There’s nothing new about senior political figures making glib comments that offend, divide opinion and spark public outcry.

To help cut through the barrage of noise and misinformation that we can all be bombarded with through the media, The Open University has produced a huge bank of high quality, free online courses to inform and stimulate healthy debate. This OpenLearn course, for example, looks at provocative arguments surrounding veiling within Islam.

This free course (rated 5 stars by our students) explores controversies associated with the practice of 'veiling' within Islam. The Islamic 'veil', be it in the form of the hijab, niqab, jilbab or burqa (the terminology around which is explored and explained in more detail through the course), has been at the centre of many different controversies, particularly this week. Many of these controversies can be understood in the context of debates about different citizenship models and different understandings of the roles, rights and demands of faith groups in society. In some instances, such controversies have resulted in legal disputes and the creation of new laws.

This course will help you to:

• demonstrate skills in the analysis of visual and material expressions of religion
• understand the role of material culture within religious rituals and practices
• recognise the complexity and diversity of the many different styles of ‘veils’ and ‘veiling’ practices in Islam and of the range of different factors that can influence the adoption and interpretation of different ‘veiling’ practices and styles of dress among Muslim women
• understand the limitations of the terms ‘veil’, ‘Muslim clothing’ and ‘Islamic dress’ and use some relevant terminology to distinguish between different styles of ‘veiling’

Sign up for this free Open University course today (Mr Johnson particularly welcome...)