Accommodation of Muslim religious practices by British authorities seems to be posing problems. The Mail today reports on an incident involving a graduating British police recruit. To mark the completion of the 18 weeks of basic training by the recruits, Scotland Yard held a ceremony at which Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair was to inspect the 200 graduates. One of the graduating recruits-- described as a non-Asian Muslim-- told her training supervisor ahead of time that she could not shake Sir Ian's hand because it was against her religion. The recruit, who wore a traditional Muslim hijab headscarf, also declined to be photographed with Sir Ian because she did not want her picture used for "propaganda purposes" in attempting to recruit Muslims to the police force. While some officers feared that the recruit's beliefs might impede her ability to perform her police duties, she denies this. She says she has no problem in physical contact with men as part of her professional duties. But the graduation parade, she said, was a personal event where here religious beliefs preclude physical contact with unrelated men.
The Mail described the Police Commissioner as "bloody furious" with the recruit's request, but said he agreed in order "not to cause a scene". Apparently he shook hands with all the other recruits in a way that made obvious the Muslim woman's refusal. Life Style Extra says that the incident provided the exiled Saudi-born founder of al-Muhajiroun, which calls for the creation of Sharia law in Britain, the opportunity to tell British Muslims that they should not join the police force because it enforces man-made laws and is against Islam. [Thanks to Little Green Footballs for the lead.]
