Police hope for Muslim head start

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Police hope for Muslim head start
Moe
04/24/01 at 14:25:15
Police hope for Muslim head start

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1294000/1294417.stm

(click on the link to see the photo)

Muslim police officers have welcomed the Metropolitan Police's decision to
introduce a traditional headscarf as a uniform option for Muslim women.

The Association of Muslim Police hopes the move will encourage into the
police Muslim women who had been deterred by the prospect of not being
able to cover up in public.

The scarf or hijab - which covers the head, neck and shoulders - is worn
by some Muslim women in public as a sign of their modesty and faith.

Association chairman Inspector Richard Varley said a proposal for the
headscarf was put to the Met commissioner Sir John Stevens in February.


We've had certainly dozens of inquires by potential Muslim female recruits
but those inquiries dry up as soon as they realise they can't wear a
hijab," he said.

He said the latest move sent "a wider message that Muslim values are
valued within the Met whether or not the officers choose to take up the
offer of a hijab".

With Muslims making up to one million of seven million Londoners there
should be around 3,000 Muslim police officers rather than the 100 or so
now in the force, the inspector added.

The introduction of the hijab, with the distinctive Metropolitan police
black and white check pattern, follows a similar move by the Met for Sikh
officers who are allowed to wear a turban on duty.


The new addition to the Met's uniform was also welcomed by Sir John
Stevens at a conference marking the start of the second phase of the
force's diversity strategy.

The strategy, 'Protect and Respect' was devised after severe criticism in
a report examining the force's handling of the inquiry into the murder of
a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence.

Progress

Sir John said the force had now also signed up to the Commission for
Racial Equality's leadership challenge, which aimed to encourage
organisations to play a greater role in promoting racial equality.

The commissioner said he would not be content with merely pledging support
for the challenge's aims.

"I want actively to embrace them and develop them further and I know the
Metropolitan Police Authority is right there with me endeavouring to make
the Met a model of diversity that other organisations would wish to
emulate," he said.

Sir John said there had been good progress on race issues, but said more
needed to be done to meet the Home Office target of 25% of officers from
minority ethnic groups.


The target was just over 5,000 ethnic officers, more than five times the
number currently employed, he added.

Black Police Association chairman Inspector Leroy Logan agreed progress
had been made on race issues.

But he said cases such as that of Iranian-born superintendent Ali Dizaei -
suspended after allegations of dishonesty and attempting to pervert the
course of justice - were a potential block to more ethnic minority
recruits.

"We've got to make sure that those cases are reduced, make sure that
high-flyers, rising stars like Ali Dizaei are not victims of the system,"
he said.

"We are obviously concerned that we have a proper effective investigation
to make sure that all cases are resolved because that sets back recruiting
the image of the organisation in so many ways and it reduces trust and
confidence in the minority communities," Mr Logan added.
Re: Police hope for Muslim head start
muhannad
04/24/01 at 18:33:50
[quote] The scarf or hijab - which covers the head, neck and shoulders - is worn
by some Muslim women in public as a sign of their modesty and faith. [/quote]

The scarf is not the hijab rather a small part of it.  The hijab refers to the covering of the whole of the muslim woman in a way which complies with Islamic law.

For example due to this misconception it is sad to see some muslim women wearing scarfs, sleeveless t-shirts and jeans in public, May Allah guide us and them, amin

Re: Police hope for Muslim head start
Kashif
04/25/01 at 03:35:19
assalaamu alaikum

I guess in one way you could see this as a step forward but i'd greet this with caution.

Spying within the Muslim community is a fact; the authorities do not even hide their desire to have informers on the 'inside.' They've put out adverts in papers such as the "Eastern Eye" and also on desi cable channels trying to recruit more people into these roles.


So like i said, treat this news with caution. A hijabi informer would be just as hard to detect as a bearded informer.

Kashif
Wa Salaam
Re: Police hope for Muslim head start
jehad
04/26/01 at 12:52:25
asalm walakum, the action of being in the police is it self harram, what laws are they inforcing?
and as i have mentioned often hijab is not a symble it is a covering, so she wont really be covered with that over her head.
so by this symbolic action, women may be fooled in to joining, and moulded in to enemys of islam.
there are many non hijab women and men who call them selves muslim in the forces, they treat muslims a lot worse then the kaffar ones do, cause they want to prove to the met that they are loyal police men. I know muslims who have been beation up by police men calling them selves muslim,, they told me the muslim one beat a lot more  then the none muslim ones. and muslim officers are also oftion used by the met for anti islamic stuff, so if the met is critasized they can say "we are not anti islam, look muslim officers took part in it", if you have females wearing hijab taking part in opperations against islamic targets, what kind of measage will that send?


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