Abaya or not abaya - that is the question.

Jack Straw, the former British Foreign Secretary, has raised temperatures in the UK this week by suggesting that the full veil or 'niqab' , revealing only the eyes, worn with the abaya, the ceremonial long flowing robe worn by Muslim women, is an obstacle to harmonious community relations in the United Kingdom and should be abandoned. He has pointed to the fact that there is no absolute requirement for such concealment specified in the Koran and this is simply a cultural choice. Straw, whose constituency is 30% Muslim, added that he always politely asks the Islamic women who attend his advice surgeries to remove the veil before he will talk to them, and that so far none has refused.

There was a surprising lack of unanimity from the Muslim community when this hit the headlines and while of course there was a degree of outrage, many Muslim women agreed with Straw.

The point is though..why has he chosen to raise this now when it might seem prudent to 'go easy' on Muslim issues here for a while. I think Straw is playing a much bigger game and that is the whole future of the policy of multi culturalism in the UK. The niqab is a very clear and easily identifiable target for the kind of 'separatism' that Straw feels is dangerous to the future of the UK but its merely a symbol, of course.

I reckon Straw is playing some pretty high stake political cards here in terms of the attitude Britain adopts towards its ethnic minorities now that Blair is on the way out, a leadership election will not be delayed much after May 2007 and Straw is tilting his cap at the deputy leader's job. It is just the right moment to do some 'attitudes dumping' within Westminster to see which way the current political wind is blowing with regard to our citizenry. Do we continue to allow every different culture to set up its own institutions within the UK and appear to live separate lives in a little rented plot of GB Inc. or do we attempt some form of uniformity as the French have done?

Its not an easy issue for although there is a pressing need for the different communities in the UK to communicate much better than they currently do, the risks of the French policy were evident in the Paris riots earlier in the year. Now that the lid is off this particular issue, I would like the Islamic community to discuss this issue and maybe, over a period of time, some compromise solution about schools and public places can be reached in the interests of everyone.

Forcing through new laws , however, would in my view be a terrible mistake and only exacerbate existing tensions.