British Muslim lawmaker criticises full-face veil

LONDON: The full-face Muslim veil 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 the Yorkshire Post 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. The Yorkshire Post covers areas with strong Muslim communities.

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.

"Just as Westerners cannot walk around the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh without a head covering and long clothes and expect to engage with local people, so Muslims in Britain must become more sensitive to their surroundings," he added.