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Warning over UK race riot danger Warning over UK race riot danger
(40 minutes later)
The polarised debate over full-face veils could spark race riots in the UK, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality has warned.The polarised debate over full-face veils could spark race riots in the UK, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality has warned.
The debate surrounding the issue "seems to have turned into something really quite ugly", Trevor Phillips said.The debate surrounding the issue "seems to have turned into something really quite ugly", Trevor Phillips said.
"This could be the trigger for the grim spiral that produced riots in the north of England five years ago," he told the Sunday Times."This could be the trigger for the grim spiral that produced riots in the north of England five years ago," he told the Sunday Times.
Mr Phillips said a "gentle, nuanced" debate was needed.Mr Phillips said a "gentle, nuanced" debate was needed.
'Need to chill''Need to chill'
Jack Straw, Leader of the House of Commons, recently sparked a media debate by saying he preferred women not to wear full-face veils at his surgeries in his constituency because he believed they made communication difficult.Jack Straw, Leader of the House of Commons, recently sparked a media debate by saying he preferred women not to wear full-face veils at his surgeries in his constituency because he believed they made communication difficult.
What should've been a proper conversation...seems to have been turned into the trial of a particular community Trevor PhillipsWhat should've been a proper conversation...seems to have been turned into the trial of a particular community Trevor Phillips
Stories about a Christian British Airways worker wearing a cross, and a Muslim teaching assistant wearing a full-face veil in the classroom, have also made headlines.Stories about a Christian British Airways worker wearing a cross, and a Muslim teaching assistant wearing a full-face veil in the classroom, have also made headlines.
Mr Phillips said the polarised debate over race and religion risked a repeat of the Burnley and Oldham riots, adding: "This time the conflict would be much worse - we need to chill."Mr Phillips said the polarised debate over race and religion risked a repeat of the Burnley and Oldham riots, adding: "This time the conflict would be much worse - we need to chill."
He told BBC One's AM programme people the debate surrounding Muslim women wearing theveil had begun courteously but "seems to have turned into a trial of one particularcommunity, and that cannot be right... He told BBC One's AM programme people the debate surrounding Muslim women wearing the veil had begun courteously but "seems to have turned into a trial of one particular community, and that cannot be right...
"We need to havethis conversation but there are rules by which we have the conversation whichdon't involve this kind of targeting and frankly bullying." "We need to have this conversation but there are rules by which we have the conversation which don't involve this kind of targeting and frankly bullying."
He said people needed to feel as though they were playing a part in society, and issued a warning about allowing communities to separate.He said people needed to feel as though they were playing a part in society, and issued a warning about allowing communities to separate.
"That is the way to create a country which is not at ease with itself," he told the BBC."That is the way to create a country which is not at ease with itself," he told the BBC.
"We saw it in France last year where the French allowed north African communities to grow up completely separately, not feeling French."We saw it in France last year where the French allowed north African communities to grow up completely separately, not feeling French.
Mr Straw feels that covering faces can make community relations difficult"Eventually that frustration, that exclusion boiled over into the kind of car burning we saw last year...I do not want that for Britain."Mr Straw feels that covering faces can make community relations difficult"Eventually that frustration, that exclusion boiled over into the kind of car burning we saw last year...I do not want that for Britain."
On Mr Straw's comments, Mr Phillips told the Sunday Times Muslims leaders had been "overly defensive" in attacking the Blackburn MP, suggesting there was a generational issue.On Mr Straw's comments, Mr Phillips told the Sunday Times Muslims leaders had been "overly defensive" in attacking the Blackburn MP, suggesting there was a generational issue.
"This was as much a comment about him and his generation as it was about the niqab," he wrote."This was as much a comment about him and his generation as it was about the niqab," he wrote.
"It maybe that be that people like [Mr] Straw have greater difficulty coping with the social gap that not seeing someone's face undoubtedly creates.""It maybe that be that people like [Mr] Straw have greater difficulty coping with the social gap that not seeing someone's face undoubtedly creates."
'Injustice unleashed''Injustice unleashed'
Massoud Shadjareh from the lobby group the Islamic Human Rights Commission told BBC News 24 "ministers after ministers after ministers" had been attacking the Muslim community recently, which was unfair and "not a means of respectable dialogue". Massoud Shadjareh, from the lobby group the Islamic Human Rights Commission, told BBC News 24 that "ministers after ministers after ministers" had been attacking the Muslim community recently, which was unfair and "not a means of respectable dialogue".
"I have to say the Muslim community really has been extremely calm, and extremely responsible," he said."I have to say the Muslim community really has been extremely calm, and extremely responsible," he said.
"Really I think the issue is not that you're fearing violence, what we should do we should fear injustice which has been unleashed in our society." The Muslim Council of Britain's Secretary General, Muhammad Abdul Bari, said the integration debate had become "increasingly shrill and ugly".
Recent evidence suggested it was the mainstream community that needed to tackle its problems with integration, but no politician had addressed this, he said. He accused Mr Phillips of having a "poor track record" on this issue and criticised him for not mentioning recent attacks against Muslims which "accompanied this so-called debate".
Mr Abdul Bari said: "We have seen veils being forcefully pulled off Muslim women, a number of mosques subjected to arson attacks, and Muslim individuals, including an Imam in Glasgow, badly beaten up by thugs."
However, politicians across the spectrum also voiced their backing for informed debate
Labour MP Shahid Malik said "raw and ill-informed" debate over the past couple of weeks was becoming "deeply corrosive".
Conservative shadow home secretary David Davis said Mr Phillips was right, adding that it was "absolutely necessary" to have the debate.
Next month the CRE will host the largest race convention held in Europe, marking the body's 30th anniversary, ahead of its handover to the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.Next month the CRE will host the largest race convention held in Europe, marking the body's 30th anniversary, ahead of its handover to the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.