Free Republic

The Sharia colonization of the West continues. According to a report out by Michael Dorgan and published by Fox News, the New York City government has agreed to a “preliminary financial settlement” of $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the city in 2018 by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, two Muslim women who were forced to remove their hijabs in order to get their mugshots taken after they were arrested for allegedly violating orders of protection (restraining orders). Now, also per Dorgan, the agreement still has to be approved by a district judge, but this is...

A transgender inmate serving a 55-year sentence for strangling her 11-month-old stepdaughter to death filed a civil lawsuit against the prison chaplain for allegedly prohibiting her from wearing a hijab outside her immediate bed quarters, despite identifying as Muslim. Autumn Cordellionè, also known as Jonathan C. Richardson, is currently serving out her sentence at the Branchville Correctional Facility, an Indiana Department of Correction state prison for men. According to the lawsuit filed Nov. 30 and obtained by Fox News Digital, a prison chaplain told Cordellionè the hijab was not allowed to be worn outside her immediate bed area. Cordellionè is...

The flogging of an Iranian woman who refused to wear the mandatory hijab has sparked widespread horror and condemnation. Iranian authorities carried out the sentence against Roya Heshmati last Wednesday, prompting a torrent of outrage on social media. Mazyar Tataei, Heshmati's lawyer, told local newspaper Shargh that his client was detained at her home in April by so-called morality police, who confiscated her mobile phone and laptop and placed her in detention for 11 days. He added that initially, Heshmati was sentenced to 13 years and nine months in prison, a 112,500,000 rials fine and 148 lashes, but a review...

33-year-old Roya Heshmati accused by Tehran’s judiciary of having ‘encouraged permissiveness’ after violating mandatory dress code in public... TEHRAN — Iranian authorities have whipped a woman 74 times for “violating public morals” and fined her for not covering her head, the judiciary said. “The convicted, Roya Heshmati, encouraged permissiveness [by appearing] disgracefully in busy public places in Tehran,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said late on Saturday. “Her penalty of 74 strokes of the lash was carried out in accordance with the law and with sharia,” and “for violating public morals,” Mizan said. Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw identified Heshmati as...

An Iranian teenager who was reportedly assaulted by state morality police for not wearing a mandatory hijab is now 'brain dead', state media say.

Iranian women who resist the hijab law face the brutal prospect of frozen bank accounts, drawing chilling parallels to the repressive tactics of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau against protestors. Iran is intensifying its efforts to enforce strict dress codes for women by instituting a new law that fines women 2.5 billion rials ($60,000) for flouting hijab rules. Last month, Iran’s judiciary chief reiterated that “removing one’s hijab is equivalent to showing enmity to the Islamic Republic.” This is all part of the Islamic Republic’s adherence to the Sharia, as it ramps up efforts even further to counter protests. The Quranic...

Identified women will receive a text about the consequences of not covering their hair with a hijab, police said. This would help prevent "resistance against the hijab law", police said. Protests were sparked last year by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly violating the hijab rule. Since Ms Amini's death a growing number of women have been discarding their veils, particularly in larger cities, despite the risk of arrest. A police statement published by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said the system used so-called "smart" cameras and other tools to...

A Muslim woman has revealed the “rude” question she claims an elderly man asked her at an aquarium. Savannah, who was wearing a black-and-white hijab, claims the man asked her: “Are you dressed up as a penguin?” The woman, who works at the aquarium in Sydney, explained what happened in a video posted on TikTok. “Once he pointed that out, I was thinking ‘do I look like a penguin?’” “I didn’t know what to say, so I was like ‘yeah, I’m a penguin’, cause like I thought he was joking, but he was dead serious.” Savannah says the man...

On December 26, the Iranian chess player participated in the World Rapid Chess Championship in Kazakhstan with her head uncovered, a silent protest that is a very serious offense in her native country. After the photos circled the world, she announced her intention to settle in Spain. Her story represents the cause of freedom that so many Iranian women are fighting for One day, Sara Khadem will have to explain some very complicated realities to Sam, her 10-month-old son. Like why she decided to compete in the 2022 World Rapid Chess Championship in Kazakhstan with her head uncovered. These days,...

DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player arrived in Spain on Tuesday after receiving what a source close to her said were warnings not to return to Iran for competing without a hijab at an international tournament in Kazakhstan. Sara Khadem, born in 1997, took part in last week's FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes. The source, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Khadem subsequently received multiple phone calls in which individuals warned her against returning...

