COB6 sends an article that puts my mind at ease about Muslim women being patted down at airports. Apparently the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, has issued a travel advisory for Muslims related to the body scanners and searches;
It goes on to make special recommendations for Muslim women wearing a hijab covering their face. The advisory says women are to inform the officer they are only to pat down the head and neck and says “They should not subject you to a full-body or partial body pat-down.” They also recommend that women should be permitted to pat themselves down and “have the officers perform a chemical swipe of your hands.”
Barack Obama’s Homeland Security Czar, Janet Napolitano, is considering changes to the procedures to address the issues raised by CAIR.
I went to the CAIR advisory on their website and I can’t find any reference to the Homeland Security Department, so at this point the patting themselves down solution being considered by DHS is a rumor, regardless of how plausible it might sound.
If the measure is adopted, I guess the rest of us should offer the same to TSA…equal protection, right?
Nothing I’ve seen indicates exemptions for those in “religious” garb such as the hijab. The Senate transcript on “exemptions”:
Also given cases like this that neglect medical conditions.