Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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U.S. judge jails Muslim woman over head scarf

Ga. resident refused to remove hijab at court’s security checkpoint

updated 1:48 p.m. CT, Wed., Dec. 17, 2008

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - A judge ordered a Muslim woman arrested Tuesday for contempt of court for refusing to take off her head scarf at a security checkpoint.
The judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta’s west suburban outskirts.
Valentine violated a court policy that prohibits people from wearing any headgear in court, police said.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations urged federal authorities to investigate the incident as well as others in Georgia.“I just felt stripped of my civil, my human rights,” Valentine told The Associated Press on Wednesday from her home, after she said she was unexpectedly released once CAIR got involved. Jail officials declined to say why she was freed.
****No comment from judge
****Municipal Court Judge Keith Rollins said that “it would not be appropriate” for him to comment on the case.
Last year, a judge in Valdosta in southern Georgia barred a Muslim woman from entering a courtroom because she would not remove her head scarf. There have been similar cases in other states, including Michigan, where a Muslim woman in Detroit filed a federal lawsuit in February 2007 after a judge dismissed her small-claims court case when she refused to remove a head and face veil.

Valentine’s husband, Omar Hall, said his wife was accompanying her nephew to a traffic citation hearing when officials stopped her at the metal detector and told her she would not be allowed in the courtroom with the head scarf, known as a hijab.Hall said Valentine, an insurance underwriter, told the bailiff that she had been in courtrooms before with the scarf on and that removing it would be a religious violation. When she turned to leave and uttered an expletive, Hall said a bailiff handcuffed her and took her before the judge.

Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

Very sad!

A nation that prides itself on the basis of Freedoms that other nations don’t offer, going down this road is against the spirit of America. Although the damage is already done, i hope the Judicial system will take appropriate action and make it public that muslims need not worry about such acts of discrimination in the future when in official buildings.

Either she was arrested simply for not removing the hijab, in which case it’s outright racism and discrimination.

Or she was arrested because she said something wrong before the judge (explicit language maybe?)…

Either way, not a good thing.

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Re: Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

It is not America which American forefathers started with.

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Re: Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

I still remember the situation when judge orderd 10 commandments monument to be removed from Govt building premises and how it made headlines in national media for weeks and weeks. I am sure, no one will bother to talk against this.

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These types of discrimination have become too common. Muslims have to worry about head scarf, Sikh people have to worry about their turban... and so on.

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Re: Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

"When she turned to leave and uttered an expletive, Hall said a bailiff handcuffed her and took her before the judge."

Looks like she wouldnt have been arrested if she hadnt uttered the expletive.

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I'm not so sure about that. This has become international headline news. It's only a matter of time before the ACLU takes up the case and sues the state on behalf of these women.

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OR MAY BE THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOUR ON THE PART OF SECURITY AGENCIES HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHY THERE ARE NO MORE TERRORIST INCIDENTS HAPPENING IN AMERICA AFTER 9/11?:faizy:

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expletive by a Hijabi? Naah. Not possible. Hijab makes people the purest form on earth. They no longer try to misbehave, terrorize, or in anyway create mayhem in the society.

If there were any expletives, this lady must be wearing wrong kind of Hijab that was not officially approved by central ummah committee.

Going back to the original poster's sadness on this issue. I think sadness should be shared on both sides of the dispute. If you are in a court and the judge wants you to remove a religious symbol, then you have two choices. Stay there or leave. But in any case make sure you remain very respectful to the judge. That's how courts work. And hijab should not change this basic understanding of the court system.

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Really a lost soul, aren’t you?

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Re: Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

^
Apparently the very same judge had another Muslim woman thrown out of his court just last week for the same reason.

Like I said, there's no way the ACLU isn't taking up this case...and when they do, I hope the Department of Justice makes an example out of him.

