U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has backed a ban on face-covering veils such as burqas in schools, courts and at border checkpoints in the country but has said he will not go as far as to what France did to impose a blanket ban.
“When you’re coming into contact with an institution, or you’re in court, or if you need to be able to see someone’s face at the border, then I will always back the authority and institution that have put in place proper and sensible rules,” Mr. Cameron said.
‘Preventing radicalization’
It comes as the U.K. prepares to announce a series of measures designed to stop British Muslims becoming radicalised and travelling to the Middle-East to join terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
“What does matter is if, for instance, a school has a uniform policy, sensitively put in place and all the rest of it, and people want to flout that uniform policy, often for reasons that aren’t connected to religion, you should always come down on the side of the school,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC Radio Four.
Sorry, not the French type
Mr. Cameron, 49, however, rejected the idea of a blanket ban on burqas and other religious headgear, along the lines of the ban imposed in France since 2010.
“Going for the more sort of French approach of banning an item of clothing, I don’t think that’s the way we do things in this country and I don’t think that would help,” he said.
After tougher English language needs
Mr. Cameron’s comments came on the day he unveiled plans for tougher new English language requirements to prevent segregation of members of the Muslim community.
New rules will mean that from October this year migrants coming to the U.K. on a five-year spousal visa with poor or no English skills will have to take a test after two-and-a-half years to show they are making efforts to improve their English.
France introduced a controversial ban on wearing the full face veil in public in 2010, triggering concerns from rights groups.
Website to thwart radicalization
Meanwhile, Britain on Tuesday launched a new website to offer “practical advice” to protect children from being radicalized as part of a larger anti-extremism drive. The “Education Against Hate” website will hold information for schools and parents to tackle the “spell of twisted ideologies“.
It also involves a tougher approach against illegal or unregistered schools such as madrasas from operating.
U.K. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said the aim is to protect “impressionable minds from radical views” during a speech at Bethnal Green Academy in east London, a school attended by three girls who ran away to Syria last February and feared to have joined the Islamic State.
Keeping kids safe
She said: “We are determined to keep children safe in and out of school. Today’s announcement of resources and tougher powers to protect young, impressionable minds from radical views sends a clear message to extremists: our children are firmly out of your reach.”
“It requires judgement — but just as we must be absolutely clear that we should never give those who peddle extremist ideologies entry in to our schools or colleges, so too we must guard against inadvertently hiding young people from views which we simply think are wrong and disagree with.
For some pragmatic advice
The new anti-radicalization website promises to provide “practical advice to protect children from the dangers of extremism,” with information from the government and groups such as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Schools will be required to inform local councils when pupils stop attending without any explanation and parents will be encouraged to carry out checks to ensure their children are not being radicalized.
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