Shafaqna English-The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the ruling by Finland’s Supreme Court permitting police to forcibly remove hijabs.
The ruling resulted from a 2017 incident in which officers physically restrained two Muslim asylum seekers and forcibly removed their headscarves for registration photographs, despite the women requesting reasonable accommodations.
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said that “Forcing a Muslim woman to remove her hijab against her will is a severe violation of religious freedom, human dignity, and bodily autonomy. It is deeply disappointing that Finland’s highest court has sanctioned the use of physical force against vulnerable individuals seeking safety, rather than requiring law enforcement to adopt reasonable, faith-respecting accommodations that satisfy administrative identification requirements.
Sources: IQNA