If the judge asks an Islamic woman to remove her headscarf, a Catholic nun to remove her wimple, and a Jewish man to remove his yarmulke, then he is not being racist. He is, however, still wrong. Allowing exceptions to this policy is a simple and hassle-free concession to people's religious beliefs. If the clothing is a security issue, the person can be searched by a guard in private. By refusing to grant these exceptions, the judge is in essence saying "The court's notion of etiquette is more important than your religion and your right to express that religion." Headgear is not disruptive, and it does not infringe on anyone else. To uphold such a trivial concern over such deep-seated religious convictions is to spit in the faces of those who hold those beliefs.
As MMTM said, a burkha is a different matter, since it conceals the face. I could go either way on allowing one in a courtroom. For situations where a visual of the face is required, burkhas would have to be prohibited. Not having frequented many courtrooms, I don't if court officials need to see the faces of the audience or not. There was a case in Florida, in 2003, in which the State Supreme Court ruled that a Muslim woman was required to remove her veil for a photograph on her driver's license. Since the whole point of a photo ID is to accurately identify the person, and since driving is a privilege not a right, I can't see that her rights were violated.
As MMTM said, a burkha is a different matter, since it conceals the face. I could go either way on allowing one in a courtroom. For situations where a visual of the face is required, burkhas would have to be prohibited. Not having frequented many courtrooms, I don't if court officials need to see the faces of the audience or not. There was a case in Florida, in 2003, in which the State Supreme Court ruled that a Muslim woman was required to remove her veil for a photograph on her driver's license. Since the whole point of a photo ID is to accurately identify the person, and since driving is a privilege not a right, I can't see that her rights were violated.
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