I’m Muslim and I demand special treatment.
If I were a young Muslim looking for special treatment, I am not sure I would push my luck in Georgia. Not that I have anything against Georgia especially since they did not give in to this insanity. Claiming a civil right to wear “religious clothing” in violation of established court rules is a very simplistic and unfounded argument. Some religions openly allow smoking of mind-altering substances but you don’t see anyone stupid enough to do it in a court of law. This is yet another example of Muslims wanting/demanding special treatment and intimidation through litigation. I congratulate court officials for seeing through this and not allowing it. Unless someone can prove the Koran demands women wear a scarf, I would think this threatened lawsuit should be dropped with quickness.
Jul 1, 2007 (AP)
VALDOSTA Georgia, USA – A Muslim woman seeking to contest a simple speeding ticket in this south Georgia city was denied access to a municipal courtroom last week for wearing a traditional Islamic head scarf.
Aniisa Karim, 20, said she was stopped after entering Valdosta’s municipal court building Tuesday and told she would not be permitted to enter the courtroom wearing her scarf.
“I said, ‘No, I’m Muslim … I wear this for religious reasons and if you don’t allow me in the courtroom with my scarf on basically you are violating my civil rights and my right to a free religion,’ ” Karim told the Valdosta Daily Times.
Karim said an officer told her the denial was due to “homeland security reasons” and that allowing her to enter would show disrespect to Judge Vernita Lee Bender.
She said she offered to walk through a metal detector and allow officers to use a handheld metal detector to scan the scarf.
A national Islamic civil rights group has taken up the case. In a letter to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, the Council on American-Islamic Relations asks Baker to “take appropriate action to ensure that the legal, religious and civil rights of Georgians of all faiths be maintained.”
Baker’s office and the Valdosta municipal court were unable to be reached by The Associated Press for comment on Sunday.
Ibrimhaim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington D.C.-based group, said neither Baker’s office nor the Valdosta city attorney had responded to his group as of Sunday afternoon.
The letter from CAIR argues that barring Karim from the courtroom violated Georgia’s code of conduct for judges and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which guarantees access to public facilities based on religious beliefs or practices.
Meanwhile, Karim said she decided to not challenge the speeding ticket and pay a $168 fine since that didn’t require her to enter the courtroom.
“I feel like in the year 2007 things like this should not happen any more,” Karim said. “Of course everyone doesn’t know everything about different religions, but if I tell you, ‘I’m Muslim this is a part of my religion,’ I feel like if you are a public officer you should be educated enough to know.”
Doctor Bulldog & Ronin 
1 July, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Nah-Muslims don’t want special rights. That’s why CAIR asked that the rights of all religions be respected. Pretty ingenious of them-letting Islamania piggback (forgive the pun) on real religions so it too can be legitimized. The infidels need a slick outfit like CAIR lobbying on their behalf-taking notes of CAIR’s tactics would ensure victory.
1 July, 2007 at 8:32 pm
True, they don’t want special treatment. Only their just prerogatives as the master race.
1 July, 2007 at 9:08 pm
CAIR+ACLU=TAKE DOWN OF AMERICA shhhhhh dont’ tell.
1 July, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Sometimes they whine and they get their way.
Sometimes they whine and they do not get their way.
It is a chance they take.
They have nothing to lose.
And everything to gain.
1 July, 2007 at 11:40 pm
She could move to Saudi Arabia, and not get a speeding ticket (or a drivers licence), as per her religion, and its “freedom”. She’d be lucky if the mutawwa let her drive a golf cart.
“… Women driving cars is a sinful thing. It is used by those who want to wage a war against purity and hijab. …” Sheikh Ayed Al-Qarni
(Arab News – arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=38586&d=25&m=1&y=2004 )
1 July, 2007 at 11:52 pm
“Some religions openly allow smoking of mind-altering substances …”
One pill makes you larger,
And one pill makes you small
But the ones that Islam give you
Don’t make any sense at all
Go ask Allah
When you’re blowing up a mall
Lose your head
Lose your head
2 July, 2007 at 7:40 am
Can anyone tell me of a single church, or – G-d forbid – synagogue in Saudi Arabia or Iran?
Muslims oppress Christians in Saudi Arabia – if you, as a foreign citizen, decide to legally visit Saudi Arabia, your Bible (if you take it with you) will be confiscated and destroyed on the border by Saudi officials.
Religious Muslims have no moral authority to even say words “freedom of religion” while Muslim countries mistreat Christians and Jews.
2 July, 2007 at 1:17 pm
“I feel like in the year 2007 things like this should not happen any more,” Karim said.
I’m sure what she meant by making reference to a modern time, was that the barbaric institution that is islam should not be happening any more.
4 July, 2007 at 10:48 am
What is it with you guys? Muslins are no threat to us !!! I agree that Saudi Arabia is dogmatic but still one of our best buddies. Did you know they OWN 7 Percent of the US economy? Did you know they helped Bush 1 and 2 become President? Did you know that Bush’s family are great friends with the Saudis? Hummmm? I wonder is there’s some connection there? Da….
5 July, 2007 at 6:47 pm
No threat, not at all… heh.
