"I urge the Council of Faiths to respond"

A friend brings to my attention a letter in today's Leicester Mercury which is particular relevance to the Council of Faiths:

Let's lead the way on this issue

Suleman Nagdi (Mailbox, July 20) makes a strong ,but provocative, case for opposing any ban on the niqab: He doesn't mention the burka.

As he says, the French Assembly has passed a bill banning the niqab and the burka in public places and that piece of legislation now goes to their Senate. The Spanish Parliament, by contrast, has voted against a similar proposal.

A possible explanation is that France has a long tradition of fighting to maintain the principles of the 1789 revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity.

I see no reason for a British citizen not to respect their decision: A great deal of blood was spilt during that revolution.

The question is, do we want to follow the same path? Would, as Suleman Nagdi suggests, such a decision run counter to the "liberal values" of our country? The answer to that question depends upon your definition of liberal values.

Historically, this country is quite familiar with a decision by a woman to "take the veil''. It is unusual nowadays but in the past significant numbers of British women "took the veil", withdrew from society, joined a nunnery and no-one raised an eyebrow.

The change the indigenous population are having to deal with is the fact that not insignificant numbers of Muslim women come to this country, "take the veil" so to speak and do not withdraw from society. Quite the reverse, in fact. Some Muslim women "take the veil", get married, raise a family, drive their children to school and undertake employment.

That is contrary to the British tradition and some non-Muslims feel threatened by this behaviour. It is indeed a test for all the indigenous population. I doubt whether Suleman Nagdi, a reasonable man, would deny the existence of this test. Incidentally, I do not accept that "any change to the law will discourage particular groups from being active members of society''. Indeed there are good grounds for thinking that the removal of the Niqab at sensitive times and for specific events will lead to greater understanding and improved interfaith relations.

Whether this requires a change in the law is a matter for debate: I rather hope not.

In a liberal democracy, the way forward might be to look for a compromise. That requires very detailed knowledge of the subject by the parties charged with responsibility for negotiating the compromise. A public code of practice – not in any sense legally binding – would be admirable and would show that this city is leading the way on a matter of public interest. I urge The Council of Faiths to respond.

James Gore Browne, Leicester

After a few emails are sent round, and phone conversations with Manjula Sood (our Chair) and Suleman Nagdi, I get to work on drafting our response. Manjula and I have a meeting on another issue tomorrow afternoon (along with Tony Nelson, our Vice Chair). Hopefully, we'll agree on a text then which can be sent to the Mercury in reply.