Hijab May Trigger Airport Security Checks

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to clarify whether Islamic head scarves, or hijab, will now automatically trigger additional security measures for Muslim travelers.

CAIR made that request after a Muslim woman traveler taking a flight Tuesday from Washington, DC to Los Angeles reported that TSA personnel first requested that she take off her hijab, then put her through a "humiliating" public full-body pat-down search when she refused. After the pat-down, the Muslim traveler's luggage, coat, shoes, laptop, and cell phone were searched and tested for bomb-making chemicals.

When the traveler, a resident of Maryland, questioned TSA staff about the way she was being treated, she was allegedly told that a new policy went into effect that morning mandating that "anyone wearing a head scarf must go through this type of search."

In a letter to TSA, Mr. Nihad Awad (National Executive Director of CAIR) wrote in part:

First, I would like to commend you on your efforts to maintain the safety of the travelling public. I would also like to offer the American Muslim community's cooperation and support in preserving that safety and security...

If this troubling new policy is indeed in effect, it represents religious profiling in its most egregious form. We respectfully request that you clarify whether Islamic head scarves will now trigger automatic secondary screening for Muslim travelers. If so, does this new policy apply to all those who wear religious head coverings, such as Sikh men, Catholic nuns and orthodox Jewish women, or will it apply exclusively to Muslim travelers? If the issue is concealment of potentially dangerous items, the clothing worn by travelers of all faiths, such as skirts, loose pants and sweatshirts, has more areas to hide items than hijab.

Awad noted that previous TSA policy placed hijab in the category of "bulky clothing" that would not automatically lead to additional screening. Under previous policy, even if that screening were to take place, it would be carried out in a "private screening location."

Hijab May Trigger Airport Security Checks originally appeared on About.com Islam on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 04:41:31.

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