muslim woman jailed for wearing headscarf in court

[Amby 490]

ATLANTA — A Muslim woman arrested for refusing to take off her head scarf at a courthouse security checkpoint said Wednesday that she felt her human and civil rights were violated.

A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, 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 after they arrested her Tuesday.

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from Connecticut, said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

"I just felt stripped of my civil, my human rights," she said Wednesday from her home. She said she was unexpectedly released after the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations urged federal authorities to investigate the incident as well as others in Georgia.

Jail officials declined to say why she was freed and 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.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,468785,00.html

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from Connecticut

There you go.

[웃 910]

The craziest court I have ever been to was the 36th district court in downtown Detroit. A guy who was of Spanish decent, who couldn't speak English and had a translator, went in front of a judge with a giant chain down to his stomach with a marijuana leaf medallion that was the size of a starfish. I couldn't believe it.

Edited December 17, 2008 by Confucian

[Ban Hammer 14,677]

i'm sure the aclu is already on the case.

[Nagishkaw 510]

The craziest court I have ever been to was the 36th district court in downtown Detroit. A guy who was of Spanish decent, who couldn't speak English and had a translator, went in front of a judge with a giant chain down to his stomach with a marijuana leaf medallion that was the size of a starfish. I couldn't believe it.

There's no place like home.

[Y's_habibitk 2]

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

Well...wait a minute. This is really bad journalism, or at least very misleading (oh hey, it's FOX, surprise!!), because if you read it carefully I get the impression that she was held in contempt because she uttered an expletive. Which...yeah...deserves a contempt of court citation. The argument may have been about her head scarf, but the story seems to at least hint that the citation was for her expletive and possibly storming out.

the other thread posted earlier mentioned nothing about the expletive either. duh..that doesnt make a good story

It is misleading, however I dont think they should have ever asked her to remove it in the first place... hello? who doesnt know that a hijab(headscarf) is for religous reasons?

there is no excuse for such ignorance... f*'ing hicks

[bhajishah 4]

MENA sisters have good posts, views and discussion on this. Why should judges be free to discriminate lands norms, laws and practices. My son was thrown out for having a t shirt with adam sandler on and such. But a Hijab ofensive??why? because the judge is obviously racist and demeaning

[doodlebugg 10]

why? because the judge is obviously racist and demeaning

That's some serious conjecture. Another (simpler and less sinister) explanation is that he's just ignorant.

hard to believe that a judge would be THAT ignorant. As for the expletive I'd have done my best to bite my lip if I were her but after the fourth or fifth time of being told I couldn't help my nephew because I was wearing hijab I probably would have gone off at the mouth as well. The court system has no right to tell me to what extent I can practice my religion. The thread in MENA has some very good points, one being what if it had been a nun in full habit? Would they have made her take off her headcovering as well?

[rclouse 0]

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

Well...wait a minute. This is really bad journalism, or at least very misleading (oh hey, it's FOX, surprise!!), because if you read it carefully I get the impression that she was held in contempt because she uttered an expletive. Which...yeah...deserves a contempt of court citation. The argument may have been about her head scarf, but the story seems to at least hint that the citation was for her expletive and possibly storming out.

Stop using Common Sense. There are lots of muslims here that want to be outraged!

[bhajishah 4]

Bottom Line he was wrong on isisting it be removed!! Because its a strong SYmbol that was given a strong message. Devoid of how the sister acted. Judges are held o higher societal standards. If not they need tossed of thier benches!!

[alienlovechild 75]

there is no excuse for such ignorance... f*'ing hicks

because the judge is obviously racist and demeaning

Or it could be a religiously neutral policy banning hearcoverings in the courthouse.

The paper says Lisa Valentine, 40, was arrested on charges of violating a policy that bars headcoverings inside the Douglasville, Ga., courthouse.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/...e-orders-mu.htm

Why can't a 40 year-old woman Muslim or not, act a bit older than a 4 year-old? Pretty obvious a lot of posters haven't been to the greater Atlanta area to see the diversity or a courtroom to know the rules. Um, about 40% of Douglasville residents are black so I don't think the racism charge will stick there.

[bhajishah 4]

Remove your religious symbol (accepted worldwide) is not ludacriss in a nation found on religious freedoms?? Read the constitution the Judge is wrong, and nothing sensational about that . black and white..Now the jailing and disrespecting the judge that was warranted as well. The misleading of the press saying she was jailed for wearing Hijab that is despicable. they trying to get ratings by riling people up. same people who have ability to scare and brainwash people. that is whole different issue friend.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

MENA sisters have good posts, views and discussion on this. Why should judges be free to discriminate lands norms, laws and practices. My son was thrown out for having a t shirt with adam sandler on and such. But a Hijab ofensive??why? because the judge is obviously racist and demeaning

Racist? How? Maybe her Hijab carries AIDS.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I doubt the problem is the head being covered. My guess is the face being covered is the problem in most of these cases. A nun wears a habit but her face is exposed. How about having a drivers license photo taken with the face covered?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I doubt the problem is the head being covered. My guess is the face being covered is the problem in most of these cases. A nun wears a habit but her face is exposed. How about having a drivers license photo taken with the face covered?

She was wearing a head scarf, not a niqab.

I misread, it was another case cited in the article that said the woman was wearing a face veil. I can undertand the face being covered, but what's the problem with a head scarf? She has to pass thru security so why don't they check to make sure nothing is concealed under the scarf?

Edited December 17, 2008 by spookyturtle