Nadine Osman

After being forced to remove her hijab for a mugshot, a Muslim woman in the US state of Tennessee has launched a lawsuit against the local sheriff’s office.

Sophia Johnston was taken to Rutherford County Jail on August 23 after being pulled over for driving a vehicle with a suspended license.

According to her 14-page lawsuit filed in a Nashville-based US district court, ‘On August 23, for no valid or compelling penological reason, the defendants demanded that Mrs.

Johnston remove her hijab for a booking photo and denied Mrs. Johnston’s reasonable request for a religious accommodation.’

‘When Mrs Johnston refused, Mrs Johnston intake officer informed Mrs Johnston that she would be incarcerated indefinitely until she complied. Because Mrs Johnston is a mother of eight children and could not afford to be incarcerated indefinitely, she relented under strenuous protest.’

Johnston alleges five males were present as she removed her hijab.

“I was confused. I felt like I was in an unknown place. I was scared, I felt very naked because as a Muslim woman, our hijab is our protection,” Johnston told the news outlet.

“Once I unwrap my scarf, they all come out and just slowly walk past me, and I’m just trying so hard to not cry, not to break down because I can’t show these people that they broke me,” she said. Johnston’s Attorney Daniel Horwitz said,

“Citizens have a right to practise their religion without unreasonable governmental interference, and it is unacceptable that any government entity would contravene those rights, especially given the robust protections that Tennessee, in particular, affords them.”

Johnston is the latest Muslim woman to sue a police department in the US over the forced removal of their hijab during detention. Johnston seeking at least $200,000 (£158,800) in damages against Rutherford

County, Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh, and several officers involved.
The sheriff’s office in Rutherford County told The Muslim News that it does not comment on pending legislation.

Photo: Sophia Johnston says she was forced to remove her hijab for a mug shot by police officials in Rutherford County, Tennessee. (Credit: Flickr Commons)