Let Muslim Primary School Teachers Wear Full-Face Veil in Class – Rowan Williams

The Daily Telegraph (UK) ^ | 11/10/14 | John Bingham

[marshmallow]

Former Archbishop of Canterbury says ‘panic’ about the niqab is 'largely misplaced' even if young children cannot see their teacher’s face

There is no need to “panic” about Muslim primary school teachers wearing the full-face veil in class, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams, has insisted.

He said concerns that young children would struggle to learn from a woman whose face was covered were “largely misplaced” and that there are other ways to "read” what people are saying.

The former Archbishop’s remarks, in an interview for the Christian think-tank Theos, reopen the debate about the place of the niqab in British public life.

It follows a political storm last year after the then Home Office minster Jeremy Browne called for a national discussion about restrictions in some settings such as schools to prevent young women from having the veil “imposed” on them.

David Cameron rejected the idea of a ban but said he would “back up” schools and courts that ask women to remove veils.

Lord Williams’s previous forays into the issue of Islam led to one of the biggest crises of his time at Lambeth Palace, when he said in 2008 that it seemed unavoidable that aspects of Sharia law would be adopted in the UK. He was speaking about the growth of arbitration tribunals which already operate on Sharia principles.

[353FMG]

Get Rid Of Islam Now.

[Jimmy Valentine]

“Will no one rid us of this turbulent priest?” King Henry

[Morgana]

While we are at it, force those old hens on The View to wear one too!

[Chode]

[lonestar]

You reap what you sow.