A SECOND British police force has sparked fury by saying they would consider allowing Muslim officers to wear burkas.
West Midlands Police Chief Constable David Thompson was blasted after he refused to rule out allowing female recruits to wear the face-covering garments.
He said that his force “would have to consider” any requests to wear the burka, which covers both the face and body, and the full-face niqab, which leaves the eye area clear.
The decision was met with outrage from MPs and public figures and was even slammed as a bad idea by the Muslim Council of Britain.
Tory MP David Davies, who worked as a policeman in London for nine years, blasted the move as “a load of politically correct nonsense”.
But today, Leicestershire Police’s Chief Constable Simon Cole said he would also consider Muslim WPCs’ wishes to wear full Islamic dress while on duty.
Simon Cole also said he would consider allowing Muslim officers to wear a burka
“It is not something that Leicestershire Police has been asked to consider by an officer or a potential recruit.
“If such a request was made, it would be considered in line with force policies.”
Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Bach also said he would be “sympathetic” to the idea.
But Chief Constable Simon Cole’s comments were criticised by public figures in Leicestershire.
Gush Bhumbra, the president of the Leicester Secular Society, said: “As a member of the public I want to see a face to comfort me in a stressful situation.
“If I’ve been the victim of a crime or an accident and an officer behind a mask would not do that for me as much as normal face-to-face contact.
Tory MP David Davis called the idea politically correct nonsense
“I have been the victim of a crime and of a car accident and also an investigation by an officer following a false allegation.
“If those officers had been masked I would have been even more upset and stressed.“
Suleman Nagdi, a spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, said that common sense was needed when considering the proposal.
He added: “I’m not convinced whether it would work well with the kind of job we’re talking about.
“Identification is crucial and this would cause difficulties for members of the public.
“Of course, I welcome the fact it is being considered.
“But I’m also trying to be practical.”
One major concern is that a burka would make identification much more difficult
A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said there had been no requests by staff to add the veil to their uniform.
The acting chairman of the force’s Association of Muslim Officers, the official body which represents Leicestershire’s Muslim police, said he was not in a position to comment.
West Midlands Police was heavily criticised for considering allowing burkas. with former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe branding it “a crackpot idea.”
“They teach that if you want to be a good Muslim you must separate off from non-Muslims…It’s only Tablighi Jamaat – of all the Islamic groups – that has created ghettos over in Toronto, in Canada. They’re all around the world, this is a huge group and wherever they go they create barriers, hostility, division, they create separatism,” Alan Craig, campaign director of ‘Mega Mosque No Thanks,’ which is actively opposing its construction, told RT. …
Non-Muslims useful idiots foil attempt to screen anti-Islam film
LONDON: Hundreds of  useful idiots
anti-racism campaignersgathered in the heart of the Paki community area in East London to show solidarity with the Muslims and to condemn the racist organisation, the English Defence League (EDL), for attempting to show the blasphemous film ‘Innocence of Muslims’. … (but Islam is not a race….)
… Sabby Dhalu, Joint National Secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said the march was an important victory. …  By Murtaza Ali Shah/The News  /  Sabby Dhalu sounds like a typical English kuffar name (?)