IN response to the article of last week 'Muslim woman sworn at in street' which concerned my family and has generated 60 comments online, I felt I should comment.

Some individuals commented that the incident was not really newsworthy and I would partially agree with them. I myself wrote a letter to the editor expressing my opinions which the Salisbury Journal then printed as a news piece. However, what I did feel was newsworthy was to express that high-profile personalities like Boris Johnson (who at present is the only person who is consistently presented as the next Conservative Party leader) should be careful with their public comments. Whilst I applauded his opinion that a burka ban in the UK would be wrong, I disliked his vocabulary which has now irrevocably linked Muslim women to bank robbers. Even if it is a subconscious association in people's minds, it will remain a negative one. Furthermore, describing Muslim women as oppressed and 'ridiculous' leaves them vulnerable to various levels of abuse even if Johnson himself is not racist/prejudiced. This has already become evident from the influx of Islamophobic comments reported on Johnson's Facebook account this month.

I appreciated the comments online from individuals who have happily lived in Muslim neighbourhoods and realise that Muslims (or any social group for that matter) should not be stereotyped. Muslims now make up 24 per cent of the global population and most certainly do not stand as a homogenous group. I cover my head and dress as I perceive to be modest. My husband of over 20 years has never once commented on what I should/should not wear and the vast majority of Muslim women I have met during my lifetime seem to dress as they wish. There is no exact definition of how a woman should dress in the Holy Quran. Believing women are described as wearing a 'Jalabib' in Chapter 33 and this word is open to interpretation. It can be interpreted as 'a loose outer garment' or as a sheet which covers the entire body except the eyes...hence the variations of dress worn by Muslim women throughout the world.

Johnson and other public figures should be striving to unite rather than divide communities. I myself belong to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association whose motto is 'Love for all, Hatred for None' and is endeavouring to do exactly this. (loveforallhatredfornone.org)

Munavara Ghauri

Harnham