The case of the Muslim dentist who would not treat a Muslim woman unless she covered her face has received wide-spread press attention.
Shocking as it is, that the dentist Omer Butt displayed such flagrant discrimination and sectarianism, it is heartening to reflect that - with the General Dental Council disciplinary hearing finding him guilty of discrimination - he has at least not got away with it.
It should be hoped that Butt is now struck off and not allowed to practice. Aside from the racism of expecting a different standard of dress from someone he suspected of being a Muslim from someone he suspected of being a non-Muslim, Mr Butt is guilty of a terrible lapse of care.
The woman (Ms A) who he refused to treat until she covered her face was apparently in appalling pain when she entered his surgery. In written communications with the Council, Mr Butt referred to Ms A as ‘sister.’ It goes without saying that in failing to help a fellow human being in pain Butt was not just in dereliction of his duty. Mr Butt failed as a dentist, but he also failed as a human being. Calling Ms A ‘sister’ after the event is to add presumptuousness and insincerity to his failings.
The accounts of the case which I've read refer to him requiring women to wear a headscarf i.e. covering their hair, rather than their faces. Not that it makes any difference to the unprofessional, probably illegal and, indeed ,absurd nature of his demand.