Where have you been for the last few years? In a cave?
Velvet hands Vet a toothpick, to pick the sand out of his teeth. All that burying of the head in the sand, can make for a gritty set of choppers. 😛
5 July, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Ok, here we go again-which Muslim is not a threat? Point him or her out so I can take that one off my list.
Saudi Arabia plays both sides, without them terror would go way down. A simple look at any saudi school book and you will never trust them again. I see absolutely no difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims, they all want the same thing and friendship is not it. Granted left alone they mostly kill each other but that doesn’t make them friendly to us.
I don’t care what they own, who they want to be president or who is their friend.
Until I see real proof, a Muslim is working to stop the radicals I will consider them all supporters, inaction is tolerance. I have yet to see even one with any following denounce any type of terror except briefly and only after an attack. I should add it normally also includes a warning not to attempt backlash. I have seen them, threaten, warn, attack, and belittle all infidels and make public proclamations of hate toward us. You think they are tolerant then wear a “God bless our troops” t-shirt to any Mosque tomorrow. It was nice knowing you.
6 July, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Oh, I get it… You guys see terror and I see something different. I see what you call terror as being people trying to rid their countries of the West. I call terror things like Cluster bombs. So the difference is I see motive and you don’t. You seem to think Muslins are bad and we are good. Let me see… Where did I hear that before…..?
6 July, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Vet, are you sure you are not an enemy propaganda spinner? Iraqis voted that doesn’t sound like an attempt to kick us out. We are fighting right along side both the Iraqi military and police. You might not like it but we work for them and not against them. The elected Government of Iraq can make us leave whenever they want to. You are right about motivation; cluster munitions are an area denial weapon and not terrorism. VBIED’s, suicide bombs and targeting innocent civilians are terrorism. The motivations are completely different between the US and the terrorists. The terrorists have no goal other than terror it is not like they can perform the required nation building to put Iraq back on its feet, nor will the stop the Sunni and Shia from killing each other. You are quick to point the finger at America but very forgiving of Muslim murderers, rapist’s and madmen. Read Michael Yons blog and see what normal Iraqis say and stop the spin.
7 July, 2007 at 11:45 am
Ronin; ” Iraqis voted that doesn’t sound like an attempt to kick us out”. This election was fixed from the get-go. How many time did the leadership shift? The Iraqi army was dismissed and the new army is close to worthless. This whole thing is just like Vietnam. Fixed leaderships, useless army, and GI’s stuck in the middle… I disagree that cluster bombs are not terror weapons. What could be more of a terror threat than not knowing where you can walk? It’s true that the Sunni and some of the Shia want disruption and a different government but so what? Why is that a concern in Iowa? Five years ought to be enough to build anything let alone an army that wants to protect it’s own country. Something else is seriously wrong here. It does not add up. Hearts and minds are not getting converted to the West. New revelations about murdering of civilians every few weeks is not helping either. Last I heard was twenty shot to death in Fallughia. So this is not worth all the grief and treasure it’s costing. It’s the second most stupid and arrogant government mistake I have seen in my life. But then again it is not a mistake either, it’s planned and executed to bring down a country and keep it’s oil output limited. Why else dismiss it’s army, bureaucrats, political party, and put in charge those who were out of power. If that were done here do you really believe there would not be blood in the streets? No… I don’t believe this government for one minute. For the most part there is no difference between our leadership and common Killers….
7 July, 2007 at 5:48 pm
You are way to easy with the term “terrorism” and once again fall into an apple vs oranges argument. Iraq is not Vietnam and any comparisons between the two are not valid. You might not except it but Iraqis did vote and they did elect their own leadership. No American held a forced anyone to vote or not to vote or excluded anyone from seeking office. Iraqis braved long lines and death threats to vote and your dismissive attitude is an insult to the bravery and perseverance of the Iraqi people. Not to mention free people worldwide.
Your constant whining about civilian deaths is also insulting, no nation anywhere in the history of this planet has ever had a higher regard for civilians on the battlefield than America. Extreme measures to save civilians lives and limit casualties even at personal risk are taken daily by American service personnel. Meanwhile you say nothing about the enemies’ usage of random bombings; suicide attacks, targeting of children, police, military, schools, houses of worship and hospitals. Maybe you should visit Iraq and see for yourself. I remember a young Muslim girl walking up to me and whispering a simple “thank you”. She did so with full knowledge that she would die a horrible death if the insurgents had seen her do it. Don’t let your hatred of freedom and America cloud your judgement. Nation building takes time and at least I give the Iraqi people credit for fighting for real change. They are fighting Muslims from over 50 nations who would like nothing more than to see them fail. Their enemy is radical Islam and they know it and do not want to return to the 7th century.
Your claims of Americans being common killers makes you appear bias and a little touched. If you really believe that, you should make a real effort to change it. Fight with the insurgents or tuck tail and flee to France or some other Freedom hating, leftist nation. Americans are risking life and limb to save Muslims. They do so with full knowledge that the same religion can be twisted into the most intolerant, oppressive force on this planet. No Muslim nation comes anywhere close to our level of tolerance, freedom and personal responsibility but they believe Iraq can and it will be a model of other Muslims to finally crawl into the 21st Century. Your blind hatred and inability to consider both sides of this conflict make you look bias, judgmental and discredits you and shows your one sided arguments are nothing more than simple propaganda.
