The Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, (CAIR-MI) a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of a Notice of Claim against the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and Oakland County Sheriff Micheal Bouchard for the forcible removal of the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, of a Dearborn Muslim woman in August 2023 while she was detained in Oakland County Jail.
SEE: NOTICE OF CLAIM
“The wearing of that hijab is a sincerely-held religious belief of thousands of women in Michigan, including in Oakland County. The stripping of the religious head covering in front of men and creating a permanent public record of an image of the Muslim woman without her hijab is highly offensive,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid. “Oakland County Michigan is home to a large Muslim population and its public services should ensure that their respecting the religious rights of all its Muslim citizens. What took place in August 2023 at the Oakland County Jail falls significantly short of the Sheriff’s Office’s legal and ethical obligations to those they are tasked to protect and serve.”
“It is disheartening that we continue to see the abject violation of Muslim women’s constitutionally protected religious rights by Michigan’s law enforcement agencies,” said CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure. “In this case, Oakland County Jail had policies in place that should have protected our client from the gross violation of her religious beliefs. However, as we see in this case, a policy is not sufficient, when it is not trained, followed and enforced by those in charge.”
She noted that CAIR’s national office offers educational booklets, called “A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” and “A Law Enforcement Official’s Guide to the Muslim Community,” to help law enforcement authorities gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.
BACKGROUNDER:
In August 2023, a Dearborn Muslim woman was arrested by Waterford Township Police Department and transferred to Oakland County Jail where she was processed after her arrest.
While in the custody of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the woman was subjected to a cross-gender search of her person in front of three other male officers during which she was stripped of her hijab by a male officer.
The Dearborn woman was not allowed to obtain a hijab for the entirety of her stay at Oakland County jail and was paraded around the entire jail facility in front of male staff, officers and detainees without her hijab. In addition, the Dearborn Muslim woman was forced to take a booking photograph without her hijab that was later released to Oakland County Sheriff’s Offices’ public website. The Dearborn woman was later released without charge.
Earlier this month, CAIR-MI filed a federal lawsuit against Kent County and Kent County Sheriff for a Muslim woman who was forcibly stripped of her hijab for a booking photograph that was released to the internet.
SEE: Muslim woman sues Kent County for forced hijab removal for arrest booking photo
In 2022 and 2023 CAIR-MI settled several federal lawsuits against the City of Ferndale, the City of Detroit, and the MDOC for the forcible removal of Muslim women’s hijabs for booking photos.
SEE: Ferndale Police settle with Muslim woman over hijab removal lawsuit
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/ferndale-police-settle-with-muslim-woman-over-hijab-removal-lawsuit
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid (248) 842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure, (586) 943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com