The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) in South Africa is locked in a bitter legal battle with the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) over its decision to fire a Muslim prison social worker who refused to take off her Islamic headscarf, or Hijab, The Muslim News reported.
In April 2005, Fayrouz Adams, 37, who works at a Worcester prison in Cape Town, was asked to take off her Hijab in accordance with the prison’s new uniform policy which bans Muslim women from wearing the Islamic headscarf.
Adams’ dismissal has angered Muslim leaders, who insist that she didn’t break the uniform regulations as she wore a scarf in the brown “corporate colors” of her employer and that she did not look "untidy".
The Muslim News MJC, which is financially supporting Adams after she was sacked last week, issued a statement to protest the DCS’s decision, describing it as “an insult to democracy and an outright attack upon Muslims”.
The MJC also said it is “disappointed by the total disregard for the religious observances of Muslim members of this society.”
It also warned that “If the DCS is allowed to get away with this today, other departments will follow suit. Government departments should be fully aware that the wearing of a headscarf is not a cultural way of dress for Muslims but rather the observance of a divine law which is stipulated in the Holy Qur’an.”
The Hijab is meant to protect the Muslim woman from the eyes of men outside her family. It has been the subject of heated debate in several Western states for more than a decade.
Lawyers representing the MJC will take Adams' case to the Labour Court, and the Muslim group said it will pay all the legal costs.
“Whether or not the process has been fair thus far, as the department has consistently claimed, the case will have to be put to test in court,” said MJC President Moulana Ihsaan Hendricks.
“Our own involvement with the department in this case leaves us with grave doubts about the processes that were followed because we were certainly not able to get a meaningful response from the DCS,” Hendricks adds.
Correctional Services spokesperson, Manelisi Wolela, confirmed that Adams was fired after her appeal against an earlier dismissal failed. He insisted that the DCS will “defend” its decision.
AlJazeera
In April 2005, Fayrouz Adams, 37, who works at a Worcester prison in Cape Town, was asked to take off her Hijab in accordance with the prison’s new uniform policy which bans Muslim women from wearing the Islamic headscarf.
Adams’ dismissal has angered Muslim leaders, who insist that she didn’t break the uniform regulations as she wore a scarf in the brown “corporate colors” of her employer and that she did not look "untidy".
The Muslim News MJC, which is financially supporting Adams after she was sacked last week, issued a statement to protest the DCS’s decision, describing it as “an insult to democracy and an outright attack upon Muslims”.
The MJC also said it is “disappointed by the total disregard for the religious observances of Muslim members of this society.”
It also warned that “If the DCS is allowed to get away with this today, other departments will follow suit. Government departments should be fully aware that the wearing of a headscarf is not a cultural way of dress for Muslims but rather the observance of a divine law which is stipulated in the Holy Qur’an.”
The Hijab is meant to protect the Muslim woman from the eyes of men outside her family. It has been the subject of heated debate in several Western states for more than a decade.
Lawyers representing the MJC will take Adams' case to the Labour Court, and the Muslim group said it will pay all the legal costs.
“Whether or not the process has been fair thus far, as the department has consistently claimed, the case will have to be put to test in court,” said MJC President Moulana Ihsaan Hendricks.
“Our own involvement with the department in this case leaves us with grave doubts about the processes that were followed because we were certainly not able to get a meaningful response from the DCS,” Hendricks adds.
Correctional Services spokesperson, Manelisi Wolela, confirmed that Adams was fired after her appeal against an earlier dismissal failed. He insisted that the DCS will “defend” its decision.
AlJazeera
