Muslim group questions Maryland AG opinion

From Paul Courson
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Maryland attorney general's office has given the OK to a security rule that would require people to remove religious head coverings to enter a courthouse, drawing criticism from a Muslim group.

In an opinion dated May 27, Attorney General Doug Gansler wrote that the law would support the sheriff's office in Prince Georges County, a suburb of Washington, if it decided to implement a policy requiring the temporary removal of veils or other head coverings to help in identifying people at security checkpoints.

Gansler, responding to the Maryland county's request for an opinion on the matter, said such removals must be a consistent, general policy, and "must not depend on individual discretion, prejudice, or preference."

Islamic cleric Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society, noted that the matter came to light the day after President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo defending those who wish to wear the traditional Muslim attire.

Bray said the opinion "goes smack against the spirit of the law on religious cases."