· Johnson cites safety and security reasons
· Headteachers are asked to consult on new policy
Patrick Wintour, political editor
The education secretary Alan Johnson will court controversy today by announcing that he expects head teachers to ban schoolchildren from wearing the full Muslim veil on "safety, security and teaching" grounds.
He will tell headteachers that they will have the right to stop pupils covering their faces under a new uniform policy to be distributed to schools.
The policy will be put out to consultation. In practice, few children wear the full veil and the guidance does not appear to stop girls wearing a head scarf.
Mr Johnson, one of the many candidates for the Labour deputy leadership, will defend the new policy guidance to schools on the grounds that safety security and effective teaching must be paramount, coming ahead of the tolerance of religious and cultural beliefs of children.
The consultation, leaked in advance to the Sun by Mr Johnson, states it will be for headteachers to consult widely among parents before introducing the policy. It will suggest it is for teachers to judge whether the ability to see a child's face is necessary for them to teach effectively and safely.
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Why Muslim women wear the veil
The Koran, Islam's holy book and treated as the literal word of God, tells Muslims - men and women - to dress modestly.
Male modesty has been interpreted to be covering the area from the navel to the knee - and for women it is generally seen as covering everything except their face, hands and feet when in the presence of men they are not related or married to.
However, there has been much debate among Islamic scholars as to whether this goes far enough.
This has led to a distinction between the hijab (literally "covering up" in Arabic) and the niqab (meaning "full veil").
Hijab is a common sight among Muslim women, a scarf that covers their hair and neck.
Niqab consists of covering up completely, including gloves and a veil for the face - leaving just a slit for the eyes, or covering them too with transparent material.
Tell the faithful women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and
not display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their
scarf to cover their bosom
Koran, 24:31 (English translation)
This form of dress is rarer, although it has been growing in recent years, and it is this which former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says he objects to at face-to-face meetings with his constituents.
Muslim scholars have debated whether it is obligatory to don the niqab, or whether it is just recommended without being obligatory.
There have also been more liberal interpretations which say the headscarf is unnecessary, as long as women maintain the sartorial modesty stipulated in the Koran.
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Right to ban school veils condemned
New Government guidelines spelling out the right of headteachers to ban pupils from wearing religious dress such as the Islamic veil are "simply shocking", a British Muslim leader said.
Education Secretary Alan Johnson has drawn up the updated guidance after a 12-year-old girl lost a legal battle to wear the full-face niqab in class in her Buckinghamshire school last month.
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills stressed that the Government was not imposing a blanket ban on veils at schools, and any decision on uniform policy was a matter for individual headteachers.
But Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said he felt "dismayed" at the guidelines.
He said: "Successive ministers dealing with education issues have failed to give proper guidance when requested by human rights campaigners about schools' obligations regarding religious dress, including the head scarf, and other service delivery under human rights laws and norms. To now proceed to issue guidance against Muslim communities is simply shocking."
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Pertinent Links:
1) Minister gives schools right to ban Muslim veil
2) Why Muslim women wear the veil
3) Right to ban school veils condemned
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