U.S. to defend Muslim girl wearing scarf in school

CNN Washington Bureau ^ | 03/30/04 | Terry Frieden

[coffeebreak]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department announced Tuesday the government's civil rights lawyers have jumped into a legal case to support a Muslim girl's right to wear a head scarf in a public school.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Alex Acosta said government lawyers would support 11-year-old Nashala Hearn, a sixth-grade student who has sued the Muskogee, Oklahoma, Public School District for ordering her to remove her head scarf, or hijab, because it violated the dress code of the Benjamin Franklin Science Academy, which she attended.

The girl continued to wear her hijab to school and was subsequently suspended twice for doing so. The family appealed the suspensions, which were upheld by a district administrative hearing committee.

Her parents filed suit against the Muskogee School District last October.

On Tuesday the federal government filed a motion in a federal court in Muskogee to intervene in support of Nashala's position.

[yonif]

You are correct.

[Exton1]

This seems to say that there is a “Separation of Church and State, but not a Separation of Mosque and State.” Why do the American people put of with this crap. I want my rights and religion reflected is schools too. Where are my Ten Commandants.

[sarasmom]

I dont agree that the odious hijab be allowed in public schools.
If the childs parents are so religiously new age Jihadist Islamic devout, they must place the child in private school.As is their right.
What they do not have the right to do is inflict the tyranny of the minority on the majority.
For those who think using children as pawns in a war against society is fine, allow me to introduce the concept of the logical conclusions in what is mandated by law ro be tolerated...
I force my child to wear spike heels and gaudy make-up, or perhaps a simple loin cloth is all I ever allow my child to wear in public.
After all, who is qualified to judge my true intent, or the depth and meaning of our sacred family religion?
If I send her to school garbed in twigs and leaves, is that also approved atire?
What if we are really into explosive vests as a religious standard?
Give me a break!

[Fedora]

Yeah, but what qualifies as a religion - what if I want my kid to be able to go to school naked because I say it's my religion? I think in all honesty the framers of the Constitution had Christians in mind when they wrote about freedom of religion.

They had in mind Christianity and religions like Judaism which share in common with Christianity certain core values derived from what 18th-century philosophy regarded as natural rights. To the extent practitioners of Islam can abide by those core values, there is no problem. But when a religion radically departs from those core values, as fundamentalist Islam does, it undermines the foundation of what the Constitution's concept of freedom of religion is based on.

[Robert_Paulson2]

i agree.
zero tolerance is zero.

fwiw, the "strictly amish" don't go to public schools.

I say wear the hajib to your madrassa... oh that's right, islamic madrassas aren't usually for little girls.

[Michael.SF.]

not a Separation of Mosque and State.”

I have not read the case, but she is a student and her right to wear a Ha-jib is the same as that of a Jew to wear a Yarmulke or a Christian to wear a cross. The school is clearly wrong in this case.

I want my rights and religion reflected is schools too. Where are my Ten Commandants

Your comment made me think of a great potential tactic for Christians to use: Churches should make up Tee Shirts, similar to the Rock Star-Concert Tour shirts, except instead of the dates on the back, it would list the Ten Commandments.

I wonder how many schools would attempt to ban that message? And on what basis?

[spunkets]

"I force my child to wear spike heels and gaudy make-up, or perhaps a simple loin cloth is all I ever allow my child to wear in public. After all, who is qualified to judge my true intent, or the depth and meaning of our sacred family religion? "

Most of us are, and the courts aren't going to back away from declaring your new personally recognized religion a manifestation of a psychological problem requiring treatment.

[yonif]

her right to wear a Ha-jib is the same as that of a Jew to wear a Yarmulke or a Christian to wear a cross.

The Hajib is more of a cultural/political item, not a religious one representative of Islam.

[blueriver]

The school is clearly wrong in this case.

The school has a dress code and they should be entitled to enforce it. If the girl does not like the dress code let her go to a private school or go back to her own country. Why should a school not be allowed to have a dress code? If no jewelry is part of the dress code then crosses should not be allowed. This has nothing to do with religion.

[singlemomofone]

Now where were these jokers when that teacher was told she couldn't wear her cross necklace at school. She had to hire her own lawyer, didn't she!?

(Tagline courtesy of Mark Twain)

[spunkets]

"Why should a school not be allowed to have a dress code?

The United States is a country founded on the principles of Freedom, not on authoritarian whims. If the dress is not a minimal mirror of the general public then it is not appropriate. In this case, the headgear is cultural and is intimately connected to their historical religion. It is part of the tradition of their religion.

[DJtex]

Regardless, this is EXCELLENT politics from the White House, although it's possible that it's strictly DOJ-initiated. Either way, with France forbiding head scarves (which many Americans see as religiously required for Muslims), we're showing Muslim-tolerance and equal protection for all.

These images: DOJ protecting a young Muslim-American girl, are powerful--perhaps as powerful as the 9-11 Commission, certainly as powerful as the image of that lunatic Richard Clarke.

[spunkets]

"political"

It is cultural and part of the tradition of their religion, not political.

[A Jovial Cad]

Oh, c'mon. That's not what he meant and you know it. Enough with the dramatics.

[Tempest]

"BUT WHERE IS THE GOVERNMENT WHEN THIS ISSUE INVOLVES CHRISTIANS!?!"

I believe that their busy this week defending the Pledge of Alliegance from athiest. So yeah they're there for Christians as well.

[A Jovial Cad]

The issue is not about the head dress so much as it is one of uniformity: is the school enforcing a ban on religious garb across the board? If it is then I don't see the problem.
I do think it's rather silly to get the Justice Department involved.

[sarasmom]

Dont count on the court system to preserve our customs and society.
Or have you not heard that the court system has declared the Boy Scouts as official open hunting grounds for homosexual pedophiles, and that you are forbidden to use lethal self defense measures in life threatening situations?
Do keep up, else you could be selectively prosecuted for any number of infractions of the law!

[Fred Nerks]

Yeah, right. Little girl wakes up one morning and says, I want to wear a hijab, Mommy. I want to wear it to school. I want to wear it all day. I don't want to go swimming in the pool...not with boys, because it's a bad thing for boys to see my body. And I know, Mommy, that white people who are Christians and Jews are dirty, and I musn't touch them or I'll go to hell, won't I Mommy? And allah would be very angry with me if people could see my hair, wouldn't he, Mommy? It's true, isn't it Mommy; they all hate us and want to kill us, don't they? But if I don't have anything to do with those people and wear my hijab every day, then I'll go to heaven, won't I Mommy? Won't I?

Yes, Nashala. And if they try to make you take your hijab off, we will take them to court and sue them.

Oh, Mommy, that will be such fun! I can hardly wait...what does 'court' mean, Mommy?

[JoeSchem]

WHERE IS THE GOVERNMENT WHEN THIS ISSUE INVOLVES CHRISTIANS!?!

Schools should be under local control and student dress should be a local issue decided by local school districts and local voters, not unelected and unremovable federal court judges. Restore democracy in this country, and Christians will be protected.

[blueriver]

The United States is a country founded on the principles of Freedom

No one is denying this girl freedom. She can were her hat to places that do not have a dress code that limits hats. If she does not like the dress code she has the freedom to go to a private school. Yes this country is based on freedoms but individual freedom has always been limited by the rules and regulations of any given institution. I know for a fact that many schools across the country do not allow hats in the class room. They can be distracting and also can block the vision of the student sitting behind them. The school should be allowed to enforce rules that have nothing to do with religion. Why should she be allowed to bring her religious needs to a public institution and demand that the instition change their rules to accomadate her?