Showing posts with label burka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burka. Show all posts

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Islam 'insulted' by alleged child killer's mug shot, says husband

Let's see, she was wearing a headscarf and tanktop when arrested, but she is concerned about her modesty? Am I missing something?
Rees

from The Chicago Sun-Times
April 10, 2009
By KIM JANSSEN, Staff Writer

The police booking photo of alleged child killer Nour Hadid released Tuesday is an "insult against our religion," says Hadid's husband, Alaeddin.

Orland Park police detectives say the 26-year-old Muslim woman was treated as any other suspect in a murder probe would be, and they did not intend to humiliate her when they photographed her Sunday without her headscarf and wearing only a skimpy top.

Nour Hadid is accused of beating her 2-year-old niece Bhia Hadid to death over four days at her home on the 9000 block of West 140th Street. The child had 55 separate bruises and was beaten "from head to toe," according to prosecutors, who say Hadid confessed.

But Alaeddin Hadid - who insists his wife is innocent - said Orland Park police are "really going to be in big trouble" for releasing the woman's booking photo to the news media after she was charged with first-degree murder.

The Hadids are Muslims and Nour "never leaves the home without covering up," said Alaeddin, who's vowed to sue.

By custom, some practicing Muslim women wear the hijab, or headscarf, and cover their arms and legs when in public.

In the mug shot, a bare-headed and obviously emotional Nour appears to be protecting her modesty with her hands.

Suicide threats

Orland Park police Cmdr. Chuck Doll said the mug shot was taken "for identification purposes" before Hadid made her confession. Her headscarf was handed back to her after the photo was taken, Doll said.

"A matron was with her at all times while she was in our custody," Doll said. A matron is a law enforcement official who works with women held in custody. "She was wearing a tank top, and she had the headscarf when she was interviewed."

The headscarf later was taken from her after she made suicide threats, he said.

Respecting the accused

Islamic advocacy groups seem wary of taking up Hadid's cause.

Spokesmen for the Council on Islamic American Relations, the Islamic Society of North America and the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation all declined to comment Thursday.

But Dr. Mohammed Sahloul, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Chicago, said that while police should follow the usual procedures with all defendants, "they should respect the modesty of the accused."

Sahloul, who made it clear he was not aware of the Hadid case and was speaking in general terms about the hijab, pointed out that Muslim women are allowed to wear hijabs in photos for their state IDs.

"If it's for the purposes of identification and they cover in public, then that's going to be more effective in identifying them anyway," he said.

Former chairman Kareem Irfan said, "It's particularly humiliating because she appears to be in her underwear.

"I don't condone what she's alleged to have done.

"But if it was a nun accused of these crimes, would they treat her the same way?"
Click to read the rest of the article

Friday, April 10, 2009

Court: Muslim cop can’t wear head scarf

By STEPHEN ZOOK
Philadelphia Daily News
zooks@phillynews.com
A Muslim woman who works as a Philadelphia Police officer Wednesday lost her court fight to be allowed to wear her head scarf while on duty.
The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that granting Kimberlie Webb an exception to a regulation banning religious symbols while in uniform would impose an "undue hardship" on the city of Philadelphia.
Webb, a Philadelphia cop since 1995, requested permission in February 2003 to wear her head scarf while on duty. She was denied that permission, and filed complaints with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In August 2003, Webb showed up to work wearing her head scarf. When she refused to remove it, she was sent home. This was repeated on two additional days.
"There is a history of allowing palms in police cars on Palm Sunday," said Jeffrey Pollock, Webb's lawyer. "[Washington,] D.C., New York City and Chicago all allow officers to wear religious symbols.
"Why can't the Philadelphia Police make the exception?"
In October 2005, Webb brought a lawsuit against the city, claiming religious and sex discrimination.
The court's opinion said that "uniform requirements are crucial to the safety of officers (so that the public will be able to identify officers as genuine, based on their uniform appearance)."
The appeals court also declined to consider Constitutional issues brought up by Pollock. Those issues were not raised at trial, so the court did not have to consider them, according to the opinion of the three-judge panel.
A lower court already had ruled that the city would suffer undue hardship if it were required to accommodate Webb's request.
"I respect [the judges], but I'm obviously disappointed," Pollock said.
Pollock said that no decision has been made about whether to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.