The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine whether or not a California bank violated a Muslim woman’s civil rights when it denied her service because she was wearing a headscarf, or hijab.
According to the woman, she was denied service at a Navy Federal Credit Union in San Diego, despite telling bank officials that she wears the headscarf for religious reasons. A statement by the bank read: “In the interest of security and safety for our members and employees — hats, hoods and sunglasses must be removed when entering the branch office. Special consideration for cultural and religious garments is under the discretion of the branch management. Navy Federal is making inquiries into the recent incident.”
CAIR called upon the DOJ to investigate the incident and to ensure that the religious rights of all customers are maintained. In a February 2nd statement, the bank’s president stated that while the bank stands by its “no hats” policy, it does not prohibit the wearing of a headscarf and the incident was due to an employee “not exercising good judgment”; the bank will also write a formal written apology to the Muslim customer.
