BLACKBURN, England, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- British House of Commons leader Jack Straw has caused a stir by revealing that he asks Muslim women to show their faces at meetings in his office.
Straw represents a district in Blackburn, Lancashire, with a large Muslim population. In a weekly column he writes in the Lancashire Telegram, he said he got the idea when a veiled woman told him it was helpful to meet him face to face.
"The chance would be a fine thing, I thought to myself but did not say aloud," he wrote.
In his column, Straw said he only asks women to lift their veils when at least one other woman is present. He argued that the full veil is required by Islamic law.
Several Muslim leaders in Straw's constituency said he should recognize and respect the choice that women make when they wear the veil.
Straw, one of the most prominent Labor leaders, has represented the district since 1979. He was formerly home secretary and foreign secretary in the Blair government.
