A Muslim woman claimed that after an altercation at Temple University in September, the Philadelphia Police Department made her take off her headscarf.
The Muslim woman who had her headscarf taken off by force, Johara Shama, claimed that she was detained by police for 20 hours without being allowed to access her headscarf.
The department is now being questioned by Shama and the Council on American-Islamic Relations for answers.
Last Thursday, at Temple’s Howard Gittis Student Center, Shama and a few others were taken into custody for their protests against the war in Gaza.
Shama claimed that an officer took off her undergarment and hijab when she was being held by Philadelphia police. It was referred to both her and CAIR officials as a “serious defilement of her religious beliefs and practices.”
“This act of humiliation left me in a state of distress, feeling as though my fundamental rights had been stripped away from me,” Shama stated.
“We do want to work toward a change in these policies so that going forward Muslim women don’t have to experience this,” Adam Attia, a legal director of CAIR Philadelphia stated. “And we are more than willing to collaborate and work with whatever agency, police department, university that is willing to listen to us because this is something that deeply violates our religious beliefs.”
Following the demonstration, Temple announced that it has temporarily suspended the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Temple.
Philadelphia police issued a statement in which they stated that the wearing of religious attire while being booked is not particularly addressed by existing procedure.
According to the police, Shama was permitted to wear her headscarf in public spaces, but it was taken off for her booking photo and during her time in a holding cell alongside other women.
“We recognize that our policies need to evolve to better respect and accommodate religious practices,” Philadelphia police stated. “The PPD is actively working to update our policies to allow for the wearing of religious head coverings during the booking process and while in custody, provided that it does not compromise safety or security protocols.”
CAIR also expressed disapproval with Temple police’s handling of the demonstration, describing it as “mistreatment.”
What “occurred last week was not a peaceful protest,” Temple stated in a statement released after the news conference on Wednesday.
“It was a major disruption to an event intended to help students find jobs and internships,” Temple stated in part. “As a result of the aggressive protesting, several visiting employers were escorted from the space for their safety and students were denied an opportunity to engage with potential employers – some students left the event entirely.”
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Temple further claimed that when police tried to “lawfully” detain the protest leader, a number of demonstrators shoved and pushed the cops.
Temple Public Safety stated last week in a statement that it had looked over hours of video and body camera footage and felt its officers had behaved properly.
In the upcoming days, temple leaders say they intend to meet with CAIR.
