A British imam has launched a nationwide campaign to ban the burqa (full body Islamic covering) in Britain. The campaign aims to ban the wearing of face coverings in all public places, including the burqa and the niqab, which he describes as un-Islamic.
Dr. Taj Hargey argues that the burqa is a "Saudi-Afghani fad" imposed on British Muslims, who are predominnantly of Pakistani origin, where the burqa was never traditionally worn.
Dr. Hargey is the leader of the Oxford Islamic Congregation, and the head of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford (MECO). He is calling for Britain to follow France and Belgium in banning the wearing of the burqa in public places, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (EHRC) that the ban was legal. He has long been a proponent of progressive integration of the Muslim community into British society and a strident opponent of Islamic extremism.
Dr. Hargey makes no attempts to hide his contempt for the burqa. In the official announcement of the campaign on the MECO website, he said of the burqa, "This archaic tribal rag is pre-Islamic and non-Qur'anic, and ipso facto un-Muslim." The announcement states that it is completely untrue that the burqa is integral to Islam and that such an idea was the result of propaganda from hardline sects.
He noted that, "It is forbidden for Muslim women going on pilgrimages to Mecca to cover their faces. So if such a pre-Islamic practice is banned in Islam’s holiest site, why on earth would it be required on the streets of Britain?"
