Muslim jailed over head scarf!! ;o

[Zara]

This really happens in the U.S?

land of freedom blah blah blah.........

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

updated 2:48 p.m. ET 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.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28278572/

[Halimah]

That's just .

[MohammadNasser]

Wow thats exactly what you can expect from the americans....

As soon as they see some one with hijab or even (the male head scarf) that people use alot these days they think TERRORIST! U.S.A is one of the hardest places to be a muslim and i feel bad for the good muslims who just want to fit in who are exposed to this kind of treatment

[AbU]

Salam Aleikum,

I totally disagree with you on that one.

You can't blame the WHOLE people(citizens) of US. You see, the people itself is tolerant. And it's quite easy to be muslim and walk down the streets, without being looked(negative) at. With all those millions of people coming from different cultures, religions, origins etc. is way more open-minded than e.g Europe.

They got muslim communties with mosques etc. and no one even bothers.

So, to say that USA is the hardest place to be for a muslim is a shot waaaaaay off target.

Peace

Wow thats exactly what you can expect from the americans....

As soon as they see some one with hijab or even (the male head scarf) that people use alot these days they think TERRORIST! U.S.A is one of the hardest places to be a muslim and i feel bad for the good muslims who just want to fit in who are exposed to this kind of treatment

[MohammadNasser]

My aunt lives in USA alhamdulilah she is well , but discriminated agianst alot due to wearing a head scarf. i agree that there are places where muslims are welcomed but also alot of places where the sterotype lives on

[AbU]

Salam Aleikum,

Oh yeah, sure there are some states where ppl experience lots of racism and discrimination - the south for instance - however, thats not how the majority of the people in US is. Not from what i've heard, tho.

Peace

[MohammadNasser]

Hehe I agree like texas where every basicly every one is racist or north carolina

[Umm Hamzah]

Assalaam aleikum

So sad. It really is. MashAllah im proud of my muslim sister. She could have taken her hijab off but she didnt mashAllah.

MohammadNasser, it really depends which state and city you live in. I live in New York and I dont have any problem wearing hijab and abaya here. The closest thing I have been to racism is people laughing at me but thats it. I've even visited ground zero without people saying anything. People in NY are very open minded. If you go to a small town in a southern state, its a different story.

Muslims in the U.S get treated much better than muslims in Denmark.