European Court Upholds French Hospital's Hijab Ban

The European Court of Human Rights yesterday, in a Chamber Judgment by a panel of 7 judges, upheld the decision of a French hospital to refuse to renew the employment contract of a Muslim social worker who insisted on wearing a headscarf (hijab). The full decision in Ebrahimian v. France, (ECHR, Nov. 26, 2015) is available in French (with a partial dissenting opinion in English). According to the Court's English press release on the decision:

[T]he Court found that the requirement of neutrality of public officials could be regarded as justified in principle: the State, as employer of the applicant in a public hospital, could consider it necessary that she refrain from expressing her religious beliefs in discharging her functions in order to guarantee equality of treatment of patients....  [T]he Court reiterated that while public officials enjoyed total freedom of conscience, they were prohibited from manifesting their religious beliefs in discharging their functions. Such a restriction derived from the principle of the secular nature of the State, and that of the neutrality of public services, principles in respect of which the Court had already approved a strict implementation where a founding principle of the State was involved.

The Court considered that the fact that the national courts had afforded greater weight to the principle of secularism-neutrality and the State’s interest than to Ms Ebrahimian’s interest in not having the expression of her religious beliefs restricted did not cause a problem with regard to the [European] Convention [on Human Rights].

A Chamber Judgment may be appealed to the ECHR Grand Chamber. The Scotsman reports on the decision.  [Thanks to Paul de Mello for the lead.]

Turkey Sees First Trial Judge Presiding Wearing Headscarf

According to Daily Sabah, a female judge in Istanbul, Turkey yesterday became the first judge in the country to preside at a trial wearing a Muslim headscarf (hijab). For many years, Turkey-- because of its tradition of secularism-- banned women from wearing the headscarf in public institutions.  This past June, the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors changed the rule for judges.

Canadian Judge Scolds "Pastafarian" Suing Over Drivers' License Photo

Canada's National Post reported this week on the unfriendly reception given by a Canadian judge to a woman who belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster who argued that she should be able to wear a colander or a pirate's hat in her drivers' license photo. Isabelle Narayana sued when the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec told her that only medical or religious exceptions were allowed to the requirement that her photo be taken bareheaded.  Narayana argued that she should have the same right as Muslim women to wear a head covering, and later showed up wearing a headscarf that she said was the costume of a female pirate who happened to be Muslim.  The license bureau took her photo wearing the headscarf and issued her license.  However she insisted on litigating. A Montreal Superior Court judge ruled that her suit was moot since she was issued a license and admonished her:

Too many people implicated in real litigation with consequences that could affect their lives or those of their children or enterprise are waiting their turn in court for us to be silent about the monopolization of these resources to determine if the plaintiff can be photographed wearing a colander or pirate hat.  We forget too often that the courts are a public service with limited resources that must not be abused.

Woman Sues NYPD Over Required Removal of Hijab For Mug Shot

Courthouse News Service and the New York Daily News report on a suit filed Monday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York against the New York Police Department by a Muslim woman forced to remove her hijab (head scarf)  before having her mug shot taken. Mervat Soliman, a 53-year old Egyptian woman,was arrested after a fight with her neighbor over a parking space. Alleging various disrespectful incidents during questioning, when Soliman objected to removing her hijab, police allegedly said: "This is America, we don't care."

Egypt Will Close Down Restaurants That Prohibit Women From Wearing Hijabs

According to Egyptian Streets yesterday, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism Khaled Abbas Rami says he will close down any restaurants or tourism facilities that refuse service to women wearing hijabs (Muslim headscarves). Apparently a number of restaurants, bars and high-end resorts have barred veiled women.  Women have increasingly taken to social media to complain about the discrimination.

