Judicial Watch » Muslim rights

County Faces Suit For Removing Muslim’s Scarf In Jail

akajas — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:51:20 +0000

In yet another case of political correctness run amok, a federal appellate court hasruled that a Muslim woman convicted of welfare fraud can sue a U.S. county for making her remove her religious headscarf in a holding cell.The case had previously been dismissed by two separate federal courts in California, but the woman’s legal team at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) kept appealing. This week the notoriously liberal and often reversed Ninth U.S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 11-0 that the woman (Souhair Khatib) can sue southernCalifornia’s Orange County because her religious rights were violated when she was forced to take off her hijab.A three-judge panel from the same court had previously agreed with a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, but the ACLU asked the full court to rehear the case. In its new ruling the full Ninth Circuit says that a federal law guaranteeing religious freedom to prisoners applies to a courthouse holding cell where Khatib was ordered by deputies to remove her headscarf for security reasons.On a perpetual mission to appease Muslims, the Obama Administration joined Khatib in arguing that the law, enacted 2000, applies to pretrial cells like the one at the Orange County courthouse. County officials counter that it covers only prisons that hold inmates for substantial periods and not transitional cells where criminal suspects are kept for only a few hours.But the Ninth Circuit says “congress intended to safeguard the permissible religious observance of powerless persons incarcerated by the state” so the law should be interpreted broadly. It further points out in its ruling that “a Muslim woman who must appear before strange men she doesn’t know, with her hair and neck uncovered in a violation of her religious beliefs, may feel shame and distress.” This is precisely the sort of “mischief” the federal law intended to remedy, the court said.Khatib and her husband pleaded guilty to welfare fraud in 2006 and the couple was twice detained for probation violations. On both occasions the Khatibs were ordered into a holding cell for several hours while they awaited a court hearing. In her lawsuit against the county Khatib claims that she suffered a “deeply humiliating and defiling experience” when she was forced to remove her headscarf for security reasons at the Orange County Superior Courthouse.

Police Capt. Punished Over Islamic Event

akajas — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:39:27 +0000

An Oklahoma police captain with an impeccable service record has been disciplined for refusing to order officers under his command to attend an Islamic event at aTulsa mosque.The unbelievable story was first reported by an Oklahoma news station that obtained internal memos detailing how the Tulsa Police Department punished one of its top brass for dodging a rather bizarre assignment; to attend the Islamic Society’s law enforcement appreciation day and command his officers to do the same.The veteran cop, Captain Paul Fields, said the order conflicted with his personal religious convictions and violated his civil rights. He added that attending prayer service at a mosque, meeting Muslim leadership and sitting through a presentation of Islamic beliefs was not related to his work as a police officer. Fields, a 16-year veteran who has earned many commendations, assured that he would respond diligently to a call for police service.Fields was promptly investigated by Tulsa Police internal affairs for violating the department’s obedience policy and he subsequently got “reassigned.” The department memos linked in the story indicate that the Muslim event, scheduled for next month, was originally voluntary to attend but few officers signed up and it became mandatory.A deputy chief distributed a follow up memo ordering each patrol division to send six officers and three supervisors to the event, which is described as a “community outreach operation” that’s as much a part of police work as responding to calls. The department has participated in similar outreach events at a Jewish center and various churches that cater to African Americans and Hispanics, the assistant chief said.Captain Fields remains adamant that he should not be forced to attend the Islamic gathering and has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that his First Amendment rights were violated by the department and the deputy chief who ordered him to. He is asking for $1 in damages.A separate case involving Muslim rights put Oklahoma in the headlines just a few months ago. The state actually got sued over a voter-approved measure prohibiting courts from considering Sharia law—the authoritarian doctrine that inspires Islamists and their jihadism—when ruling on cases. The suit claims the law is “anti-Islam” and unconstitutional because it forbids judges from contemplating Islamic principles.