“Muslim women are fast becoming the battleground on which the future of Islam and Muslims in the UK and beyond is being fought. At his much-anticipated speech on the future of multiculturalism last Friday, Tony Blair recommended that the Equal Opportunities Commission open an official investigation into the kind of access women are given in Britain’s mosques. This of course was said in the same breath as he reiterated his support for Jack Straw’s now stale remarks on the face veil and announced sanctimoniously that face veils ought to be removed in jobs where to face-to-face communication is required.”

Q-News editor Fareena Alam at Comment is Free, 13 December 2006