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Daily Express launched a "crusade" against the "Veil"
Daily Express launched a "crusade" against the "Veil"

Aishah Azmi is a Muslim woman who came to public attention after being suspended and then dismissed from her position as a classroom assistant in a Church of England school for refusing to take off her niqab face veil when working in class with small children. The Daily Express is a conservative Middle-market British Tabloid Newspaper. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican A niqāb ( Arabic: نِقاب‎) is a Veil which covers the face worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb. A picture of her in her niqab appeared on the front pages of British tabloids, such as The Sun and the Daily Mail, as well as newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and The Times. A tabloid is a Newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest The Sun is a Tabloid daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the highest circulation of any daily English-language The Daily Mail is a British newspaper currently published in a tabloid format For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Prior to the outcome of her religious discrimination tribunal case, Prime Minister Tony Blair broke from the traditional protocol of not commenting on a case before the courts, and gave his backing for her dismissal. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to

Contents

Employment case

When Azmi went for an interview for the school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire she was wearing a hijab, which shows the face but not the hair. Dewsbury is a Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of Islam and clothing Hijab or ħijāb ( ar حجاب, pronounced) is the Arabic term for "cover" (noun based on the root حجب meaning "to She did not inform the interviewers that she intended to wear the niqab. When she started her employment she requested that she be allowed to wear the niqab and the school initially agreed. Some reports claim that the school maintains that it decided to ask her to remove the veil only after complaints from the pupils that they were unable to fully understand what she was saying. [1] In fact, the school never raised the issue of complaints from pupils, as can be verified by reference to the Employment Tribunal decision, and no complaints heve ever been evidenced. Azmi informed the school that she would only remove the veil if no male member of staff was present, in accordance with a Muslim interpretation of the Qur'an concerning modesty for women. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran This stipulation was deemed unacceptable by her employer, Kirklees Council, but rather than take a normal employment law course of instructing her not to wear the niqab, warning her and then dismissing her, it suspended her pending the outcome of the tribunal case. This course of action was expressed to be 'without prejudice' by a spokesman for the local authority. Mrs Azmi remained on full pay although suspended from her position until the outcome of her legal case. She was 23 years old at the time.

Azmi had maintained that the wearing of a niqab was a personal decision, although towards the end of October the Sunday Times published an article claiming that her decision was actually made following a consultation with a local Islamic cleric, Mufti Yusuf Sacha at the Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. This article is about an Islamic scholar Mufti can also refer to civilian dress. Tablighi Jamaat ("Conveying Group" ( Arabic: جماعة التبليغ, also Tabligh) is a Muslim Missionary and revival Sacha issued a fatwa stating that it was obligatory for women to wear the niqab in the presence of men who were not their blood relatives, and this would include Azmi wearing a niqab whilst working with children. A fatwā (فتوى plural fatāwā فتاوى in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Islamic law issued by an [2] However this fatwa on wearing the niqab is strongly disputed by other British Muslim clerics.

Azmi took her case to an employment tribunal on the grounds that she had been discriminated against on religious grounds and that she had been victimised as a result of complaining. Employment Tribunals are Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory Jurisdiction The tribunal dismissed her case of religious discrimination but found that she had been victimised. She was awarded £1000 in compensation for this victimisation and, because in dealing with her grievance the school had not followed minimum grievance procedures set out in the law, it was bound to increase this award by between 10% and 50%. It choose the minimum increase of 10% and therefore awarded her £1100 in total. Azmi was subsequently dismissed by Kirklees Council. [3] She lodged papers with the Employment Appeals Tribunal in London, although she was publicly advised by her MP Shahid Malik to drop the case, since 'there is no real support for it'. Shahid Malik (born November 24, 1967 Burnley) is British Member of Parliament [4] Azmi's legal representative, Nick Whittingham, of Kirklees Law Centre, expected the case to be heard in the first half of 2007 and in fact it was decided in March 2007: see below. [5]

Government reaction

Her case came on top of remarks by Jack Straw who said that he had asked women visiting his constituency surgeries to consider uncovering their noses and mouths in order to allow better communication. John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946 most commonly known as Jack Straw, is a senior British Labour Party Politician. He claimed that no woman had ever chosen to wear a full-veil after this request. [6][7][8] When asked whether he would prefer veils to be abolished completely, Mr Straw said: "Yes. It needs to be made clear I am not talking about being prescriptive but with all the caveats, yes, I would rather. "[9]

As the case was ongoing, Phil Woolas, a junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, said that "she should be sacked". Philip James Woolas, known as Phil Woolas, (born 11 December 1959 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England is a politician in the United Kingdom The Department for Communities and Local Government (branded as Communities and Local Government) is the United Kingdom government department for communities Tony Blair, the Prime Minister also signalled that he considered women who wore a veil when teaching should be sacked, and added that in his opinion the veil was a "mark of separation" that made him "uncomfortable". This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. [10][11]

Newspaper commentary

Writing in The Times on 2 November 2006, Mary Ann Sieghart described Mrs Asmi's refusal to uncover her face when facing a class of young children as being as culturally insensitive as it would be for Ms Sieghart to walk through a souk in the Middle East in shorts. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Another broadsheet commentator said that Ms Asmi should have been sacked because she clearly did not care about the education of the children in her care.

Employent Appeal Tribunal March 2007

On 30 March 2007 the Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed Mrs Asmi’s appeal. Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. It held that the employment tribunal had been entitled to find that she was not directly discriminated against on the ground of religion or belief. The appeal tribunal found that there had been indirect discrimination, but that this was acceptable on the facts of this particular case because it was an appropriate way of raising educational standards. [12] The Employment Appeal Tribunal decision is important because it confirmed for the first time that it is possible for an employer to be held to have discriminated against an employee in relation to an external manifestation of belief (such as a veil) and that such discrimination could be direct or indirect. Employers would only be acting lawfully if the discrimination is indirect and the employer has a lawful justification.

See also

References

  1. ^ Veil row woman challenges sacking BBC News, 20 January 2007
  2. ^ Taher, Abul. Islam and clothing Hijab or ħijāb ( ar حجاب, pronounced) is the Arabic term for "cover" (noun based on the root حجب meaning "to John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946 most commonly known as Jack Straw, is a senior British Labour Party Politician. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. The United Kingdom debate over veils began in October 2006 when the MP and government minister Jack Straw wrote in his local newspaper The Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to The Royal Christmas Message (currently coined The Queen's Speech) is broadcast by Queen Elizabeth II to the Commonwealth at Christmas. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. "Veil teacher was obeying a fatwa" (HTML), The Sunday Times, 2006-10-29. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Retrieved on 2006-11-24. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal  
  3. ^ School sacks woman after veil row BBC News, 24 November 2006
  4. ^ MP tells veil woman 'let it go' BBC News, 20 November 2006
  5. ^ Veil row woman challenges sacking BBC News, 20 January 2007
  6. ^ Blackburn Citizen
  7. ^ GMTV - Jack Straw says that relations with the Muslim community are made "more difficult" when Muslim women wear veils - have your say
  8. ^ Straw's veil comments spark anger BBC News
  9. ^ In quotes: Jack Straw on the veil - BBC News, October 6, 2006
  10. ^ Blair backs suspension of veil woman The Sydney Morning Herald. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Sydney Morning Herald ( SMH) is a daily Broadsheet Newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia October 18, 2006
  11. ^ Blair backs school in veil row The Guardian. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. October 17, 2006
  12. ^ Veil row assistant loses appeal BBC News. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. March 30, 2007


External links

Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
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