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Student suspended for wearing Hijaab

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Student suspended for wearing Hijaab
Nisa
10/10/03 at 01:24:48
[slm]

CAIR ACTION ALERT #395

OKLA. STUDENT SUSPENDED FOR WEARING HIJAB
CAIR asks state to protect student’s religious rights

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/9/2003) – CAIR today called on the Oklahoma StateDepartment of Education to intervene after a Muslim public school studentin that state was suspended twice for wearing a religiously-mandated headscarf, or hijab.

School officials in Muskogee, Okla., told the sixth-grader at Benjamin
Franklin Science Academy that her head scarf violates their dress code
policy. That policy prohibits hats, caps, bandanas or other headwear. The
girl’s father told the Muskogee Daily Phoenix (10/9/03) newspaper: “The
principal kept saying it was not religious wear. They said if my daughter
keeps wearing her hijab to school, they are going to kick her out.”

A recent New York Times article addressed this issue in the European
setting. SEE: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/08/opinion/08WED3.html

On Oct. 1, the Muslim student was suspended for three days for wearing the scarf. When she returned to school still wearing hijab, she was suspended asecond time for five days.

“This is a clear violation of the student’s right to freely practice her
faith and must be dealt with at the state level,” said CAIR Communications
Director Ibrahim Hooper. He told the Daily Phoenix: “This is not an issue
of separation of church and state because she is not imposing religion on
anyone…Not allowing this girl to go to school because of her religious
beliefs is un-American.”

Hooper cited the First Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 as supporting the girl’s
right to wear her Islamic scarf. RFRA mandates that “government shall not
substantially burden a person's exercise of religion.”

He also cited guidelines on religious expression in public schools
distributed by the Department of Education that state: “When wearing
particular attire, such as yarmulkes and head scarves, during the school
day is part of students' religious practice, under the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act schools generally may not prohibit the wearing of such
items.”

SEE: http://www.ed.gov/MailingLists/EDInfo/Archive/msg00029.html
http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/first/religioninpublicschools/parentsguidereligion.pdf

ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be FIRM, but POLITE.)

CONTACT the Oklahoma State Department of Education to ask that the
student’s religious rights be protected and that she be allowed to wear her
Islamic head scarf.

CONTACT:

Ms. Sandy Garrett
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Oklahoma State Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4599

FAX: 405-521-6205
TEL: 405-521-3301

E-MAIL: sandy_garrett@sde.state.ok.us
COPY TO: michelle_singleton@sde.state.ok.us, ddh@azalea.net,
elg@mpsi20.org, cair@cair-net.org


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