British minister says Muslim veils a barrier

Jack Straw, the leader of the British House of Commons, disclosed Thursday that he often asks Muslim women visiting his office to remove their veils, sparking controversy.

Straw, who served as foreign secretary for five years until May, madethe comments in his weekly newspaper column for the Lancashire Telegraph. Straw said he feels uncomfortable talking with someone whose face is covered, saying the veil could be seen "as a visible statement of separation and difference."

Straw said he makes sure he has a female member of staff with him when he asks women to lift their veils, and that he couldn't recall an occasion when a woman refused his request in the past year, since he started making the request.

"The value of a meeting, as opposed to a letter or phone call, is so that you can —almost literally — see what the other person means and not just hear what they say," he wrote. "So many of the judgments we all make about other people come from seeing their faces."

He said he defended "absolutely" the rights of women to wear a headscarf if they chose, but that he was concerned about the potential impact onrelations in the greater community of the increasing number of British Muslim women wearing the veil.

'Outrageous': Islamic group

Several Muslim groups condemned the column.

Massoud Shadjareh, leader of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, described the comments as "outrageous" and asked whether Straw would make a similar requestof Orthodox Jews.

"We're really astonished that someone so senior and responsible as Mr. Straw would make such a statement," said Shadjareh.

"I'm sure many people go [to his office] with many different types of clothing and fashions. Why does he suddenly have a problem with this?"

Dr. Daud Abdullah, of the Muslim Council of Britain, was more sympathetic to Straw.

"The veil does cause some discomfort to non-Muslims. One can understand this," he said.

"There are those who believe it is obligatory for the Muslim woman to cover her face," he added. "Others say she is not obliged to cover up. It's up to the woman to make the choice."

Straw has traditionally enjoyed the support of a majority of Muslims inLancashire.

He was replaced as foreign secretary by Margaret Beckett in May in a Cabinet shuffle.