Thursday, December 18, 2008

This Is Separation of Church and State?


I just heard about a Muslim woman, named Lisa Valentine, who was arrested in a suburb of Atlanta, GA because she would not remove her head dress before entering the court room. She was sentenced to 10 days in jail for contempt of court. She said that she feels like her civil and human rights were violated because her religion dictates that she keeps her head covered.

I have found two articles on the incident. The first one is from the Associated Press and from Muslim Matters. It's interesting to see what information is shared and what isn't. They both explain and agree about the facts. The Muslim writer believes that the woman and all Muslims have been slighted and that they must push for the right to practice their religion. The Associated Press article tells us that when the bailiff told Valentine that she could not go into the court, she explained that she has been in court with the scarf before. She turned to leave and "uttered an expletive". At the point she was arrested and sentenced. Now, I understand that she was angry. However had she not cursed the bailiff, she probably would not have been arrested.

Here is my question: Where does "Separation of Church and State" begin? Where does it end? What I'm getting at is that right now prayer in public school is illegal under certain circumstances. Why is a teacher leading a Christian prayer in a school wrong, yet it's a human right for a woman to keep her head covered when everyone else in the court have to take their head gear off? I'm not saying that keeping the head gear on is wrong. I just wanna know why is one a right and the other isn't. I would like more information on this case. Could a Jewish man keep his head covering for religious reasons in the same court room? If so, the Valentine was being treated unfairly. I think that stinks. But if it is the policy that no one wears head gear than that changes things. This is a tough question. Is it a human right to be allowed to practice your religion despite the rest of society. It seems like America and Europe have become increasingly secular and Christianity is being relegated to second-class status. However, Islam seems to be protected. I think it's out of fear. In America, most people seem willing to allow Muslims a lot of latitude, after-all they think that if we don't they will be violent. On the other hand, society thinks that Christians are doormats and know that we are not supposed to be violent. They expect Muslims to be confrontational and violent. Not all Muslims are violent but is a stereotype.

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