Georgia Judge Jails Muslim Woman Over Head Scarf, Muslims and Islamophobia, NewAgeIslam.com

Muslims and Islamophobia

Georgia Judge Jails Muslim Woman Over Head Scarf

by: Dionne Walker

18 December 2008

Atlanta - A Muslim woman arrested for refusing to take off her head scarf at a courthouse security checkpoint said Wednesday that she felt her human and civil rights were violated. A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta's west suburban outskirts.

Valentine violated a court policy that prohibits people from wearing any headgear in court, police said after they arrested her Tuesday.

Kelley Jackson, a spokeswoman for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, said state law doesn't permit or prohibit head scarfs.

"It's at the discretion of the judge and the sheriffs and is up to the security officers in the court house to enforce their decision," she said.

Valentine, who recently moved to Georgia from New Haven, Connecticut, said the incident reminded her of stories she'd heard of the civil rights-era South.

http://newageislam.com/georgia-judge-jails-muslim-woman-over-head-scarf---/muslims-and-islamophobia/d/1063

From Green Light to Yellow, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

From Green Light to Yellow

By Dan Froomkin

August 13, 2008

"Well, frankly, some of the first statements from Washington were perceived by the Russians almost as a green light for doing this because they were too soft. Russians don't understand that kind of soft language," Saakashvili told CNN. "America is losing the whole region," Saakashvili said, adding that the Russians "are by proxy trying to fight war with the West."

In a hastily scheduled Rose Garden statement a few hours later, Bush repeatedly expressed concerns about Russian actions, then announced he was sending in military planes and ships with humanitarian and medical shipments. He also said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is headed to the Georgian capital.

This time, his comments had some elements of a dare: "We expect Russia to honor its commitment to let in all forms of humanitarian assistance," he said. "We expect Russia to ensure that all lines of communication and transport, including seaports, airports, roads, and airspace, remain open for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and for civilian transit. We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia. And we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country."

http://newageislam.com/from-green-light-to-yellow/current-affairs/d/551