Taking on the veil: West looks to assimilation - -
By Mark Rice - Oxley
from the October 20, 2006 edition
WHAT IT MEANS:British officials have said a full face covering is alienating. Many Western nations are struggling to balance mainstream values with cultural expression. DAVE THOMPSON/AP
Taking on the veil: West looks to assimilation
From Britain to Australia, unease grows over the separateness of many of the West's Muslim communities.
By Mark Rice-Oxley| Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
LONDONUntil recently, Rahmanara Chowdhury turned few heads on the street. Shrouded under a full-face Islamic veil, or niqab, she went about her business untroubled. "Occasionally, you get called 'ninja,' but I got used to that," she says.
But in recent weeks, she has noticed a change. "In public, I'm a lot more self-conscious, even intimidated," the native British Muslim adds. Some of her fellow niqabis, a growing sisterhood in Britain, have been threatened or abused. "All the feedback," she says, "seems to be really negative."