Canadian judge tells Muslim woman to remove headscarf

Rasa - A Muslim woman was reportedly told to remove her headscarf before a Canadian judge would hear her case.

News ID: 2185

Date: 28 February 2015 - 03:14

RNA - A Muslim woman was reportedly told to remove her headscarf before a Canadian judge would hear her case.

Judge Eliana Marengo was said to have told Rania El-Alloul that the courtroom in Montreal is a secular place and she was not suitably dressed.

'Hats and sunglasses for example, are not allowed. And I don't see why scarves on the head would be either,' it was claimed she said in a recording of proceedings, according to CBC News.

El-Allouk had attended court in a bid to have her car returned after it was seized by police.

Her son was reported to have been driving the vehicle with a suspended licence when he was stopped and it was confiscated by Quebec's automobile insurance board.

The car was due to be kept for a month, but El-Allouk wanted the court to return it sooner, according to the broadcaster.

After the hearing she was said to have felt scared and 'not Canadian anymore,' CBC reported.

Her case was said to have been adjourned indefinitely.

Quebec's Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond after business hours to a request for comment on the case. Judge Marengo could also not be reached for comment.

The public display of religious symbols has been hotly debated in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province in recent years.

In 2013, the pro-independence Parti Quebecois (PQ) government moved to ban public servants from wearing Muslim head coverings such as hijabs, Jewish skullcaps or other obvious religious symbols.

But the bill died when the PQ was defeated in a provincial election last year.

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