Boris was right about the niqab – it’s oppressive and ridiculous

It is not extremist to say the niqab is oppressive and ridiculous but should not be banned - on the contrary, that is a liberal, socially conscious point of view. What is extremist is the idea that public criticism or even ridicule of a certain religion and its practices must be curtailed. That is increasingly the illiberal thinking behind the culture war against 'Islamophobia', in which speakers have been hounded off campus for being too anti-Islam, brave magazines like Charlie Hebdo have been denounced as 'hateful', and now, according to Amin, anyone who makes fun of Islamic habits is unfit for the country's top job.

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