Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Law and Order Sheriff's Office Rescinds Anti-Muslim Headwear Policy
Posted by Jonathan Meador on Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 6:30 AM
It's called a hijab, and it looks like this:
As of this Friday, Aug. 19, the Davidson County Sheriff's Office will no longer order the removal of the above-pictured religious headgear when booking women of the Muslim faith — or men of any faith, for that matter, regardless of spiritual-cranial attire — so long as the wearer of the headgear in question doesn't "(use) the head covering to conceal or transport contraband," because shoes are totally not the problem.
The change was trumpeted in a press release sent out yesterday by the Tennessee ACLU, whose legal director, Tricia Herzfeld, commended DSCO for taking "responsibility" by implementing the new policy.
“We applaud DCSO for recognizing the importance of protecting individuals’ constitutional right to exercise their religious beliefs," Herzfeld said.
After a series of back-to-back incidents this spring involving the involuntary removal of a hijab and a kufi from a Muslim woman and man, respectively, by Nashville authorities, the TN-ACLU stepped up pressure on the sheriff's office, which now has its hands full threatening deportation to high-school aged Hispanics.
Now, even kufis are cool with DSCO, provided they're properly screened by a chaplain. From the full policy change (PDF):
For security reasons, prayer rugs and religious attire such as kufis and yarmulkes cannot be sent to inmates directly from manufacturers, family, or friends. If such items are received by mail they will be placed in the inmate's property until screened and approved by a facility chaplain.
While there's probably a good joke in there about a Christian chaplain inspecting Jewish and Islamic clothing for contraband, we're not going to tell it.
Comments (12)
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This is an outrage!!!!! Wait until Dr. Savage and Glen Beck hear about this! They will unleash their righteous fury at the city of Nashville! The founding fathers are literally spinning in their graves as we speak! I'm going on a shaving strike in protest! I will not shave until Metro rescinds this awful, awful ruling! It has become difficult to shave in this Obama Economy anyways!
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Thank you, Angry White Patriot!, for reminding us all that if our founders died for anything, it's the right to abuse the exclamation point in a public forum. [!]
Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves? Why? Because our laws are enforcing the freedom of religion that our founding fathers espoused?
You should change your moniker to "Angry White Bigot," which would be more factual. You do a disservice to the real patriots.
i'm convinced....awp is a satirist. everything he posts is either without any factual content or laden with !!!! and right wing hot air and "talking points". c'mon 'fess up...you're really bill maher, aren't you?
Let's do away with the screening farce altogether and see how that flies. Literally.
Donna....surely you couldn't be trying to imply that a heinous act supposedly committed by Muslims exemplifies all 1.2 billion follows of the faith could you?
By this logic, couldn't one also point to Andres Breivik, the IRA, the Lord's Resistance Army, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, the slave trade, the US abortion doctor murders, and countless other examples to define (or rather malign) Christianity and Christians?
Or do you simply have one standard for people you like and another for Muslims?
Well said, Patriot. I would have also added Timothy McVeigh (Oklahama City bombing), the Serbian genocide of Muslims & Croats.
Their also the bit about the genocide of native peoples by Europeans claiming to be Christians acting on behalf of their Christian faith.
These hypocrites should heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:5 and Luke 6:42.
PatriotHeart and Sam, you are naive. I am not religious and do not care to live under ANYONE'S religious law or indoctrination. Numbers tell the tale and will dictate the future. Dictate. Literally.
What a wimp. Why capitulate a jail policy because of fear of the ACLU? Can't remove a towel from their head but can do cavity searchs? I don't get it.
