‘Our students are our children and we will not abandon them to extremist ideas and practices.’

The authoritarian regime acted to stamp out a wave of fundamentalism fed by the invasion of Iraq and anger over violence in the Palestinian territories.

The pan-Arab Ba’ath party, which has been in power since 1963, crushed an extremist movement in the 1980s after it launched a string of deadly attacks across Syria.

In Britain, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman spoke out earlier this week to defend a woman’s right to wear burkas.
She insisted women were ‘empowered’ by the freedom to wear the veils.

Her remarks came after Immigration Minister Damian Green resisted Tory demands for a ban, saying it would be ‘rather un-British.’

But Tory MP Philip Hollobone, who has tabled a private member’s bill making it illegal for anyone to cover their faces in public, insisted: ‘We are not a Muslim country.
'Covering your face in public is strange and to many people both intimidating and offensive.’

Spain is to debate banning the burka this week, while the lower houses of parliament in France and Belgium have already approved a ban.
Holland is considering a similar move.

The niqab and the burka are not widespread in Syria, although they have become more common recently.

The secular, authoritarian government has recently tried to curry favour by rallying to the cry of moderate Islam at home.
But it remains wary of Islamic fundamentalism, which is a threat to its power - especially in education.

Last month, hundreds of primary school teachers who wear the niqab were moved to administrative jobs, local media reported.

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