An Islamic leader in St. Louis thinks St. Louis County jailers went to far when they ordered an Islamic woman to remove her religious headscarf.
“The officer said take it off or we will take it off for you” said Executive Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations Faizan Syed.
He says that’s the order given to an Islamic woman recently jailed for a short time for an unpaid traffic ticket.
Courts have ruled that Muslim women have a right to wear a religious headscarf, or hijab, in jail unless it’s shown to be a security risk, but Syed says in this case jailers went too far.
“We would like for the County to send a letter of apology to the lady who was affected by this” said Syed.
Syed says so far he’s received no response. He also wants to know if this was an isolated case or if it’s policy in St. Louis County.
He feels a solution can be reached that addresses both security needs at the jail and constitutionally protected religious rights.