Full-Face Muslim Veil Barrier To Integration, Says British Muslim Lawmaker.

The full-face Muslim veil, Niqab is a "mark of separation" and a barrier to integration with western society, a Muslim member of Britain's first upper chamber of Parliament said on Tuesday.

In comments likely to rekindle debate on the controversial issue, Lord Nazir Ahmed told a regional newspaper: "The veil is now a mark of separation, segregation and defiance against mainstream British culture.

"But there's nothing in the Koran to say that the wearing of a Niqab is desirable, let alone compulsory. It's purely cultural. It's an identity thing which has been misinterpreted.

"They were supposed to be worn so that women wouldn't be harassed. But my argument is that women, and communities as a whole, are now being harassed because they are wearing them."

Ahmed was born in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir but brought up in Rotherham, Northern England. He became the first Muslim member of the House of Lords in 1998 and took his oath on the Koran.

Ahmed recently spoke in a debate in the Qatari capital Doha supporting a motion that the Niqab was a "barrier to integration in the west," the newspaper reported.

Ahmed said he did not want the Niqab banned but that a "sensible and sensitive" debate was needed about whether they were required in British society. (ZeeNews.Com)

***** Let there be no doubt that the statement by this British lawmaker, Muslim or not, is going to cause more unneeded controversy.
Image Source - Hijab/Niqab
Image Source - Niqab