All Hat and No Cattle

I see where a Dearborn attorney, Majed Moughni, who is Muslim, has written a letter to the Press & Guide criticizing CAIR-MI’s recent federal lawsuit over a woman being ordered by a Wayne County judge to remove her headscarf in court as “frivolous.” (“Disappointed with CAIR”).

According to Moughni, the judge, William Callahan, “is one of the most respected, knowledgeable, and fairest judges,” and “has never shown any discrimination and he has never requested that any Muslim women remove their hijab.”

Further, Moughni described the woman’s, Raneen Albaghdady’s, overall dress as “not the religious hijab” but “more of a fashion statement.”

From the video, it appeared most of Mrs. Albagdady’s hair was exposed. She had a scarf placed on top of her well-styled hairdo. This is not hijab in any way, shape or form. Hijab is the covering of body parts, (including the hair, neck, arms, legs, and private parts) so as not to attract the attention of men.Mrs. Albagdady’s dress is in contradiction to hijab as it attracts attention and is more of a fashion statement as opposed to a religious garb.

Moughini, who describes CAIR as an organization of “high caliber,” (Eek!), thinks this whole thing makes the Muslim community look bad.

Dawud Walid, CAIR-MI’s fearless leader, responded with a letter of his own (“CAIR-MI director rejects label of 'frivolous' in regard to suit over hijab”), saying that Moughini isn’t the “hijab police.”

Besides, writes Dawud, how can you call this lawsuit “frivolous” when “Michigan Civil Rights Commissioner Attorney Nabih Ayad” is the one who filed it? You may remember Ayad as one of the lawyers who sued to keep the government from wiretapping international calls from terrorists.

It doesn’t matter. This lawsuit was DOA as soon as Ayad filed it. Ms. Albagdady willingly removed her headscarf when ordered to by Judge Callahan, stating “OK, it doesn't matter.” Callahan's office quite reasonably claimed he had no idea there was any religious purpose in the headscarf.

Not that this stopped Ms. Albagdady, who came to America from Saddam’s Iraq, from declaring a few weeks later that the whole experience left her “terrified” and “humiliated.”

She told a news conference in August “she was intimidated by Callahan and feared she would be arrested if she refused to remove her hijab. 'I come from a country where you can't say no to a judge in a courtroom,' she said. "

Moughni says Ms. Albagdady didn’t look so intimidated later in the hearing when she was arguing with the judge about the cost of filing her case. (“Dearborn attorney backs judge in woman's suit over hijab”)

Nor is it a sign of intimidation to drop a lawsuit on the circuit court judge you claim to be so scared of.

I don’t know if it’s the leopard print hair wrap or the Mediterranean cougar ‘tude but I know I'd think twice about cutting off this lady’s cart at Wal-Mart.

Ayad practically admitted that this whole thing is just for show, anyway, a tactic in a battle to force the Michigan Supreme Court to relent on its ruling that allows judges to order women to remove face veils in court.

Albaghdady appeared before Callahan the day before the state Supreme Court approved the rule. Her lawsuit does not challenge it or address the issue of face veils, said her attorney, Nabih Ayad.

"That's for a later case," he said.

Right.