Muslim Woman Jailed For Not Removing Head Scarf
Lisa Valentine of suburban Atlanta was ordered to serve ten days in jail on contempt charges because she woudn’t remove her head scarf for religious reasons at a courthouse check point. Would they do this to an Orthodox Jew?
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.
She was at traffic court with her nephew, who had to respond to a citation. She uttered an expletive to a bailiff, who had her handcuffed and brought before the judge. Does this mean you can curse at a bailiff as long as you have no headgear?
In a Pew study done in 2007, 53% of Muslims say it’s more difficult to be a Muslim in the country since 9/11. 51% say they are “worried” or “somewhat worried” that women wearing the hijab are treated poorly. I can’t even get “hijab” past the spellchecker.
“Would they do this to an Orthodox Jew?”
Of course not, Jews are accepted for who they are kin our society. You have to be at least ‘not appearing’ Muslim to get by without BS on a daily basis. I’ve seen this kind of garbage first hand and while I don’t share in being told to “Take off my ___” I certainly think it is unjust and four-letter word.
My question is if a Christian woman spoke that away to a balif and wore a cruicifix around her neck would she be asked to take it off?
Religious symbols on public prooperty and all.
The sooner people in America face we don’t have freedom of religion in this country the better.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Actually, they might do it to an Orthodox Jew, as well. Wouldn’t surprise me, unfortunately.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
So I guess liberals think head scarbes in public places are okay, but nativity scenes aren’t.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
What? People are wearing nativity scenes on their heads???!!
You really should think before you post T. Mason.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
If i wore a ski mask to court, they just might ask me to take it off. Maybe i can make up a new religion that says god will hate me if i don’t wear a ski mask in public.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
So I guess liberals think head scarbes in public places are okay, but nativity scenes aren’t.
Posted by T. Mason
…………………………..
Both are fine as long as the tax payers don’t have to pay for it.
If there is a good reason to take it off, I think she should, if it’s for security she can put it back on, once it’s bee checked out.
Frankly, I hate the idea of half of your population has to cover their head…..If modesty is SO important, maybe the men should wear blindfolds.
Orthodox Jews cover their heads, and if a group of Christian women emerged who wanted to emulate Mary, fine, but the same rules should apply to all.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
What are taxpayers paying for?
December 17th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
The head scarf doesn’t imply government endorsement of a religion. A nativity scene does.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
The ONLY objections that people have to nativity scenes is on tax payers property, if the group who puts it there pays for it or the city pays for makes no more difference than if a Muslim, Hindu or Pastafarian shrine placed there.
A religious symbol is not the same as a head scarf, or a yarmulke.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
ERIC—A crucifix, unless very large poses no threat. Neither does a head scraf itself, but it does make it easier to hide things.
Despite it being a religious item, it should be treated no differently than a hat.
I would be ok with requiring the Jewish man to remove his yarmulke, simply for fairness. However, I hope we can agree that it would be much easier to hide something in or under a flowing head scarf than under a small, form fitting cap.
Besides, should it really matter? Government isn’t supposed to acknowledge any religion anyway, is it? That takes me back to treating it like a hat.
December 17th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
You can utter all the profanity you want in court, until the man or woman in the black dress holds you in contempt.
And I don’t see much difference between this muslim hijab and the “modest” veils catholic women have been known to wear to mass. It shouldn’t be a problem, unless it’s used to conceal ones identity.
December 17th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Gee, I wonder what they would do if it were a nun.
December 17th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
[...] Alan talks with Lisa Valentine, the Muslim woman who was jailed after refusing to remove her head scarf for religious [...]
December 17th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Our nation needs to heal. Going to jail for that is beyound reason. Loose pants,mini skirts to short. Muslims lived here and pay taxes. Her rights where stepped on.
December 17th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
TDRO—I am not of the Catholic faith, but I have an Aunt who is a nun. There is no requirement for them to wear their habit 24/7.
