Thaindian News

London, Oct 3 (ANI): Hundreds of girls are reportedly being forced by Islamic schools in Britain to wear the veil in a move, which has been heavily criticised by the mainstream Muslims.

Three British institutions have reportedly introduced a compulsory veil policy when girls are walking to or from school.

According to The Telegraph, moderate followers of Islam have said that enforcement of the veil was a “dangerous precedent” and that children attending such schools were being “brainwashed”.

Dr Taj Hargey, an imam and chairman of the Muslim Educational Trust of Oxford, called this act very disturbing, which a dangerous precedent.

“It means that Muslim children are being brainwashed into thinking they must segregate and separate themselves from mainstream society. The use of taxpayers’ money for such institutions should be absolutely opposed. The wearing of the burka or niqab is a tribal custom and these garments are not even mentioned in the Koran,” the paper quoted Dr. Hargey, as saying.

Philip Hollobone, the Tory MP who has attempted to bring in a Private Members’ Bill to ban wearing of the burka in public, also condemned the schools’ uniform policies.

“It is very sad in 21st century Britain that three schools are effectively forcing girls as young as 11 to hide their faces,” he added.

Earlier this month, Muslims slammed a sixth-form college in Burnley for becoming the first in Britain to ban burkas.

The ‘burka banning’ issue has created huge controversy around the world this year.

British right-wing political party UKIP urged the government to ban the wearing of the burqa and the niqab, after claiming the clothing is an affront to British values.

UK, however, had said that it would not be following France’s lead by moving to ban the full-face Islamic veil.

Britain’s Immigration Minister Damian Green said then that forbidding women in the UK from wearing certain clothing would be “rather un-British”. (ANI)