Magic Statistics

A man wanted in connection with terror-related offences dodged British police for several days by donning a burka to disguise himself as a Muslim woman.

The fact that a fugitive remained at large after disguising himself in an Islamic dress which covered his face will further fuel the debate sparked by Jack Straw, Leader of the House of Commons, about the wearing of the veil.
. . .
He was eventually caught and is now one of more than 90 suspects in British prisons awaiting trial on terror charges.
. . .
It is the first time that a male suspect has allegedly disguised himself as a Muslim woman in Britain. However, the tactic has been used frequently by Islamist fighters — including suicide bombers — in Iraq and Afghanistan. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, often dressed in a burka to evade American forces hunting him.

Labour MP Shahid Malik thinks this one occurrence is nothing to get worried about.

“If this is true, then it is the first case of its kind in Britain and an isolated incident. We must not get hysterical about it.
. . .
“The important thing is that the police and the security services should feel comfortable and confident about stopping anyone who they have suspicions about, whatever they are wearing.”

Sorry, but I don’t follow.  If the police don’t know whether the face hidden behind the veil is that of the fugitive they seek, how can they possible “feel comfortable and confident” about apprehending the individual?  If society wishes to ensure that law enforcement officials are "confident" when they stop suspicious persons, wouldn’t the veil have to be outlawed?

Labour MPs are taking sides in response to Jack Straw’s statement that he will ask Muslim women to remove their veils when speaking with him because, in his opinion, veils hinder genuine communication.  Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt disagree with Mr Straw, but Phil Woolas, the minister responsible for community cohesion, race and faith, supports his view.

Previous related post: Jack Straw is right about the veil, says daughter of Kashmiri immigrants

In an opinion column in today’s Times of London, Saira Khan says Muslim women should thank Jack Straw for speaking against wearing the veil in public.

It is never right for a woman to hide behind a veil and shut herself off from people in the community. But it is particularly wrong in Britain, where it [sic] alien to the mainstream culture for someone to walk around wearing a mask. The veil restricts women, it stops them achieving their full potential in all areas of their life and it stops them communicating. It sends out a clear message: “I do not want to be part of your society.”

Ms Khan is skeptical of the claim that Muslim women who wear the veil choose to do so.  Some may, she says, but many are forced to do so.  In any case, for all who wear it, the veil is a symbol of women’s second-class status under Islam.

The fundamental issue for Ms Khan is that the veil makes it impossible to live a normal life in Western society.  Muslim women who want their daughters to prosper in Britain should resist radical Muslim men who want to keep their women hidden away.

I was able to take advantage of what Britain has got to offer and I hope Mr Straw’s comments will help more Muslim women to do the same. But my argument with those Muslims who would only be happy in a Talebanised society, who turn their face against integration, is this: “If you don’t like living here and don’t want to integrate, then what the hell are you doing here? Why don’t you just go and live in an Islamic country?”

I am in full sympathy with Ms Khan’s angry words, but I have to point out that many of the most radicalised Muslim men in Britain, including virtually all of those arrested in various anti-terror operations, are native-born British citizens.  They don’t want to go elsewhere; rather, their goal is to transform areas of Britain with heavy concentrations of Muslims into Islamic enclaves.

Previous related posts:

• Spectator trifecta on European Islam
• British Muslim clerics: “We won”
• British Muslims will form state within a state Never mind

The collect for today, the 17th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Lord, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6
The Gospel: St Luke 14:1-11