Jews hit sheriff's ban on yarmulkes The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday joined the cause of a Cook County sheriff's deputy relieved of his police duties for refusing to take off his yarmulke.
The Jewish civil rights group sent a letter to the Cook County sheriff urging it to allow Sgt. Larry Davidson, an Orthodox Jew, to wear the skullcap and to allow a fellow deputy sheriff who is a Muslim to wear a religious head scarf. The sheriff's office maintains that the skullcap and the scarf, which the female deputy wanted to tuck inside her shirt collar, are both banned under its uniform policy. And it alleges that by granting some exceptions the office would open itself up to a steady stream of uniform requests. The Muslim deputy, Crystal Clark, has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The two cases have sparked concern in the Muslim and Jewish communities. Religious advocacy groups cite state and federal laws, such as the 1st Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national advocacy group for Muslims, which sent a letter to the sheriff earlier this week on behalf of the Muslim officer, said it hopes to collaborate with the Jewish community in resolving the issue. "We'd even ask the Catholic community to come in on this because what will happen with Ash Wednesday, will they say you have to wipe off the ashes from your forehead?" said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Islamic group. "If they don't do that, does that mean the policy is applied differently for different faiths, depending whether they are minority or majority faiths?" Sheriff's office spokesman Bill Cunningham said ashes on Ash Wednesday will be allowed because the uniform policy prohibits only "civilian or unapproved clothing or equipment." The office received dozens of e-mails Wednesday from concerned Muslims. The issue of religious rights and police uniforms has come up many times across the country. In 1999, Connecticut state police refused to allow a trooper who was Muslim to grow his beard. A Sikh officer in the New York Police Department was fired in March for refusing to remove his turban or shave his beard. And, in Texas a police officer was fired for wearing a crucifix pin on his uniform. The Supreme Court refused to take his appeal. U.S. courts have generally held that dress codes are constitutional. Locally, agencies like the Chicago Police Department and the Skokie Police Department make an effort to accommodate religious practices. Chicago police learned their lesson after an African-American officer in 1994 fought and won the right to wear earrings bearing the ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol of life, while on duty. Today, several Jewish officers on the Chicago police force wear yarmulkes, said Chicago police spokesman David Bayless. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Chicago police officials have met with the members of the Muslim and Sikh communities, and when the issue of recruitment has come up, both groups asked about religious requirements, Bayless said. "We make decisions case-by-case," Bayless said. "But if religious attire was the one thing barring someone from being a police officer, I can assure you there would be some flexibility in that decision." <script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js\"></script>";);document.close();})();' frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="300" height="110"> The sheriff's office, which has consulted the state's attorney's office, believes the law is on its side and welcomes legal action by the two deputies. Granting the exceptions would be unsafe in the case of the head scarf, which could be used to strangle an officer, the office maintains. On Monday, March 3, 2014 5:35:51 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > BareNakedIslam posted: "The St. Paul Police Department is now allowing > employees to wear a police-issued hijab/headbag, according to an > announcement Saturday. St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith said he knows of > only one other department in Washington, D.C., that allows the hijab" > > New post on *BARE NAKED ISLAM* > <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?author=1> MINNESOTASTAN: St. Paul police > cave to Muslim demands, will allow officers to wear Islamic > headbags<http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/03/02/minnesotastan-st-paul-police-cave-to-muslim-demands-will-allow-officers-to-wear-islamic-headbags/> > by > BareNakedIslam <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?author=1> > > The St. Paul Police Department is now allowing employees to wear a > police-issued hijab/headbag, according to an announcement Saturday. St. > Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith said he knows of only one other department > in Washington, D.C., that allows the hijab in the United States. SF Gate > Cities in Canada and Great Britain allow Muslim officers to wear > police-issued hijabs while in uniform. […] > > Read more of this > post<http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/03/02/minnesotastan-st-paul-police-cave-to-muslim-demands-will-allow-officers-to-wear-islamic-headbags/> > *BareNakedIslam <http://www.barenakedislam.com/?author=1>* | March 2, > 2014 at 6:06 pm | URL: http://wp.me/p276zM-12a5 > > > Comment<http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/03/02/minnesotastan-st-paul-police-cave-to-muslim-demands-will-allow-officers-to-wear-islamic-headbags/#respond> > > See all > comments<http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/03/02/minnesotastan-st-paul-police-cave-to-muslim-demands-will-allow-officers-to-wear-islamic-headbags/#comments> > > > > Unsubscribe<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com&b=LdRr%2F98AVQXIu3v%5D3S%7CE%2Cx2OFnwRx%26-7%5De9QRY0lLu6KJ%3F-fkVF>to > no longer receive posts from BARE NAKED ISLAM. > Change your email settings at Manage > Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com>. > > > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > > http://www.barenakedislam.com/2014/03/02/minnesotastan-st-paul-police-cave-to-muslim-demands-will-allow-officers-to-wear-islamic-headbags/ > > > > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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