 |
| Before and After, courtesy The Smoking Gun |
A Muslim woman who refuses to unveil for a drivers license picture should do so to further the state's interest in public safety, an Islamic law expert testified at her civil trial Wednesday. Khaled Abou El Fadl, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles who specializes in Islam, the Middle East and human rights, said he believes Sultaana Freeman could uncover her face for a drivers license photograph because it serves a specific, limited purpose.
So the state of Florida has to fly this guy in from UCLA to testify in this rinky dink trial that shouldn't even be in court? How much did that cost? When she loses, either send her or the ACLU the bill.
| If she's gonna have a veil over her face, why bother to take the picture? It won't show anything. Might as well just borrow one from somebody else... |
Maybe Sultaana's like, really, really UGLY! Anybody think that might be a possibility?
| Maybe she just decided to quit shaving. Maybe she's not, ummm... female? How do we know she's not a cross-dresser with a moustache? |
Maybe she's one of those "look at me" people like Pledge of Allegiance guy last year. Who's to say. But it got me a nice Florida vacation for a couple of days.
| Shariah doesn't take into account anybody's "deeply held convictions." If it's in the book or the hadith, you do it, otherwise they cut something off. |
Hey, Sultaana! You're on CourtTV! Next come the talk shows!
Under cross-examination, El Fadl said there are minority groups within Islam's two prominent sects — the Sunni and Shiites — that wear veils because of their interpretation of Islam. On Wednesday, Freeman said she is a member of the Salafiyyah group. "In the long run, his testimony supports our position that Sultaana Freeman is exercising her right to freely exercise her religion," Marks said. "I still don't think he's relevant. I wish he was, but I don't think he hurt us at all."
So why'd you try to get his testimony tossed? ACLU guy knows he's dead. But he's on CourtTV! Next come the talk shows!
| Maybe even a book deal. "Gaming the System: How I burned Florida taxpayer dollars and got to be on the teevee"... |
This is the best they got? A buddy of her husbands is an Islamic expert? Fly me down. I'll testify for her. I could use a couple of days in Florida.
El Fadl has testified as an expert witness on behalf of Muslim-American women fighting for their right to wear a hijab, or head covering, at work. However, on Wednesday he said Freeman's insistence on wearing a veil was "rare."
| "Yep. Even in Islam, we rarely see that particulary combination of vanity and dim-bulbery... |
Yeah, but her guy's an academic advisor at UCF. So, there!
Marks loudly protested El Fadl's description of Muslim customs in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. "We do have a constitution here. We do have a Bill of Rights and a Florida Constitution with a Religious Freedom Restoration Act," Marks told Thorpe.
I love it when ACLU lawyers, like, totally panic!
Jason Vail, one of two lawyers from the Attorney General's Office representing the state, later praised El Fadl and called his 16-page curriculum vitae "impressive." "What Islamic law is all about as it relates to veiling, we've only scratched the surface," Vail said outside the courtroom. "The relationship of Islamic law to Islamic practice is a very complicated issue."
| "This trial could last years, burning dollars every day..." |
| Or maybe they could just substitute a photo of a can of pineapple. Who'd know? |
If she wins, he'll be by for his picture. Along with the Easter Bunny and Groucho and whoever else wants to come...
Lambert replied: "We don't allow costumes." To which Marks asked, "Where's that in the statutes? You don't know what's policy, and you're making this up as you go along," Marks said.
If it's not written down, it's meat on the table for an ACLU lawyer. Unless it's a gun control law. Point: ACLU.
| "I stand by might right to wear a cape and a funny hat to have my driver's license picture taken! We have a constitution in this country, and I have a right to look like an idiot! Right this moment, I'm wearing ladies' underwear, and you can do nothing, nothing about it!" |
| Otherwise "this space intentionally left blank" on the license would do... |
| But they can't go pick it up from her, because nobody knows what she looks like, do they? |