When I was a small boy...even smaller than I am now my mother used to say look me in the eye when you are talking.
Eye contact is a vital part of communication, the eyes are a window of our soul. So it seemed correct for Mr Straw to ask the Muslim women to remove their veils when he is speaking with them. I am sure it is an attempt by Mr Straw to engage in communication and not a matter of offending their religious beliefs.
There is no problem about the covering of womens head it is simply that Mr Straw would rather have eye contact with people. It seems he has walked into the pit of PC police who patrol our daily lives. Whatever next?
This is not an issue of religious freedom or human rights but simply an excuse to bash Mr Straw.
If people are so concerned about religious freedom they should concentrate on reclaiming Christianity.I can't help feeling that for some people PC is very one sided and an excuse to bash those of us who call ourselves Christian. Will there be a time when those who jump up and down about Muslim rights start to defend Christianity? I somehow think not. It is far too easy to bash Christians- we don't tend to take to the streets and burn flags etc etc. Our society is multifaith and multi ethnic, it might be time to consider that all religions should be treated the same rather than bowing down to Islam out of fear rather than respect.