Judge Tosses Case Out on refusal to remove Niqab [Headwear]

Two weeks ago we had Jack Straw stating that he preferred Muslim women to remove veils when attending private appointments with their G.P's [MD's]

It what seems to be another rather obvious request by a Judge, A muslim woman has refused to remove her veil and headscarf whilst testifying to the Judge.

The advocators of Islamic misogyny are not only active in Europe; they’re continually testing the strength of other Western societies too, 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.

BB: Seems to me the Judge was more than accomadating. You have a right to take things to court. You have a right to appear in the said court. By accepting so, you of course abid by the court's rulings.

How could a Judge fairly judge a case when one of the two parties has their face concealed? What about the rights of the other party??

When are these maddening examples, in political correctness gone mad, going to end?

The irony was the comment from Muhammad:

"I didn’t feel like the court recognized me as a person that needed justice."

No you're probably right the court didn't recognise you, you were too concerned with concealing your 'persona' to respond to the court's rather fair request.

References:

Myrtlebeachonline: Muslim woman refuses to remove her veil in court, so judge tosses case

LGF Little Green Footballs!
: * Judge Tosses out case * Judge orders removal of Niqab * Ginnnah Muhammad * Niqab * Court Rulings on Headware  * Detroit Court Case * Hamtramck District Court * Council on American-Islamic Relations * Dawud Walid * Judge Paul Paruk * US courts and Niqab * Muslims and Justice * USA * BagelBlogger * Bagel Blogger