Courtesy Nebraska Radio Network
A Muslim woman in Nebraska, United States was barred from entering a bank on Tuesday because she was wearing a hijab.
The woman, who claims she was discriminated against and was emotionally distraught by the experience, was told by officials at the Security National Bank (SNB) to remove her scarf.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the bank to adjust their security policies to allow Muslim women wearing a headscarf to enter without having to remove them.
In response, the bank issued a statement apologising over the incident. “For security reasons, our policy for all walk-in customers is to remove all face, eye and head covering to allow our employees and security cameras to have a clear view of each person entering the bank. We routinely ask individuals to remove their hats, scarves and sunglasses prior to entering. This is done in an effort to keep our customers and employees safe.”
Ibrahim Hooper, who is the National Communications Director for CAIR, said in a statement on Facebook that he was optimistic that a solution would be worked out. “Bank officials are responding pretty well in this situation. They’ve reached out to us and are working on language for a policy change that would allow anyone to go on into a branch as long as their face is fully visible. That is all we really request.”
On Friday, CAIR announced that SNB had made a change in their policy and were now allowing Muslim women who wear Islamic head scarves in the bank premises.
“We welcome Security National Bank’s prompt change in policy allowing customers of all faiths to obtain financial services while maintaining their constitutionally-protected religious freedom,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “We hope this policy change sets a precedent for other banks nationwide that may ban religious head coverings.”
SNB representatives informed CAIR that the following text has been added to the bank’s security policy. “For security purposes, please remove all items that obscure any part of your face such as sunglasses, brimmed hats, and hooded sweatshirts or tops. Religious head coverings that do not obscure the face are allowed.”
Awad said the new policy would also protect the religious rights of Sikh men who wear turbans, Jewish men who wear yarmulkes and Christian women who wear habits or bonnets.
