A leading US Muslim advocacy group has filed a complaint over the Columbus Police Division’s refusal
A leading US Muslim advocacy group has filed a complaint over the Columbus Police Division’s refusal to allow women officers to wear hijab, calling the decision a discriminatory one.
Islamic rights group wrote in a complaint filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, saying that the ban by Columbus Division of Police on hiring Muslim women who wear their religiously mandated headscarf discriminates against religious Muslim women who want to join the Columbus police force, and is a violation of Chapter 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code under which employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation for sincerely held religious belief of employees and prospective employees.
The complaint followed a decision in which the Columbus police department refused to hire Muslim women officers who wear hijab.
Police Chief Kim Jacobs was quoted warning against hijab-wearing officers “turning anyone off” and stating, “If it’s a head scarf next week, it might be a burqa the week after.”
Last March, a Muslim American woman recruit at the Columbus Police Academy was forced to drop out after that Columbus Police refused to grant her a religious accommodation for her hijab.
