May peace be with you (as salaamu ‘alaykum) all. I assume most of you were drawn to this blog because you were curious about how I practise my faith in medicine. Perhaps some of you were confused or even felt conflicted? I felt like that too, once. Like many others, my journey with faith wasn’t straightforward, but once I experienced that inner contentment, I knew I had to remain committed, which made me pursue medicine.

Introducing the niqab

Most people are likely to have seen women wearing the hijab (headscarf), but maybe not the niqab (full face-veil). This is generally because, while the hijab is required, the niqab is something that some Muslims believe is required and others believe isn’t but is highly rewarded. I personally started wearing it as an external commitment to my faith and modesty, and more importantly, to strengthen my connection to God.

Although those wearing the niqab receive a considerable amount of unfavourable press – assuming extremism, oppression, etc – I would argue that my religion encourages the opposite.

Does Islam conflict with medicine?

The reality is that a Muslim follows Islamic teachings including being moderate (ie not extreme) and intentional, being against oppression and coercion, being of benefit to others and preserving (the sanctity of) life – ie doing everything within reason to save someone’s life (see Qur’an 5:32). This means that, while we follow set rules, in an emergency or special circumstances, we exercise an appropriate degree of flexibility: we can compromise where there is a need.

For example, men and women who aren’t normally allowed to have direct contact may need to in a medical event to provide the required care, such as performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and this is highly rewarded in Islam.

Islam teaches that if you save one person’s life, it’s like you’re saving all of mankind (Qur’an, 5:32); that is how my faith drives my motivation to become a doctor. We believe that God blessed us with beneficial knowledge, skills and experiences to use for purposes greater than ourselves. Hence I see it as my duty to use my medical knowledge, and having grown up in the UK, I want to invest that into the NHS.

Wearing the niqab in the NHS

According to the NHS dress code, the niqab is generally not allowed while in direct clinical patient contact, due to identification and maintaining verbal and non-verbal communication. How I therefore reconcile my modesty commitments with my work is that in clinical settings I wear a mask, and lower it whenever needed, eg if a patient needs to read my lips. Many healthcare professionals wear masks when communicating with patients for infection control reasons anyway, so for me, it even helps me to preserve patient safety with the utmost care.

Being a Muslim in the NHS: the good and the bad

Muslim medical student societies, Islamic societies and BIMA have offered me numerous opportunities to grow as a Muslim medic and integrate my faith and my studies together, while being part of a tight-knit community of brothers and sisters.

In the NHS, most hospitals have multifaith prayer rooms, and many provide halal meal options. Regarding uniform, my university has permitted the wearing of scrub skirts, and some hospitals facilitate disposable oversleeves and surgical hijabs/hoods. The BMA has even worked with BIMA and the NHS to allow three-quarter length sleeves in policy without compromising infection control.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, of course. Many people aren’t aware of the provisions in place, so Muslims often need to fight to be heard. I was once asked to remove my hijab to go into surgery, and if it wasn’t for me advocating for myself, gently saying that I was allowed to wear it, I may not have been able to attend that surgery. Or I may have even had to remove my hijab unnecessarily, compromising my religious values when there was no need to.

Worse, Islamophobia is spreading like a disease; many Muslims in the NHS have experienced discrimination, harassment, and other unfair treatment. It really

scares me, as someone who identifies as British and wants to contribute to the UK, that a growing group of people are trying to divide us and drive us away. I ask all of you to keep in mind that we have the same goal: we all want a better Britain. Protecting Muslims and other underserved groups who work for you benefits the entire community.

Know your rights

Islam doesn’t limit practising medicine; rather, it can fuel your drive. Take it from someone who started wearing niqab in medical school: the better I became as a Muslim, the better I became as a medic.

Know what provisions and rights you have to make practising easier, and to advocate for your community. The BMA’s has guidance on managing discrimination from patients and how to balance freedom of expression with your work, and the medical students committee has Faith equality in medicine.

The author is a final year medical student in the UK. Read more on Instagram @theveiledmedic.