MP says 90% of constituents would vote for ban on niqab

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Monday June 02 2014
Bradford’s local paper, the Telegraph and Argus covers a debate organised by the Bradford Council of Mosques (BCoM) with local MP Philip Davies on the issue of niqab.
With the second reading of the Face Coverings (Prohibition) Bill, proposed by fellow Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, in February, the local mosque arranged for views expressed by Davies to be discussed with local constituents.
During the parliamentary debate earlier this year, Davies spoke against a ban on niqab saying: “I absolutely agree with everything my hon. Friend has just said; that is something that I hear from my constituents over and over again. My constituency is in a district of Bradford that, unfortunately, has a very segregated population, and the activity that he is describing exacerbates the differences and the segregation. In many respects, I disapprove of this and wish that people would not wear those face coverings, for the reasons he has just given, but does he not agree that we can disapprove of something without banning it?”
At the local meeting, Davies reiterated that “a ban would in itself be an anti-British thing to do” but went on to say that if a referendum on the issue came about, 90% of his constituents would vote in favour of a ban.
He added, “wearing the niqab exacerbates that feeling of segregation, it’s part of a wider problem of people seemingly not wanting to integrate into society”.
Davies’ explanation of the perception of the niqab certainly chimes with the way the issue has been framed in the media though anyone listening to theinterjections of Muslim women who wear the niqab would be left in no doubt over their sense of inclusion and social engagement.
Selina Ullah, of the Bradford’s Muslim Women’s Council, said “The amount of energy put into this by politicians and the media is totally disproportionate – it’s just ratchetting up fear amongst people.”