After Jack Straw, Ayesha Azmi and the Quebec hijabi wanting to play football we are now confronted with the prospect of UK schools banning girls from wearing the niqab.
Lets take a break and come to cricket.
The best batsmen are those who play fast bowling well.Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar come to mind.What is the difference between the two?Statistics apart, the one difference that I wish to highlight is their headgear.Gavaskar never ever wore a helmet.Tendulkar does.Does that make Gavaskar a better batsman? Not necessarily.So why does Tendulkar wear a helmet? Is he not confident of playing the likes of Lee and McGrath? The whole issue is that of perception. Tendulkar feels safe in a helmet. He is comfortable,tension-free and can concentrate on playing his natural game.Gavaskar was confident without a helmet and stroked the ball to all ends of the ground to the detriment of fast bowlers.
Now come to the niqab. It is true that some Muslim scholars say the the niqab is not compulsory.Yet it is also undeniable that its followers derive their proof of practice from the Quran and Sunna. The proponents of the niqab argue besides asserting through divine text that the face being the index of ones personality, it is highly recommended to protect it from evil glances.The non-niqabi hijabi is comfortable without it and is confident of carrying on. Its all about perception and comfort-zone.
Gavaskar and Tendulkar are both world-class.