Constitutional Law

Woman Told By Judge to Remove Islamic Head Covering Loses Court Case

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A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Muslim woman against a Michigan state-court judge who told her to remove her hijab during a name-change hearing, reports the Detroit News.

Wayne Circuit Judge J. William Callahan referred to Raneen Albaghdady’s head covering as a hat, and she never protested or told him that it had religious significance, said U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani in a written opinion dismissing the complaint by Albaghdady and the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan.

“There simply is no evidence that Callahan would have required the removal of a head covering if he had known of its religious significance.”

Earlier coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “Judge Sued for Allegedly Requiring Muslim Woman to Remove Hijab”

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