August 04, 2005

Will dropping the hijab make women safer?
Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi, one of the most senior Muslims in Britain, has advised women to stop wearing the hijab because of an increase in hate attacks since the July 7 London bombings. Other leaders urged women not to surrender to intimidation by thugs. Send us your view using the form below

Dr Badawi has made a practical suggestion. He is not asking anyone to give up their faith. After all, a Muslim who does not wear a hijab is no less a Muslim. Vinay Mehra, Purley, Surrey

People who dress in an unusual manner are perceived as being "different" and tend to be trusted less. None of the dress codes for the worlds religions were handed down on clay tablets - the wearing of turbans, skullcaps, hijabs, etc, is due to dress code guidelines introduced by religious leaders. It might be better if religious people just wore something less conspicuous in the future, like a small badge. Tony Lawrence, Bournemouth

I lived the first 25 years of my life in India - the country with the second highest Muslim population in the world, after Indonesia. Yet I had never heard of the hijab, and Muslim women there never wore one. The garment is purely an Arab interpretation of the Koran, and women of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin have never traditionally worn it. It is a symbol of man's domination over women and progressive British Muslim women should reject it as something alien to their culture. Maran Vish, London