I can only speak from the perspective of my Aunt, but if she were asked/told to remove the cap portion of her habit long enough to pass through security, it woudn’t be a problem.
December 17th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Yes, TRA, but would they ASK her to remove her cap portion
December 17th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Well, it is certainly a lot harder to be an AMERICAN in this country since 9/11. Any stroll through an American aiport reveals–oh, yeah, I forgot! You can’t stroll through an airport anymore. Not since some Muslim guys strolled through the Boston airport several years ago.
December 17th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
The wearing of the so-called hijab by these women, who are dubious in their Islamism, is simply a ploy to stir up trouble. How can one tell? By the fact that this so-called religious woman swore at the court officer, encouraged to do so as she was by her religion of peace.
If Muslims can wear hijabs when they sit before cameras at the DMV for driver license photos and in other security locations, then Americans in Muslim countries had better be able to bring in Bibles, pork products, and pictures of women in bikinis without any concerns for the retrograde & clearly discriminatory Muslim cultural taboos. This includes Wahabbist Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, you name it.
And the question about orthodox Jews is nonsense. First of all, there are very few of them compared to Muslims, and it quite a bit less likely that they would be anywhere near a courthouse than would Muslims in this country.
December 17th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I want to hear Alan sing “Dredel Dredel Dredel !!!
December 17th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I actually agree that this is stepping on her religious freedom. When France banned those head scarves I thought it was too far. This was silly…HOWEVER…she should have been cursing at the bailiff.
Ah, Alan, you got owned because she just said she wasn’t discriminated against because of her scarf!
December 17th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Should have NOT been cursing at the bailiff…sorry. :D
December 17th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Lisa Valentine.
Too funny.
Blacks will have the upper hand now that they have a Muslim President.
Give me a break.
December 17th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Alan…wearing a JESUS fish may be a requirement of MY brand of Christianity. Are you saying that a very small religious sect has no right to wear what they want?
December 17th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Wearing nothing will land you in jail as well. Perhaps my religin became naked. I have the right to make that my faith. Go to jail for being in the buff? Clothes make me feel unholy. I wonder what would happen if i pushed this issue in my life?
December 18th, 2008 at 12:18 am
O.M.G. I actually agree with Alan on this issue. Something is very wrong. Why are Alan and I in agreement?
December 18th, 2008 at 12:34 am
Is this the same Alan Colmes that complained a few years ago about the Ten Commandments on display in a court house?
December 18th, 2008 at 12:40 am
This is more of a question, what if my religion requires human sacrifice? Am i allowed to toss some young child into a volcano as it was for certain people long ago?
December 18th, 2008 at 12:50 am
MAN! YOU GOT ME LAUGHING. You get the death penlty.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:59 am
The hijab is not a religious symbol – it is a cultural symbol. That is to say it derives from a primitive, backward view of how women should comport themselves – as opposed to a primitive, backward religion which worships yet another spaceman deity.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:52 am
“Hijab” is also a kickass Scrabble word. I must remember it.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
This was at a security checkpoint. Was she told to remove the Hijab permanently? If so, that was wrong.
However, if she was just asked to remove it long enough so that security could verify that she wasn’t hiding anything or that she wasn’t someone trying to conceal their identity, and then allowed her to put it back on past the checkpoint, then that would be a reasonable request.
I can’t tell which scenario this was.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
The CO caller got it right.
This was all about “contempt of cop”.
December 19th, 2008 at 1:40 am
I wonder how many people are used to seeing women wearing hijabs? My son went to a Toronto high school for the intellectually gifted and there were many Muslim female teens wearing hijabs. I got to know some as they were members of the school drama club. They all seemed to be typical boy-mad teenage girls. And yes, they performed on stage in hijab.
December 19th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
[...] Muslim Woman Jailed For Not Removing Head ScarfLisa Valentine of suburban Atlanta was ordered to serve ten days in jail on contempt charges because she woudn’t remove her head scarf for religious reasons at a courthouse check point. Would they do this to an Orthodox Jew? . [...]
December 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pm