Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights
One of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, established the division of the church and the government as one of the building blocks of our country. This wall of separation between faith and the state, protected by the First Amendment in the United States Constitution, prohibits government from passing preferential or prejudicial laws affecting any religion.
Islam included.
In 2008, Lisa Valentine, 40, was held in contempt of court in Douglasville, Ga., and arrested after refusing to remove her hijab, a Muslim religious headdress, at a security checkpoint. A hijab is a veil of privacy worn by women as required by some predominately Muslim nations.
Whereas France and Turkey also demand the removal of the hijab in certain public locations, such as schools, the outcry in America is amplified primarily due to our insistent defense of a country free of religious persecution.
Valentine violated a court policy that prohibits people from wearing any headgear in court, police spokesman Chris Womack said, adding that asking her to remove her headdress, however, was equivalent to asking her to disrobe:
"I had no idea I was in for such a humiliating experience," Valentine said. "This is who I am. Without it, it's like taking off my shirt. It's like being stripped of something that's part of me."
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 following the incident.
There have been similar cases in other states, including Michigan, where a Muslim woman in Detroit filed a federal lawsuit in 2007 after a judge dismissed her small-claims court case when she refused to remove her head and face veil.
"I hope that no person of faith will ever have to experience the type of egregious treatment I suffered at any Georgia courthouse because of the expression of my beliefs," said Valentine, whose lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Georgia chapter.
The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Georgia, seeks unspecified punitive damages and attorneys' fees. It claims that the city "demonstrated reckless indifference" to Valentine's constitutional rights and forced her to violate a fundamental tenet of her faith.
So it comes as no surprise that Douglasville Mayor Mickey Thompson said he was caught off guard by the lawsuit.
"This one's a surprise, because I think we had worked with Ms. Valentine, and I thought her concerns were addressed," said Thompson, who declined further comment until the city's attorneys could review the complaint.
Mrs. Valentine: I understand you are exercising your right to religious freedom, but it is asinine and naïve to assume that you will be allowed to pass through security in a courtroom in the United States of America with your head covered.
Let me be extremely clear: The officers were wrong for arresting Valentine. Dead Wrong. The lack of sensitivity to her justified reticence in removing her hijab is intolerable and must be addressed; however, there is the little matter of security to consider. Let's say in some parallel universe this was acceptable. It would only be a matter of time before people begin wearing religious veils to sneak through security checkpoints.
That is not racism; it is reality.
There is clearly a religious disparity as it pertains to Islam and Christianity. While conservatives, contradictory to the Constitution, support policies based on their Christian beliefs, Muslims have been consistently marginalized and vilified.
This is why I stood with the Muslim community when it expressed concern that Muslim children were required to pray to a Christian god in school. I empathized with them when the Patriot Act unfairly profiled them after the tragedy of 9/11, and I protested the violence perpetuated against them in so-called "retaliation."
I also supported the building of the mosque in New York City, and dared anyone to explain to me how a country built on freedom of religion could even consider banning its construction.
But no one, regardless of race, gender or religion, should be allowed to enter a secured facility with his or her face covered.
That's just common sense.
The persecution in this country of our Islamic brothers and sisters has been shameful, but enforcing a regulation that all citizens in this country must adhere to is not something that should be compromised.
While I will continue to challenge the obvious bias toward Christianity in this country, I will not support the blatant mischaracterization of what defines religious intolerance for the sake of being politically correct.
This is America, Mrs. Valentine, and the separation of church and state applies to all religions.
Islam included.
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