Britain's only Asian bishop joins veil row

Britain's only Asian bishop waded into the row over veils today, claiming Muslim women should not wear the garment in public.

The Bishop of Rochester, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, also argued that legislation should be introduced to give officials the power to remove the veil.

His outspoken comments came just a day after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, claimed the Government had displayed "short-sightedness" and "ignorance" over its policies on Iraq.

Pakistan-born Bishop Nazir-Ali said the Muslim community needed to make more effort to integrate in British society.

"It is fine if they want to wear the veil in private," he told the Sunday Telegraph.

"But there are occasions in public life when it is inappropriate for them to wear it."

He called for legislation over the veil after a suspect wanted in the shooting of WPc Sharon Beshenivsky was thought to have fled the UK while dressed in a veil.

Bishop Nazir-Ali said: "Given that we are facing an unprecedented security situation, legislation needs to be introduced that allows officials to remove the veil."

He added that people were "too worried about offending Muslims".

Jack Straw initially sparked a furious debate about the veil in October and a number of senior ministers, including the Prime Minster, have voiced their opinions on the issue.

In a separate interview with the Mail on Sunday, Bishop Nazir-Ali said "thoughtless bureaucracy and the desire to be politically correct" were in danger of destroying Christmas.

He claimed there were those in "Whitehall and town hall... who want to write Christ out of Christmas altogether."

His comments were not the first controversial statements put forward by the Church of England this Christmas.

Yesterday, Dr Williams claimed in a newspaper article that the Government was putting Christian communities in the Middle East at risk.

Writing in the Times, Dr Williams said factors such as the reaction to the war in Iraq, mistrust from surrounding communities and security measures had combined to put intolerable pressure on Christians across the region.

He was swiftly rebuked by the Foreign Office which said their suffering was caused by "intolerant extremism" of those opposed to a democratic society.

However, the Muslim Council of Britain backed his comments, as did Liberal Democrat spokesman Michael Moore, who said they ought not to be "dismissed glibly" by the Government.

The archbishop, who was on a visit to the Holy Land with other UK church leaders, accused the British and US governments of endangering the lives and futures of the many thousands of Christians living in the Middle East.

In the days leading up to the Iraq war, he said, a warning that they would be seen as supporters of the "crusading West" was "systematically ignored" .

The results of this were now "painfully adding to what was already a difficult situation for Christian communities across the region".

But a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We disagree with his views. We don't think that it is our policies in Iraq that cause suffering of Christians."

Referring to Iraq, he said: "We think it is intolerant extremism of people who want to cause pain and suffering and chaos in order to promulgate the societies in which they can impose the way of life they want on people who have clearly voted for democracy and democratic government.

"It is not our policies, it is those who decide to pursue violence and inflict suffering."

Their targets were "pretty indiscriminate" and included moderate Muslims as well as Christians, the spokesman said.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Michael Moore said: "The Archbishop of Canterbury makes a serious point which ought not to be dismissed glibly by the Foreign Office."

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, added: "The Archbishop of Canterbury's basic argument that short-sighted US/UK policies in the Middle East have played into the hands of extremist groups is irrefutable.

"As we fast approach Christmas, we hope and pray that his plea for better relations between Muslims and Christians and the shunning of violent methods to solve disputes will find receptive ears among all, including our own country's political leadership."

Copyright Press Association 2006