Another Suit Against Local Michigan Police For Forcing Removal of Hijab During Booking

MLive reports that a federal lawsuit was filed yesterday against the Dearborn, Michigan police department for requiring a Muslim woman arrested on traffic charges to remove her headscarf (hijab) during the booking process.  The complaint (full text) in Aldhalimi v. City of Dearborn, (ED MI, filed 6/30/2015), contends that when police booked plaintiff for an unpaid parking violation, they required her to remove her hijab to be photographed despite her religious objections.  This is the third similar suit against local Michigan law enforcement officials this year.

Religious Discrimination Claim Moves Ahead Against Loan Company Denying Entry To Woman Wearing Hijab

In Ali v. Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc., (ED MI, June 24, 2015), a Muslim woman brought a discrimination lawsuit against an Inkster, Michigan financial services outlet that refused her entry under its policy that customers must remove sunglasses and hats before entering.  Plaintiff, who wanted to purchase a money order, was wearing a hijab.  A Michigan federal district court held that plaintiff's complaint did not allege racial discrimination under 42 USC 1981, nor did it allege national origin discrimination under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.  However it did allege religious discrimination under the Michigan statute. The court refused to grant defendants summary judgment on this claim, holding that there remains a factual question regarding reasons for the policy.  Defendants claimed that it is a safety policy designed to deter criminal behavior and advance employee safety.  The policy only applies in the company's branches that lack bullet-resistant glass. Plaintiff claims that this reason is pretextual.

Ohio Police Department Will Continue Hijab Ban

The Columbus, Ohio Police Division has decided to continue its ban on officers wearing headscarves, despite publicity earlier this year about a Somali-American Muslim recruit who dropped out of the department's police academy because of the ban on her wearing a hijab.  According to yesterday's Columbus Dispatch, Deputy Police Chief Michael Woods explained the decision:

We want to interact with all members of the community without a preconceived notion of who we are. We strive to be a nonpolitical, nonreligious organization.

The assistant city attorney representing the Police Division says that case law supports the continued headscarf ban, pointing to the 2007 Pennsylvania federal district court decision in Webb v. City of Philadelphia. (See prior posting).

Muslim Woman Sues Over Required Removal of Hijab During Traffic Offense Booking

WZZM reported yesterday on a federal lawsuit filed last month in Grand Rapids, Michigan by a Muslim woman who was forced by Oceana County Sheriff's officials to remove her hijab (religious head covering) while being processed at the county jail for a minor traffic violation.  On May 17, Fatme Dakroub was falsely arrested for driving with an expired license while vacationing with her family at Lake Michigan sand dunes.  Her request to have a female officer handle her booking was denied, and she was forced to sit for 3 hours bare headed in a holding cell in front of male officers and inmates.

Germany's Constitutional Court Invalidates Blanket Ban On Teachers' Wearing Hijabs

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court today invalidated a blanket ban on Muslim teachers wearing the hijab (head scarf) while teaching.  Here is Deutsche Welle's summary of the decision in a suit brought by two teachers:

State authorities had decided that the teachers were violating the law, which in North Rhine-Westphalia forbids any religious symbols or actions that are considered a threat to harmonious co-existence at schools. One of the teachers had been dismissed from her job, while the other received a written warning.

The high court ... has now decided that any such symbol or action must pose a "concrete danger" to be forbidden under the law, saying that the ban was an intrusion on the teachers' self-identity.  The ruling means, however, that headscarves could theoretically still be banned in certain individual cases where such a "concrete" danger is considered to exist. This could occur, for example, if a Muslim teacher wearing a headscarf were to cause frequent altercations among pupils...

The ruling on Friday also overturned another clause in North Rhine-Westphalian law that excepted manifestations "of Christian and Western educational and cultural values or traditions" at schools from the otherwise complete ban on blatant demonstrations of religious affiliation.

The court decided that this exception constituted a privileging of Christian symbols over those of other religions, which would go against the ban on discrimination on religious grounds that is enshrined in the German constitution.

[Thanks to Tom Rutledge and Claudia Haupt for the lead.]

