MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has intervened in a lawsuit on behalf of a sixth-grade Muslim girl who was suspended from her public school in Muskogee, Okla., for wearing a hijab, or religiously prescribed head scarf.
The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ filed a complaint March 30 in support of Nashala Hearn, who through the civil liberties group, the Rutherford Institute, sued the Muskogee Public School District in October. The suit came after Hearn was suspended twice last fall for violating the school’s policy that prohibits “hats, caps, bandannas, plastic caps or hoods on jackets” inside school buildings.
Muslim groups applauded the intervention, stating that it shows the world that religious freedom is a core American value.
Share with others: