Two muslim women, Arwa Aziz and Jamilla Clark, who say the New York Police Department forced them to remove religious head coverings after they were arrested have sued the city. The two women, including the non-profit group "Turning Point for Women and Families", sued the NYPD for violating freedom of speech, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and New York state law. This incident began on January 2017, when Ms. Clark's ex-husband complained that she violated an order of protection. As the police officer took an arrest-photo, she wept and begged to put her hijab back on. Later on, sources reveal that the officer ignored Ms. Clark and showed the photo to other police officers. In August of 2017, Ms. Aziz was arrested after her sister-in-law filed a a protective order against her, and with this the incident began again.
Analysis: I honestly find the behavior of the NYPD, regarding this issue, to be disrespectful and inconsiderate. They should have allowed the women to wear their hijab, because all-in-all in the picture both of the women's face would be clear enough without the hassle of removing their hijab. Regarding the original officers behavior, he should have respected Ms. Clark's photo and not have shown it to other officers, especially since his intentions weren't regarding the case.
Questions:
What's your opinion on this matter?
What do you think the NYPD should have done?
7 comments:
I agree with your take on this, it was extremely disrespectful, ignorant, and unnecessary for the NYPD to take such action. Events like this one are so important because they reveal the lack of awareness and education on important ongoing issues. While i'm not 100% sure, i'm assuming the cops were ignorant to the fact that a hijab is a sacred part of the muslim religion and therefore had no issue forcing these women to remove them. I think NYPD owes these women and the muslim community a huge apology and they should have to face some type of consequence... maybe go educate themselves on why respecting other's cultures and religions is so important.
I do think this is very inconsiderate and rude to this woman. Freedom of religion is huge in America and it is the reason I am here. I think she has a right to respect her religious rules and wear the hijab. It is very important to her and her face was still clear with the hijab on. If it were a real problem (which I doubt it was), the officer should have taken the photo, given her hijab back and never show the photo to anyone that was not involved on her case. Just because someone is arrested does not give the officers the right to violate citizen's rights. They deserve to be respected especially when it comes to basic rights and religion because those are so important to our heart and soul. If I were in her shoes I would feel ashamed and devastated and I don't think anyone should feel that way when it can be so easily avoided.
I definitely do not think it was right for the police officer to mock her and show her picture without a hijab to other officers for non-work related reasons, but maybe the police officers asked her to take her hijab off to take an arrest photo because the police need to be able to identify her hair color and what she looks like without a head covering. I am sure that if other people wore head coverings like baseball caps or beanies they would have to be removed as well and while I understand that a hijab is much more important and meaningful than a baseball cap or a beanie, I think it would be unfair to make an exception for hijabs.
I would like to agree with Michelle's comment and restate that the safety of our country is more important than a religious tradition. If taking off the hijab can lead to a better photo of the person then I am all for it. Also, I'm pretty sure that you don't really have freedom of religion when you get arrested contrary to what Julia said. I do agree with the previous comments that the treatment of the lady by the police was very inconsiderate and rude and I think that this treatment is what inspired her to file a lawsuit. As to what the NYPD should do in response, I think one of the previous comment's idea is a bit too extreme and it would be best if they formally apologized and provided some compensation for the emotional trauma they caused to the women.
I think that it is more important to have a better photo of the person who is arrested than it is to respect their religious beliefs. If she has the hijab on for the photo it makes it more difficult to identify her in the event of another violation/arrest. I think that it was very inconsiderate for the officer to show the photo to others not involved, but I'm pretty sure mugshots are public records so it doesn't make all that much of a difference that it was shared with others. In response, I think the NYPD should apologize to the women for the distress, but I don't think that requiring her to take off the hijab for the photo was a bad thing.
I don't think the NYPD should've forced the women to take off their hijab for their arrest photo. Their facial features should be enough to identify who they are, plus there are often finger printing and I can't envision that being faked. That should be enough documentary, and there shouldn't have been a need to force the women out of their religious comfort zone. That said, I do believe there should be an element of choice in this. If the women really didn't want to take off their hijab due to their upbringing, then they shouldn't be forced to. But they should consider that it is for a legal cause and think through their decisions.
I also believe that it was unnecessary for the NYPD to force both women to take off their hijabs. While it is important to obtain an accurate picture of them with their hair color or other facial features, I don't think that it's an important enough feature to force the women to do something that goes against their beliefs. Others questioned the clarity of the photos in case of another arrest, but as others said, their faces should be clear evidence. Police rarely identify people from behind. Thus, I don't think that the NYPD had a right to go against the women's religious beliefs, and they definitely could've been more respectful once they took the pictures.
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