Muslim women's headware allowed in court or not?
The confrontation in Atlanta, between an officer of the court and a woman wearing the religious head scarf of the Muslim religion, has reached national and certainly the attention of Muslim radicals.
The story is unclear and reverses itself several times. If the woman, after being told she could not wear the item of clothing, did turn to leave, why would she have been detained by the officer. She is to have used profanity and to have made statements concerning the judge. These are the things that lead to arrest.
As a user of a cane to assist walking, there has been two times when I've been refused entrace to the court. One cane was aluminum, and the second had a brass handle. A simple, "Sorry, that is not allowed in court" was all that was said. The response was not one of pleasure, but no officer prevented my leaving.
Camera phones are not allowed, and normal cell phones must be turned off. Hand bags are searched, as are cases, bags, etc.
Past situations have shown that weapons can and have been concealed and taken into court. This may have been a consideration for the officer. The article does not specify if the metal detector sounded, only that the woman was near the detector.
Now the officer has been admonished for doing the job he was given and a course in courtesy will be mandatory, most likely, for those in future situations.
The truth is not being put forward in this story, and if an obviously handi-capped individual is barred from using a specific type of walking aid, why should the wearing of a religious item be allowed?
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