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If this was the ONLY case by the SAME judge then I would say the Judge was doing the right thing.... BUT this was not the only case! There were other women who wore hijab either sentenced or kicked out of the court by this VERY SAME JUDGE. CAIR has sent a letter the attorney general about this and other cases.

Btw, the woman in question has been released without serving the 10 days which the judge ordered (question still remains why was she released..)

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If you are living in country you should be prepared to follow the rules and regulations of the country. If it is mandatory to remove the hijab while entering the court-room, either you don’t go there or don’t do anything that makes you go there. Any rule can be deemed to be discriminatory . A criminal might feel that rules are discriminatory. They are not made at the whims and fancies of some people. In Saudi Arabia you are mandated to follow the rules of the land.

Also you say that it was sad that she was arrested because she said something wrong before the judge. Well you dont expect the judge to be exactly humorous after hearing an expletive.

Another aspect is that the person did not have any qualms in uttering an expletive while showing herself as ultra -religious. Talk about Hypocracy …

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For all that you know the Judge was following a rule. If it is a rule, it needs to be followed fully and not partially.

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Simply bro! Why talk about rules shamules. You are trying to snatch away the whipping leash from CAIR and Islam online.

These type of protestations will surely turn prosperous American-Pakistanis to getto-mentality downtrodden urchins. Just wait for few generations.

It will be the same old UK situation. Indians, B Deshis and Caribbean Africans will move upwards in the American society, and Pakistanis will move down to the inner-city ghettos. Then the same groups will be complaining about economic discrimination too.

ACLU or CAIR or Islam online are not there to improve the economic status of Pakistani-Americans. They are there for their own business. So "normal rules" do not apply to this situation (sadly).

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Have you even seen the coverage that 10 commandments issue got? This coverage is no way near to that.

Am I gonna be a "good" mom? :(
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Re: Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

Show me where in US Federal law it states that the Hijab must be removed in a court of law. Thanks.

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Unlike Islamist or socialist jannats, the jurisprudence in America is setup at multiple levels. So all the laws don't have to be Federal. A local county law or even a law within a court room can be setup. It is just that such laws will have limited geographical reach.

When it comes to wearing a religious headgear, Americans so far have pretty much relegated the decision to the local jurisdictions be it county or school etc.

However if Islamists keep it up, they may be "successful" in creating the need of Federal law. So far luckily! that is not the case.

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Actually, American society has generally made it pretty clear that religious headgear is a protected civil liberty, unless its absolutely necessary to remove it (like in the case of the woman who tried to get her drivers license photo with a burqa, thereby defeating the purpose of the photo ID itself).

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I guess this judge was following in the footsteps of French Immigration, because as far as i know there is no law in US that prohibits one from covering him/herself if it is a defined and known custom of the faith.

When a law has passed, then we'll talk about following the laws and what-not. Unless ofcourse you can reference me to a law passed which prohibits wearing of head cover in a federal building, even if/when the gear holds religious value. :)

Secondly , expletive, yes. Sad indeed. But we don't know what words she used specifically, maybe the judge got ticked off because she called him racist while walking away, which as i understand is her freedom of speech. Expletive enough to land in jail? I think not.

Lets not assume stuff.

The judge wanted to show his displeasure, he could have ordered her to leave (which was the case already, but why throw her in jail?).

It's a pity that people who used to stand against oppressive laws, and generation(s) before us who made this nation what it is today, are no longer around. And whoever raises their voice now, is conveniently labeled. Remember, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus and demanded equal treatment. Comparison is far-fetched, but it's the same idea.

What's next? Sikhs being jailed for wearing turbans in Courthouses? Jews being sentenced for wearing Kippa?

Do you not see the downward trend of the society that used to pride itself on equal rights for all, and a broader understanding of others sensitivities?

PS: Keep it straight, keep it simple, and keep it fair. No hypocrisy please.

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Re: Ga. Muslim jailed over head scarf

^ Lets not assume stuff. "Racist" is generally not considered an expletive. Abusing a judge in his court is enough to get one jailed.