Muslim primary school teachers should be allowed to wear head veils whilst in the classroom, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has said.
Lord Rowan Williams said fears that a woman covering her face would affect a child’s education were ‘misplaced’.
In an interview with Christian think tank Theos he said there was no need to ‘panic’ if a Muslim teacher decided to wear a niqab in class.
He said: “I’ve actually been in public discussions in Pakistan with women wearing full face veil, and you learn to read differently, it’s not that those codes don’t happen but there’s a cultural obstacle to overcome.
“As a matter of fact I think that’s largely a misplaced anxiety, but I can see where it comes from.”
There has been fierce debate over whether Muslims should be allowed to completely cover their face in school.
Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to support a ban on the practice but has said he’d support any school which asked Muslims to remove hiqabs.
Source and Original Content by Premier Christian News