There’s an interesting controversy brewing over the decision of a judge in Georgia to punish a woman for wearing hijab in his court. She didn’t even get into the courtroom, according to the story reported by Atlanta Journal-Tribune, but only to the security screening. Her case was not helped by the fact that she uttered a swear word as she was leaving the court building after refusing to remove her hijab.
Muslim’s scarf leads to arrest at courthouse
Moni BasuA Douglasville woman was jailed Tuesday after a judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to remove her hijab, the head covering worn by Muslim women.
Lisa Valentine, also known by her Islamic name, Miedah, 40, was arrested at the Douglasville Municipal Court for violating a court policy of no headgear, said Chris Womack, deputy chief of operations for the Douglasville police.
Judge Keith Rollins ordered her held in jail for 10 days, but she was released Tuesday evening. The reason for the early release wasn’t immediately clear.
“It was very humiliating, degrading,” Valentine said from her home Tuesday evening. “I wear my hijab faithfully and for no reason I was asked to take it off. It was unreal.”
Other Muslim women said the same judge has ordered them to remove their hijabs.
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In my view, this is probably a mistake on the part of the judge.
You can read an interesting discussion of the issues at the Volokh Conspiracy law blog (Ban on Headgear, Including Religious Headgear, in Court). Most of the comments are well informed and well intentioned, but there are a couple of purely Islamophobic opinions expressed, too.
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December:18:2008 - 15:49
Trust me when I say this…these actions of banning head gear are bad and make people more religious and extreme than they otherwise might be contrary to thought. In time people learn to respect those who respect their beliefs…believe it or not!
I probably would have sat on the floor and cried GOOD GOD I HAVE SINNED or something like that!
Bad move by the judge and yeah bad move to curse too but hey…
December:19:2008 - 07:00
Sometimes policy has to be replaced with common sense.
December:19:2008 - 08:13
Ah! The famously uncommon ‘common sense’. I wish that that were the case. But because it isn’t always so, I’m glad that I have a Constitution behind me.
December:19:2008 - 10:51
In a country that was founded on freedom of religion for all, this judge sounds like a stupid bigot. There are other religions that require women to cover their hair as well. There are even some Christian women and Jewish women who cover their hair. Would the judge make an Amish or a Quaker woman take her head covering off if she came into his courtroom? Would he make a Jewish man remove his yamaka? Somehow it seems that this judge is only targeting Muslim women and we all know what that spells.
December:19:2008 - 10:59
>> hese actions of banning head gear are bad and make people more religious and extreme than they otherwise might be <<
I agree with that statement completely. It seems if you push against hijab, you’re going to create more niqabs, as we’ve seen in Britain. As soon as you politicize wardrobe, the backlash will be for some Muslim women to become even more austere and you’ll see more masks. Then we’ll have to figure out how to prevent people from wearing masks in courtrooms instead of headscarves.
Also: This no hats thing. Didn’t this start with prevent men from wearing their outdoor hats (esp. cowboy hats) indoors? I doubt a bonnet-wearing church lady in 1890 would have been asked by anyone to remove her headgear.
It’s hard to guess if this was anti-Muslim or just some stickler with no common sense — probably both (I wonder if a nun would be asked to remove her habit, or a little old Italian granny her headscarf). I find that the best members of law enforcement are not those that abide by the letter of the law but rather, as others have suggested here, use common sense in interpreting the letter of the law.
December:19:2008 - 13:34
I don’t know enough about this particular judge’s past practice, so I can’t say that he’s anti-Muslim, per se. I can say that he takes himself and his courtroom a little too seriously.
It used to be the case, in the Catholic Church, that a woman was required to have her head covered. Even today, a woman visiting St. Peter’s in the Vatican is supposed to have her head covered, if not with a hat, then at least a mantilla or scarf.
As comments at the Volokh Conspiracy blog (linked in my piece above) note, the judge is likely exceeding his constitutional authority. He’s certainly gone beyond common sense.