Bridget Purcell: The hijab makes Jack Straw, a senior British Cabinet member, uncomfortable. In his weekly Lancashire Telegraph column, he writes that he requests Muslim women to remove face coverings during interviews, preferring to see their expressions and meet them “face-to-face.” Straw’s tone throughout the piece is amiable, for he is simply telling us “how he feels.” He keeps his critique in personal terms, noting that, in terms of public policy, the veil is and ought to be “the right of any woman.” Despite the article’s conciliatory tone and seemingly apolitical intent, one must wonder at both its message and its timing. Such criticisms —which come on the heels of controversies in France, Germany and the Netherlands—clearly invite contention. Someone in Straw’s position would know this, and to pretend otherwise is either naïve or disingenuous. It is not surprising that many British Muslims felt that the column was “not helpful,” “insensitive” and “unwise” (CNN has already labeled this “Muslim fury”).

Straw suggests that removing the veil would improve relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain—a seemingly unimpeachable goal. But is it really necessary that community relations be improved at the expense of cultural diversity? Straw considers the veil problematic not only because it disguises facial expressions, but because it is a visible marker of “separation and difference.” During an interview with a veiled woman last year, Straw was bothered by “the apparent incongruity between the signals which indicate common bonds – the entirely English accent, the…education (wholly in the UK) – and the fact of the veil.” This is alarming. Surely we don’t need to have the same accent or the same degree to relate to one another, and community bonds are, I hope, built on more substantial things. But there is a broader politics in play. There is a sense that difference must be played down—as if cultural diversity is inherently problematic and discomfort with it is somehow justified. One can feel uneasy and make such comments about any kind of cultural difference—skin color, style of dress, accent —but it’s best for a public figure not to do so.