SIR - Despite what many of your Muslim correspondents say, since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent rise of Islamic fundamentalism, many Muslims killed in conflict have actually died at the hands of other Muslims.

The US-British led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq has been an absolute disaster and troops will be withdrawn without achieving peace and stability, I believe because Islam is hopelessly divided against itself.

The current veil issue is just the latest expression of this division.

Despite claims to the contrary, wearing the veil cannot be good for the advancement of women.

How can such ideas possibly be good for young Muslim women wanting to become athletes for example and compete in track and field events, wearing a veil? And how about swimming sports?

There seems to be a suggestion that young Muslim women shouldn't be getting involved in sports because of Islamic rules on modesty. No such constraints for Muslim men, however!

It is well known that language of facial expression pre-dates spoken language by millions of years and is universally understood, and it is human nature that we want to see other people's faces, as do many creatures in the animal world.

As an agnostic I think it is a real shame that some Muslims prefer to place medieval text before perfectly normal human relations and create yet more division.

Alan O'Day Scott, Gaythorne Road, West Bowling