly. This particular situation in London involved a 12-year-old Muslim girl who went to court, aided by her father, to overthrow her school’s ban on the right to wear the niqab full-face veil. The court rejected her plea. Interestingly, the article said that the girl’s identity has been protected – not that the accompanying photograph was particularly revealing (the attached photo is not her, but is more or less similar to the one in the newspaper). She argued that the ban “breached her right to freedom…of thought, conscience…” A perplexing view of freedom in my opinion.

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