The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) intends to quickly escalate a confrontation with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office into a legal suit, demanding $200,000 for the alleged removal of a Muslim woman's hijab while she was detained in the county jail. Drawing the line at the intersection of religious expression and law enforcement policy, CAIR-MI frames this as a breach of constitutional rights, according to documents acquired by The Detroit News.
Claiming a violation under both the state Constitution and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, CAIR-MI sent a Notice of Claim to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard on Jan. 16. This notice signals the group's readiness to initiate a federal lawsuit if a swift resolution isn't reached. The woman at the heart of the controversy was allegedly paraded without her hijab in the presence of male staff and detainees and her booking photo sans hijab was posted online, according to The Oakland Press. Her image has since been removed from the Sheriff's Office website post-release.
CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid emphasizes the cultural and religious weight of the hijab. “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,” Walid said. Information shared by CAIR states that the woman was arrested in August but later released without charge, still having endured what the group describes as a gross violation of her religious beliefs.
However, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office contradicts these allegations, claiming that the woman was initially charged with aggravated felonious assault and outlining the care taken in handling religious headwear. The department told The Detroit News, "When she was processed in the Oakland County Jail, the hijab was removed in a very respectful manner by a female deputy so that it could be searched for contraband," They further added that the woman was given the option to have her hijab removed in private but declined and also didn't accept a jail-issued hijab.
In the backdrop of this brewing legal challenge, CAIR-MI has a history of similar lawsuits in Michigan. They have previously settled cases against other municipalities and the Michigan Department of Corrections involving Muslim inmates being forced to remove hijabs for booking photos. The organization, advocating for the respect of religious rights, has also recently filed a lawsuit against Kent County for a comparable situation, as given in a statement obtained by CAIR's press release.
