Woman ordered to remove hijab files suit against police

Niraj Warikoo | Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — A Muslim woman has filed a lawsuit accusing police of violating her constitutional rights by making her remove her headscarf after they arrested her for driving on a suspended license.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court here, asks for the Dearborn Heights, Mich., Police Department to modify its present policy so a Muslim woman can wear her hijab during booking procedures.

In July, police pulled over Malak Kazan, now 27, of Dearborn Heights on a traffic violation. She then was taken into custody on a traffic misdemeanor because of her suspended license, according to the lawsuit.

The male police officer asked Kazan to remove her headscarf to take her booking photo, which usually requires no head coverings or hats. Kazan objected, saying her faith requires her to cover her hair and neck in the presence of men who are not part of her immediate family, the lawsuit said.

For Kazan, "wearing a headscarf is a reminder of her faith, the importance of modesty in her religion ... as well as a symbol of her own control over who may see the more intimate parts of her body," the suit said. "To have her hair and neck uncovered in public ... is ... deeply humiliating, violating, and defiling experience."

Kazan said she asked to have a female officer take her photo, which the male officer refused to do, the lawsuit said. The officer talked to a supervisor, who told him to proceed as usual.

"It was such an uncomfortable feeling," Kazan told The Arab American News, a national newspaper based in Dearborn, Mich. "I've worn my scarf for 12 years and my religion says that I can't take it off. It's not just a religious issue; this is a part of me. It's my culture, my life and my identity."

The lawsuit maintains that wearing hijab is rooted in Islam, "based on ... the Koran, the primary holy book of the Muslim religion; the hadith, oral traditions coming from the era of the Prophet Mohamed. ... The word hijab comes from the Arabic word hajaba, which means to hide or screen from view or to cover."

A hijab, which covers the head and neck but leaves the face clear, is one of several types of headscarves that Muslim women can employ if they wish to use a veil.

The lawsuit was filed against the city of Dearborn Heights, its police department and police chief, saying that Kazan's constitutional rights to free expression of religion were violated. It claims that her rights under the 1st, 4th, and 14th amendments were violated.

Dearborn Heights Mayor Dan Paletko and Dearborn Heights Police Chief Lee Gavin did not return calls and messages seeking comment.

Fewer than 1% of adults in the USA say they are Muslim, according to the Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project, most recently updated in 2011.

Dearborn Heights and neighboring Dearborn have a significant Muslim minority population that is reflected in two Dearborn mosques: The Islamic Center of America, a Shia mosque that is the largest mosque in USA, and Dearborn Mosque, a Sunni mosque that was the second mosque built in this country.

The lawsuit is the latest filed in recent months involving Arab-American Muslim residents in Dearborn Heights who say that police and school officials are biased. Last year, the Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights reached a settlment with the Department of Justice over concerns that it discriminated against Arab Americans.