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Islamic Human Rights Commission

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24 April 2007

Press Release: IHRC Welcomes New Guidelines on Wearing Niqab in Court

The Islamic Human Rights Commission welcomes guidelines published today by the Judicial Studies Board’s Equal Treatment Advisory Committee on the wearing of the niqab in court.

IHRC commends the JSB for not allowing its judgment to be clouded by the recent spate of prejudicial statements regarding the niqab by the media and senior politicians.

Chairman of the IHRC, Massoud Shadjareh, stated:

“In the climate of Islamophobia we live in, it is heartening to see the courts base their guidelines on the merits rather than on intolerance and prejudice.”

IHRC appeals to all other institutions and service delivery providers to adopt a similar approach in working towards a more cohesive and unified Britain.

For more information, please contact IHRC on (+44) 20 8904 4222 or (+44) 7958 522 196 or email info@ihrc.org [ENDS]

Notes to Editor:

IHRC’s recent report in the British Muslims’ Expectations of the Government series dealt with the issue of Hijab. Please contact the office info@ihrc.org for a review copy of: ‘Hijab, Meaning, Identity, Otherization and Politics: British Muslim Women’. A report by Saied R. Ameli, and Arzu Merali for the Islamic Human Rights Commission. Publication date: 26th January 2006, ISBN 1-903718-26-0, 84 pp, or visit the website for a summary:

https://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=1708

Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org.uk