Thread: Ga. Judge Jails Muslim Woman Over Head Scarf

Ga. Judge Jails Muslim Woman Over Head Scarf

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 17, 2008
Filed at 1:22 p.m. ET

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12 ... .html?_r=2


ATLANTA (AP) -- A Muslim woman arrested for refusing to take off her head scarf at a courthouse security checkpoint said Wednesday that she felt her human and civil rights were violated.

A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, 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 after they arrested her Tuesday.

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from Connecticut, said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

''I just felt stripped of my civil, my human rights,'' she said Wednesday from her home. 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.

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.

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.







Such a devout follower.........

When she turned to leave and uttered an expletive, Hall said a bailiff handcuffed her and took her before the judge.

How ironic that she considers being asked to remove her head scarf a "religious violation," while on the other hand, uttering an "expletive" carries no such "religious" violation apparently!

Interesting....

Yeah, baby yeah!

''I just felt stripped of my civil, my human rights,'' she said Wednesday from her home. 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.

Uhhhh, no it's called rules, lady. Don't like it? Go back home. Our country, our rules.

Clear example on the total lack of respect for our laws and culture....

A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta's west suburban outskirts.

Hmm... Lisa Valentine. I would be willing to bet this woman was born and raised in this country and converted to islam, Of course, Valentine may not be her maiden name.

In any event, I predict she will be filing a lawsuit against the city of Douglasville, alleging her civil rights and religious freedoms were infringed upon.

She is obviously a phony.

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from Connecticut, said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

Oh pleeze. Give me a break. This hs nothing to do with the civil rights era. She was breaking the law by wearing something on her head If she had a problem removing it, she should have left. Next she will be demanding footbaths in all courthouses.

Hey courtrooms have rules. You have a choice....if you want to enter, you have to enter by the rules. Of course if you dont like the rules you can leave. It is your choice. The security personnel are just following the rules they are told to follow. Cussing at them when they are just doing their job is not acceptable. NoBueno makes a good point that cussing is probably also against her religion. If she can break that rule, then she can break them all. The fact remains she is free to leave if she does not like the rules.

Originally Posted by butterbean

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from Connecticut, said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

Oh pleeze. Give me a break. This hs nothing to do with the civil rights era. She was breaking the law by wearing something on her head If she had a problem removing it, she should have left. Next she will be demanding footbaths in all courthouses.

I know, huh BB?

The archives are just jam packed with stories of black Americans in the south who had their civil rights violated because they weren't permitted to wear their headscarves into courtrooms and were handcuffed for swearing at judges

These people are pathetic in their ridiculous efforts to draw even the vaguest of lines connecting their so called-"struggles" to the civil rights struggles of the black population in the 60's