Muslim dentist 'told patient to wear a headscarf or go elsewhere'
By STEVE DOUGHTY and JAYA NARAIN - More by this author »
Last updated at 00:49am on 18th September 2007
Dress code: An Islamic headscarf worn by a woman
A muslim dentist made a woman wear Islamic dress as the price of accepting her as an NHS patient, it is alleged.
Omer Butt is said to have told the patient that unless she wore a headscarf she would have to find another practice.
Later this month, Mr Butt will appear before a General Dental Council professional misconduct hearing, which has the power to strike him off.
It is claimed that the 31-year-old dentist asked to speak to the woman in private after she turned up for an appointment at his clinic in Bury.
According to the charges, he questioned her on whether she was a Muslim and told her that if he was to treat her she would have to wear Islamic dress.
He is also said to have read out a number of religious rules to her.
He then told his nurse to give the patient her own headscarf to wear, the accusation says.
It is not known whether the woman was a Muslim.
The charges to be heard by the General Dental Council say that Mr Butt undermined public confidence in his profession by discriminating against a patient and failed to act in her best interests.
Mr Butt is the older brother of former Islamic extremist Hassan Butt, who once declared he had 'no problem' with terror attacks on Britain and who said that September 11 "served the pleasure of Allah".
He has since recanted and now calls for all Muslims to abandon violence.
The dentist also featured in immigration hearings involving an asylum seeker suspected of providing a safe house for Kamel Bourgass, an Algerian terrorist jailed for life for stabbing PC Stephen Oake to death in Manchester in 2003.
Mr Butt, the immigration hearing was told, was introduced by his brother to the asylum seeker, who at various points claimed three different identities.
The tribunal was told that Mr Butt was "a respectable and responsible person who wishes to help devout and practising Muslims in difficulty".
He "did not regard the use of false names as unusual for asylum seekers".
The headscarf incident is alleged to have happened in 2005, at a time when between 4,000 and 8,000 people in Bury were unable to find an NHS dentist.
According to the charges, Mr Butt "asked to speak to Patient A in private.
"In the course of conversation with Patient A you: (a) asked whether she was Muslim; (b) told her words to the effect that, in order to receive treatment from you, she needed to wear appropriate Islamic dress; (c) quoted to her parts of the Ahadith."
The Ahadith is a series of instructions on behaviour attributed to Prophet Mohammed but not written as part of the Koran.
The charge continues: "You told Patient A that, if she did not wear a headscarf, she would need to register with another dentist. You instructed your dental nurse to give Patient A her headscarf.
"The dental nurse took Patient A to another room where she was given the nurse's headscarf to wear.
"In seeking to impose an Islamic dress code on Patient A in order for treatment to be provided you undermined public confidence in the profession by discriminating against Patient A."
If the charges are upheld, the Porsche- driving dentist will be found guilty of serious professional misconduct.
Penalties can range from a public warning to suspension and being struck off.
Tory MP Sir Paul Beresford, a former minister and a dentist, said: "When a patient comes to see me I have no concern with their religion. I do not ask Muslim patients to read the Bible.
"My practice tries to respect religious belief. For example, during Ramadan we try to help Muslim patients by making sure they do not have to swallow water when they are fasting. We do not ask patients to become Christians."
Women staff at Mr Butt's Bury practice do not routinely wear headscarves while at work.
One female patient said: "I think it is a pretty outrageous thing to ask but I have never felt as if I am being discriminated against at this practice as a Western woman.
"If I was then I would certainly make a full complaint. If it is true then it shows a reverse prejudice bordering on racism."
Mr Butt was involved in another controversial incident earlier this year when police stopped his Porsche 911 and said they could not read its customised number plate.
The dentist recorded the subsequent search of the car on his mobile phone and passed the video to the BBC, which broadcast it on a local news bulletin. It shows Mr Butt asking an officer: "Are you a racist?"
The dentist was then arrested for racially aggravated behaviour. There were no charges, and a complaint against the police by Mr Butt is still being considered.
Mr Butt was unavailable for comment yesterday. Staff at his practice said he was on holiday.
Muslim dentist 'told patient to wear a headscarf or go elsewhere' | the Daily Mail
Muslim dentist 'told patient to wear a headscarf or go elsewhere'