8 July, 2007 at 11:59 am
. Ronin; “Iraq is not Vietnam,” Gulf of Tonkin? WMD, Changing leadership, changing leadership, Divided country, divided country, Civil war, civil war. Civilian deaths, civilian deaths. Defending against Islam, defending against Communism… Both cover stories. The list goes on and on. Lack of public support in Iraq and US, same now. Lack of international support then and same now. Their army and police can’t/won’t help much, same as before. Nation building and nation building via democracy both forced with military. Not the same? The two nation building efforts are very much the same.
“No American held a forced anyone to vote or not to vote or excluded anyone from seeking office” Think again. CPA banned the Bathist party.Which was the leading party in Iraq. Almost all pubic servants were in this party which was banned. Iraq was left without any kind of experienced leadership. We were very much involved in selecting and dismissing those running for office. There was no international supervision. In fact Americans were allowed to vote and they had to do was claim to be former Iraqi’s. There was not total freedom of the press during the election. The list goes on and on.
“no nation anywhere in the history of this planet has ever had a higher regard for civilians” I know this is not true because I have seen with my own eyes, even in our own media. Torture, violations of the Geneva Convention, executions, “Extordinary Rendention” , ” that would be kidnapping. People held without charge for YEARS. Bombing civilians gatherings, because there is a suspected insurgent in the building. This happens frequently. If you go back to WW2 we fire bombed Dresdin, Toyko, and other European and Asian cities. The list goes on and on. … I will give you credit for the sound of your writing but the true nature of this and other conflicts misses you….
8 July, 2007 at 4:58 pm
More conspiracies and apple and oranges arguments, Vet.
Once again, Iraq is not Vietnam and any comparison is just noise and not relevant to today.
All the insurgents are “civilians” every one of them and I hope they continue to kill them in increasingly larger numbers right along side of their families and children. The rules of engagement protect innocents not insurgents. If they hide at home then they are responsible for what happens to their homes. The cold hard truth is human shields are not effective and we can not allow them a safe harbor. We will never be able to protect all civilians on the battlefield but I would put our record alongside of anyone’s. Yes, in the past wars civilians died and guess what in the next war more will die. War is dangerous. I have been in a few war zones and have never seen a single American commit any atrocity and If I had I would have reported him or her and we would have punished them unfortunately for humanity most nations do not hold themselves accountable.
Your opinion of who is qualified to lead in Iraq is meaningless, the Iraqis opinion was heard and at great risk to themselves and their families, Iraqis voted. The Iraqis are probably no better at picking politicians than we are but they still made their choice, that’s progress.
8 July, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Ronin; Terrorism is worse, on all sides, debt is worse, world opinion is worse, more civilian deaths, less trust in our government, more white collar crime by Republicans,
the military is depleted and spread thin, less needed National Guard at home for things like Katrina, Lebanon is worse, democracy name is worse, Israel is worse, Palestinians are worse off, Somalia is worse and so on. If you witness the evidence it’s overwhelming.
The conservative agenda and the neo-con idea are failures….
9 July, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Vet; I vote for the person and not party but you need to understand the differences:
The Differences Between A Republican & a Democrat…I’ll keep it simple.
Senators Fred Thompson and Hillary were walking down the street when they came to a homeless person. DC has a lot of them.
The Republican, Fred Thompson, gave the homeless person his business card and told him to come to his office for a job. He then took $20 Out of his pocket and gave it to the homeless person.
Hillary was very impressed, so when they came to another homeless person, she decided to help. She walked over to the homeless person and gave him directions to the welfare office. She then reached into Thompson’s pocket and got out $20. She kept $15 for her administrative fees and gave the homeless person $5.
Now, do you understand the difference?
Now to world events, you can never ever convince me the world is worse off because we care enough to attempt to improve it. It was a mess for thousands of years and it will only improve by hard work and individual responsibility. Mindless drones have never improved anything on their own. There is no try, there is do or do not (Yoda, the first counter jihadist)
9 July, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Ronin ; Good. I like that. Bureaucracy will ruin this country yet. If not already. Just look at the Billions we spend on Spy agencies and they can’t seem to find their elbow.
People ought to learn to vote their own self interest and not the interest of someone else or something else.
Nation building is an expensive enterprise which gets dubious results. That statement usually runs into being called an ” Isolationist” or ” Protectionist”. I believe we need to take care of our own and stop trying to save the world.
Finally; I was listening to a discussion with Ralph Nader this morning. I had not realized that he could not get on the ballot in several states in 04 and 2000. He was sued by the democratic party and republican party so much just the cost of transcripts was breaking this campaign. He made an interesting statement. ” If you kill all the seeds there will be no growth”… New ideas need to be given more of a change and third party given a chance or we get stale. …
12 July, 2007 at 12:24 pm
War on terror= 12 Billion a month. = 160 State of the art High schools….