U.K.: ABSOLUTELY BIZARRRRRRRREEEE ! ! ! MOSLEM TO DELIVER CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Veiled Muslim to deliver C4's Christmas message
By Terry Kirby, Chief Reporter
Published: 06 December 2006


Previous occupants of the coveted role have included the late gay icon Quentin Crisp, Ali G, as played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and the parents of the murdered schoolboy Stephen Lawrence. Now this year, a veiled Muslim woman has been invited to deliver Channel Four's Alternative Christmas message.

The woman, whose name has only been given as Khadija, is a freelance teacher and lecturer in Islamic studies from the Midlands who has worn the full veil, the niqab, for 10 years.

Her appearance on the channel's alternative to the Queen's own broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day, which has been running since 1993, comes after a year in which there have been a series of controversies over women wearing the veil, as well as the recent dispute over British Airways banning staff from displaying crucifixes.

A spokesman for Channel Four said: "The right to wear religious symbols from niqabs to crucifixes, remarks made by the Pope about Islam and the publication of Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed have all generated a debate about multiculturalism, secularism and integration, a debate in which British Muslims have played a key role and one that will shape the future of British society.

"Therefore, we believed it was fitting this year the message should be given by a British Muslim woman."

Khadija was found by the Leeds-based production company Chameleon after a month-long search among Muslim communities in the north and Midlands. The company has produced a number of documentaries for Dispatches on Channel Four as well as recent films on young British Muslims and on the background to the 7 July bombings.

...

Pertinent Links:

1) Veiled Muslim to deliver C4's Christmas message