As the Big Apple continues to crumble under the weight of illegal migrants, New Yorkers will be coughing up $17.5 million because the city’s finest forced arrested Muslim-American women to remove their hijabs for their mugshots.
New York City has settled a class-action lawsuit filed in 2018 by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, who claimed they endured shame and trauma in 2017 when they were forced by police in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively, to remove their head coverings before their mugshots were taken.
“The preliminary class action settlement covers men and women required to remove religious attire before being photographed. It was filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres,” Reuters reports. “Payouts will total about $13.1 million after legal fees and costs are deducted, and could increase if enough of the more than 3,600 eligible class members submit claims. Each recipient will be paid between $7,824 and $13,125.”
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Both Clark and Aziz were arrested for violating protection orders — orders they claimed were bogus. Through a statement provided by her attorneys, Clark described her ordeal.
“When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt as if I were naked,” she said. “I’m not sure if words can capture how exposed and violated I felt.”
Often seen by the West as a symbol of female oppression, the significance of the head covering is profound among many Muslim women.
According to Why Islam? “Hijab, the head-covering worn by Muslim women, is an outer manifestation of an inner commitment to worship God.
“Wearing hijab is a personal and independent decision that comes from a sincere yearning to please God while appreciating the wisdom underlying His command,” the website explains, stressing that women choose out of devotion to their faith to cover.
“Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never forced religion upon anyone,” according to the website. “If a woman is being forced to cover, it is contrary to this clear Islamic principle and might be due to cultural or social pressure. According to Islam, a woman willfully chooses to commit to this act of worship.”
In that context, and given the Constitutional protections of the First Amendment, the settlement seems far more reasonable.
“In response to the lawsuit, New York’s police department agreed in 2020 to let men and women wear head coverings during mugshots, so long as their faces could be seen,” Reuters reports.
Nicholas Paolucci, a New York City law department spokesman, praised the settlement agreement.
“This settlement resulted in a positive reform for the NYPD,” he said. “The agreement carefully balances the department’s respect for firmly held religious beliefs with the important law enforcement need to take arrest photos.”
The agreement is not just a victory for the Muslim women. It has far-reaching implications for people of all faiths.
“The new policy extended to other religious headwear, including wigs and yarmulkes worn by Jews and turbans worn by Sikhs,” according to Reuters. “Police can temporarily remove head coverings to search for weapons or contraband, but in private settings by officers of the same gender.”
The settlement “sends a powerful message that the NYPD can’t violate New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights without paying a price,” said Albert Fox Cahn, a lawyer for Clark and Aziz.
According to Reuters, “People forced to remove head coverings between March 16, 2014 and Aug. 23, 2021 are eligible for the settlement.”
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Author: Melissa Fine
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