Judge Tosses Case When Muslim Refuses to Unmask in Court

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23057_Judge_Tosses_Case_When_Muslim_Refuses_to_Unmask_in_Court#comments ^

[rajuchor]

Judge Tosses Case When Muslim Refuses to Unmask in Court

The promoters of Islamic misogyny are not only active in Europe; they’re continually testing the strength of American society too: Muslim woman refuses to remove her veil in court, so judge tosses case. (Hat tip: LSD.)

And again, we see mainstream media (the Detroit Free Press) running interference for the Council on American Islamic Relations.

DETROIT - Ginnnah Muhammad of Detroit was looking for her day in court.

Instead, she said she felt as if a judge forced her to choose between her case and her religion in a small-claims dispute in Hamtramck District Court.

A devout Muslim, she wore a niqab - a scarf and veil to cover her face and head except for her eyes - Oct. 11 as she contested a rental car company’s charging her $2,750 to repair a vehicle after thieves broke into it.

Judge Paul Paruk said he needed to see her face to judge her truthfulness and gave Muhammad, 42, a choice: take off the veil when testifying or the case would be dismissed. She kept the veil on.

“I just feel so sad,” Muhammad said last week. “I feel that the court is there for justice for us. I didn’t feel like the court recognized me as a person that needed justice. I just feel I can’t trust the court.” ...

In metro Detroit, which has one of the country’s largest Muslim populations, a small minority of Muslim women - primarily those of Yemeni descent - wear the niqab, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Paruk said that as a fact finder, he needs to see the face of a person testifying. Michigan has no rules governing what judges can do regarding religious attire of people in court, so the judges have leeway on how to run their courtrooms.

“My job in the courtroom is to make a determination as to the veracity of somebody’s claim,” he said. “Part of that, you need to identify the witness and you need to look at the witness and watch how they testify.”

Paruk said he offered to let Muhammad, who was born in the United States and converted to Islam at the age of 10, wear the veil during the proceedings except when she testified. He said this was the first time someone had come before his court wearing a niqab, and he noted that many Muslims do not consider it a religious symbol.

“I felt I was trying to accommodate her as best I could,” he said.

Walid said Paruk still violated Muhammad’s civil rights.

They lost this one, but they’ll be back.

[onyx]

HAR! Great post.
She wanted special rules for herself!!!

[momof9]

I have this thought that all these American women who are 'recent converts' to Islam just want an excuse to wear a veil to cover up an ugly mug. Just a thought.

[blam]

"We need a law that says you cannot wear garb in public that covers your face. Only dishonest people cover their face."

Some states do...it was used as a tool against the KKK.

[John Lenin]

Muslims Out of Australia!

CANBERRA AUSTRALIA: Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown.

Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament. "If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he said on national television. "I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that is false.

If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to other country which practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better option," Costello said. Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked to move to the other country.

Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values should "clear off". "Basically, people who don't want to be Australians, and they don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off," he said. Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

[TheLion]

Way to go Australia! These people have no business immigrating to a country in which they will not follow the local laws and customs. If they want their own laws, they should go back home.

[Blind Eye Jones]

Bump!

[Texas Mom]

The Class of 2004.

[radiohead]

She's wearing the gloves, too, I see. Is this Arabic or a type of Black Muslim? There's a black woman who dresses like this, everything covered and wearing gloves, on my bus sometimes. It's freaky; like a big black hole in space. I know she's black because I saw her standing at the bus stop once and she had her arm outstreteched, you could see a bit of her wrist above the glove.

If she's American, she needs to get her mind right and throw off this slave-wear. If she's Yemeni, maybe she needs to go back home.

I'm completely in favor of this judge's actions. One has the right to face one's accuser. The whole freaking face, not just the eyes. It's getting harder and harder to be charitable towards these people.

[fhlh]

"clear off" --- I like the sound of 'f#$% off' better...

[GretchenM]

Facing your accuser ... hard to do when screened.

[Drammach]

The only thing that bothers me about this article is that the case was dismissed, but nothing else happened..

As the Judge, I would have fined her for Contempt of Court, so her consequence would have been not only having to pay for the insurance costs, but also suffer the additional cost of a fine...

[Safetgiver]

We need a law that says you cannot wear garb in public that covers your face. .... Actually, there are many,,,, depending on state.

[kanawa]

Sweden's Muslim minister turns on veil

[Jezebelle]

What is a woman who follows shar'ia law doing renting a car and filing a lawsuit on her own?

[tkathy]

A law banning all religious headdress in all govt and school buildings would go far towards stopping muslim extremism. The moderates would be relieved and the extremists would move back to their hideous failed societies.

[tkathy]

No one should be driving covered in a full facial bag. Women wearing the bag should not be driving according to Saudi Arabia.

[aculeus]

Paruk said he offered to let Muhammad, who was born in the United States and converted to Islam at the age of 10, wear the veil during the proceedings except when she testified.

Wimp!

[SkyPilot]

I sure am glad the Feminists are so vocal about the evil Islam inflicts on women. < /sarcasm>

[sure_fine]

what was she doing renting a car?

muslim women aren't allowed to drive according to their precious religion

[McGavin999]

“I just feel so sad,” Muhammad said last week. “I feel that the court is there for justice for us. I didn’t feel like the court recognized me as a person that needed justice. I just feel I can’t trust the court.” ...

Well of course the court didn't recognize you as a person, you have all that cloth over your face, nobody could recognize you.