Britain allows schools to ban full-face veils

Britain allows schools to ban full-face veils

LONDON — Amid growing debate over religious tolerance, the British government said March 20 that schools will now be allowed to ban pupils from wearing the niqab — the full-face Muslim veil which conceals all but the eyes — if teachers believe it affects security, safety or a student’s ability to learn.

Government ministers issued the decree as part of new guidance on uniforms. After a wave of court cases challenging school decisions that rejected some forms of Islamic dress, the Department for Education said in a statement that while school administrators in Britain "should make every effort to accommodate social, religious or medical requirements, the needs of safety, security and effective learning … must always take precedence."

Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, told journalists he was "dismayed" and that "to now proceed to issue guidance against Muslim communities is simply shocking."