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When most people think of America, they think of all the
freedom we have here. Freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of
religion, just to name a few. A woman named Sultaana Freeman has recently
questioned the freedom of religion right. Ms. Freeman was asked to remove her
veil for her driver's license picture. Sounds like a simple request, eh? But,
Ms. Freeman is Muslim. Her religion requires her not to remove her veil in the
presence of strangers, or men, so when she was asked to go against her religious
rules, she fought back.
Ms. Freeman took the case to an Orlando, FL court. This is where it twists. In
2001, Sultaana Freeman got a driver's license. Her picture showed only her eyes
through a slit in the veil. But after the attacks on 9/11, the state called her
back and asked that she remove her veil for the picture. She refused and the
state revoked her driver's license. Ms. Freeman sued the state, saying that it
was against her Islamic beliefs to show her full face in public.
The Assistant Attorney General argued that Islamic law has exceptions where
women can remove their veil if it serves a public good. Arrangements could be
made for her to be photographed with only women in the room because of her
concerns about modesty.
Last Friday, the judge ruled that Muslim women would not be allowed to wear a
veil in their driver's license photos. The judge agreed with the authorities
that allowing women to wear veils in the license pictures could help terrorists
conceal their identities.
There are at least two sides to the story. What do you think?
Always thinking,
-cloudy83
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