Wearing Hijab In Canadian Courtroom Stirs Controversy

Wearing of the hijab (Muslim head scarf) in the courtroom has become an issue of controversy in the Canadian province of Quebec.  CBC News reports that when Montreal area resident Rania El-Alloul appeared in court on Feb. 24 in an attempt to recover her auto which had been seized by the Quebec automobile insurance board, Judge Eliana Marengo refused to hear her testimony unless she would remove her hijab.  The judge's action stirred widespread criticism, and those sympathizing with El-Alloul even began on online crowdfunding effort to raise funds for a new car for her. While the effort has raised nearly $44,000, El-Alloul may not be able to take the funds or the car it will buy without losing her entitlement to welfare.  Meanwhile, another Montreal resident has filed a complaint about Judge Marengo's action with the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec (the Quebec Judicial Council) which has the authority to investigate and impose sanctions on provincial judges.

Russian Supreme Court Upholds Hijab Ban

According to World Bulletin, Russia's Supreme Court yesterday upheld the ban imposed by Russia's Mordovia region on the wearing of the hijab in schools. The appeal to Russia's top court was brought by the Muslim Tatar community in Mordovia.  The ban also applies to religious symbols, as well as to piercings, mini-skirts, jeans and bright-colored hair.

Police Sued For Requiring Muslim Woman To Remove Hijab While Being Booked

The Detroit News reports on a lawsuit filed Thursday in a Michigan federal district court by a Muslim woman who was required by Dearborn Heights (MI) police to remove her hijab while she was being booked on a traffic misdemeanor charge.  Malak Kazan was charged with driving with an expired license.  Her Muslim religion requires her to have her head covered when she is in public and when she is in the presence of men outside her immediate family.  Police officers also denied Kazan's request for assistance from a female police officer.  The suit seeks an injunction and damages.

Nigerian Court Upholds Ban On Head Scarves In Public Schools

According to AFP, in Nigeria on Friday a judge on the High Court in Lagos upheld the Lagos State government's ban on wearing of the hijab (Muslim head scarf) in public schools. In upholding the ban introduced last year, the court said in part:

The ban on the use of hijab in public schools in Lagos is not a breach of the applicants' fundamental rights to religion because Nigeria as a secular state does not adopt any religion as a state religion.

Removing the ban on the hijab will be tantamount to promoting a particular religion against the others and this may lead to social tensions.

The  Muslim Students Society of Nigeria which brought the challenge says it will appeal.

EEOC Sues Over Nursing Home's Ban On Hijab

The EEOC announced Monday that it filed suit last month against an Alabama nursing home for refusing to accommodate a Muslim employee's request to wear her hijab. Tracy Martin, hired as a certified nursing assistant by Shadecrest Healthcare Center filed an EEOC complaint after she was told to remove her head covering. Several weeks after the nursing home received notice of the complaint, Martin was summarily fired.

Turkey's Constitutional Court Says Female Lawyers Can Wear Headscarves In Courtrooms

On Wednesday, Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled 16-1 that the rights of a Muslim female lawyer had been infringed when she was not permitted to enter a courtroom wearing a headscarf.  According to Daily Sabah, the Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, ruled in 2013 that women lawyers had the right to register at the Bar Association with a photo showing them wearing a headscarf. However some judges were still banning headscarves in their courtrooms. The Constitutional Court said this week that such bans violate Art. 10 (equality before the law) and Art. 24 (freedom of religion and conscience) of Turkey's Constitution.

Hotel Settles Religious Discrimination Suit With EEOC

The EEOC announced today that the MCM Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico has agreed to settle a religious discrimination suit brought by the EEOC charging that the hotel refused to accommodate a Muslim employee, Safia Abdullah, who was hired for a housekeeping position.  The hotel insisted that Abdullah remove her hijab  (religious head scarf), and fired her when she refused.  Under the settlement, the hotel will pay $100,000 in damages and consent to an injunction baring future discriminatory practices. It will also institute new training and notice procedures.