Muslim Woman Asked To Remove Hijab For Mugshot

WHEATON, IL — Rafath Waheed, a Muslim woman, wears a defiant grin in her mugshot, but one thing is notably missing: her hijab. When DuPage County Sheriff's deputies arrested Rafath Waheed on March 15 for felony perjury and felony forgery, they acknowledged that they asked her to remove her headscarf for her mugshot.

Muslims consider it deeply insulting for a woman to be seen without her head covering. The mugshot highlights an ongoing conflict in the nation’s charged political climate about whether standard police procedure violates respect for Muslim religious practices.

The sheriff’s office says it’s standard protocol for police to require arrestees to remove hats or other head coverings so officers can check for contraband or weapons, the Chicago Tribune reported. The person in custody must take a mugshot with their head uncovered, police said, regardless of whether it conflicts with someone’s religious practices.

Waheed was photographed three times — something that’s out of the ordinary for mugshots, police said. One photo showed Waheed without her headscarf, another with the traditional head covering and a third with the headscarf and her glasses. Initially, the police only released the mugshot photo with Waheed’s head uncovered, something that some Muslims consider extremely offensive and disrespectful. A similar issue in New York resulted in a lawsuit against the NYPD.

Chicago's suburbs are re-evaluating their practices regarding mugshots. Many Illinois police departments do not have a standard procedure regarding religious practices and personal privacy. “When it comes to religious symbols, we don’t have any policy," Robert Marshall, chief of police in nearby Naperville, told the Chicago Tribune. That’s something that’s expected to change in the near future after the controversy over Waheed’s photo.

Rafath Waheed, 61, of Lisle, was arrested on March 15 on two felony counts of perjury and two felony counts of issuing a forged document in an attempt to gain a trustee seat at the College of DuPage board.

What do you think?

• Is it appropriate for police to ask Muslim women to remove the hijab for mugshots?
  
• Do you think this mugshot should have been made public?

Let us know in the comments.

Photo via DuPage County Sheriff's Office