Now you see her, now you don't

Ghost of Christmas yet to come?

In a determined effort to offend Britain's majority Christian population, Channel 4 signed up a veiled Muslim woman to deliver an "alternative" Christmas message, opposite the Queen's annual Christmas address. Khadija Ravat had planned on extolling the virtues of wearing the full-face veil and tell Brits how it "empowers" Muslim women.

It seems Ms. Ravat has decided it wasn't such a good idea after all:

Ibrahim Hewitt, 50, head of the al-Aqsa Primary School, which is near Mrs Ravat's Leicester home, said: "There has been a mixed reaction. [A mixture of indignation and outrage. --ed.]

"I have known her for a long time, and she is a very sincere person. Nobody at the school has raised any objections - indeed, parents have come to me and said they were very happy she was going to do it.

"But some people think she is trying to upstage the Queen, which is certainly not the case. But I think she feels it would rub people up the wrong way." [Gee...d'ya think? --ed.]
[ ... ]
Mrs Ravat, who was born in Zimbabwe and is in her 30s, has been a British citizen for about 20 years.

She has worn the full veil for 10 years since her marriage, claiming it empowers women not to be dominated by fashion. [Who says shapeless, black fabric blobs aren't fashionable? --ed.]

Last night Channel vowed to continue its search for a Muslim woman to front the show. [See? I told you they were determined to offend. --ed.]

I think Jonz's blood pressure over at Drunken Blogging has just dropped by half.