Blair, Brown Back Straw On Veils

LONDON — Prime Minister Blair and author Salman Rushdie praised a British official yesterday for raising the issue of whether Islamic women visiting his office should remove their veils. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has also pledged his support of Mr. Straw's position, according to the British Broadcasting Corp.

The comment by Jack Straw, a former foreign secretary who now serves as leader of the House of Commons, has plunged Britain into a debate over Islamic integration.

"It's important these issues are raised and discussed, and I think it's perfectly sensible if you raise it in a measured and considered way, which he did," Mr. Blair said of Mr. Straw during an interview with BBC television outside his office. Mr. Rushdie, whose book "The Satanic Verses" once led to death threats against him by Islamic clerics, told BBC radio that Mr. Straw "was expressing an important opinion, which is that veils suck, which they do. I think the veil is a way of taking power away from women."

Mr. Straw said in a newspaper column published Thursday that he believes the veils favored by some Islamic women inhibit communication and are a sign of division in society. At his constituency office, Mr. Straw said he asks that veiled women expose their faces, adding that the women have always complied and that a female assistant is always present.

On Friday, British press outlets quoted Mr. Straw as going further, saying that he would prefer that Islamic women not wear veils at all. "I just find it uncomfortable if I'm trying to have a conversation with someone whose face I can't see," Mr. Straw told the BBC.

Many Muslims in Mr. Straw's parliamentary district of Blackburn, in northwestern England, reacted with outrage. The uproar also left many questioning whether Britain's multicultural ideals can withstand the strains of a cultural divide that is increasingly tormenting much of Europe.

Asked by the BBC if he thought it would be "better for Britain" if fewer people wore veils, Mr. Brown replied: "Well, that's what Jack Straw has said, and I support."