(JNS) On the front pages of newspapers around the world, we are now privileged to witness the extraordinary strength of women oppressed by fanatical forms of Islam. In Iran, these women are emerging as our heroines. Young and old, they are willing to expose themselves to imprisonment, violence and potential death in order to achieve liberation. In Iran, they are leading the charge for regime change and thus the end of one of the most evil dictatorships of this century. There is no sign that these women are slowing down. Yesterday, Vida Movahed, who became known worldwide for a...

Women's freedoms have been further curtailed in Afghanistan, after the Taliban barred them from working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The Islamist rulers said female NGO employees had been breaking Sharia law by failing to wear the hijab. It comes days after female students were banned from universities - the latest restriction on their education since the Taliban regained power. Women prevented from going to work told the BBC of their fear and helplessness. One said she was the main earner in her household, and asked: "If I cannot go to my job, who can support my family?" Another breadwinner insisted...

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon is facing criticism within the State Department for wearing a hijab earlier this month during meetings with pro-Hezbollah officials at a time when Iranian protesters are rallying against such draconian religious displays. Dorothy Shea, who has served as the top U.S. diplomat in Lebanon since 2020, was recently pictured in regional media outlets meeting with Lebanon’s Higher Shiite Islamic Council, a religious body that experts view as allied with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group that wages outsized political influence in Lebanon. One senior diplomatic source told the Washington Free Beacon the gesture undermines U.S. efforts...

Iran’s president walked out on an interview with CNN Wednesday, after one of the anchors refused his demand she wear a hijab. The interview was to be held in New York Wednesday, during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to the US for his address at the United Nations General Assembly. Christiane Amanpour, a veteran journalist for the cable news channel, was waiting to interview Raisi Wednesday when an aide to the Iranian president urged her to wear a headscarf, she tweeted Thursday. “This was going to be President Raisi’s first ever interview on US soil, during his visit to NY...

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers decided against opening schools to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a previous promise and opting to appease their hardline base at the expense of further alienating the international community. The unexpected decision, confirmed by a Taliban official Wednesday, came at the start of the new school year in Afghanistan. It is bound to disrupt Taliban efforts to win recognition from potential international donors, at a time when the country is mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis. ... women are not required to wear the all encompassing burqa. but must wear the traditional hijab, covering their...

Amid widespread protests over a ban on hijabs in schools, an Indian court has temporarily prohibited all forms of religious dress in schools while it considers a legal challenge to the hijab ban. The current conflict began in September 2021 when a girl’s preparatory school in the Indian state of Karnataka moved to ban hijabs, saying the Muslim headscarves violated the school’s dress code. In the months and weeks since, students at various schools in the region have protested the ban by wearing their hijabs and demanding to be let back into school. At the same time, mobs of Hindu...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Many are expressing concerns over how far the Taliban has managed to advance after Press Secretary Jen Psaki gave her latest press conference while wearing an Islamic Hijab. "No, there is nothing to worry about, Alhamdulillah, Allah be praised," said Psaki. "The Taliban poses no danger to the U.S. and they definitely have not advanced as far as Washington, D.C. Everything is fine here." When asked about her new modest religious veil, she responded, "What do you mean? I always wear these! It's sunny out and it keeps the sun off my head. Nothing to worry about!" She then...

New Zealand Police have introduced a hijab into their official uniform to encourage more Muslim women to join. New recruit Constable Zeena Ali will become the first officer to wear the official hijab. A spokesperson said they aimed to create an "inclusive" service reflecting the country's "diverse community". Other forces such as the Metropolitan Police in London and Police Scotland offer the option of a uniform hijab. In the UK, the Metropolitan Police in London approved a uniform hijab in 2006 with Police Scotland following in 2016. In Australia, Maha Sukkar of Victoria Police wore a hijab in 2004.

A Muslim woman arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest in Miami was forced to remove her hijab for a booking photo, which a Muslim civil rights advocate called a “severe violation of religious freedoms.” It also prompted supporters to start an online petition demanding justice for Alaa Massri, 18, one of seven people arrested June 10 during a peaceful protest against racial injustice. The arrests occurred after demonstrators spray-painted the Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de León statues in Bayfront Park, the Miami Police Department said in a statement. Protestors covered the face and hands of Columbus in red...

The Toronto Raptors say a new line of team-branded hijabs is part of a broader effort to be more inclusive to fans of all cultures. The team’s parent company, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, unveiled the Nike Pro hijabs emblazoned with the team logo in a social media post on Friday. In doing so, they say the Raptors became the first team in the National Basketball Association to offer an athletic hijab for Muslim women. MLSE Senior Marketing Director Jerry Ferguson says the organization was inspired to create the hijabs by a local Muslim women’s organization known as the Hijabi...