When Layla Soliz was forced to remove her hijab by Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies when she was booked after being arrested with her husband and 10 other pro-Palestinian demonstrators the night of May 15, it marked a shocking interaction with the American justice system.
It was her first time in handcuffs, her introduction to jail and the first time her religious rights were violated in a way that brings trauma to Islamic women. Jailers photographed her without her hijab, a Muslim head covering worn by women as part of their faith, and publicly posted the mug shot online, a violation of the agency’s own policy.
When she and others arrested on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus reached the Knox County Detention Facility late that night, following hours waiting in a dark van with their hands bound by zip ties, she had no inkling that sheriff’s deputies would violate her constitutional religious rights. Several federal lawsuits have been filed after police departments forced the removal of religious headwear during custody, and the plaintiffs have secured substantial settlements in some cases.
Maha Ayesh, local attorney and board member of the Muslim Community of Knoxville organization, went to the jail beforehand to champion those rights, demanding deputies not remove Soliz’s hijab. In Islam, the hijab expresses modesty, protects a woman’s innocence and covers them from a male gaze. Witnessing a woman without her hijab is reserved solely for her husband and immediate family.
Ayesh’s efforts to protect Soliz’s religious rights were unsuccessful, and Knox County Sheriff’s Office jailers violated the agency’s written policy by posting her mug shot without her hijab.
“When they took my mug shot, they told me that I would have to remove it. They took one mug shot with my hijab and one without it and they assured me that the one without would not be visible to male officers or the public and it ended up online. As a Muslim that’s a stressor. Not only had my rights to freedom of speech been infringed upon but my religious freedom as well,” Soliz told Knox News.
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Soliz, a 2012 graduate of the University of Tennessee and a staff member at Tayseer Seminary, grew up in Knoxville and had been on campus for days prior to the arrest with other students and organizers. Hailing from a Palestinian family directly suffering from the strife in Gaza, she emphasized her right to be present on campus that day, standing not only as an alumna but also in solidarity with students and the broader Muslim community.
Her husband, Zanne Soliz, a local engineer, also was arrested for the first time in his life. But the shock of discovering that his wife had been forced to remove her hijab was more profound than facing arrest and confinement.
“I was separated from my wife while in custody. So to learn of what happened to her was more upsetting than anything else,” Zanne Soliz told Knox News. “To be honest, I didn’t feel any animosity toward the officers. They were there because someone called them and they were doing their job. One of the officers showed some sympathy when I told him that we have Palestinian family members and are watching our people over there and kids being killed, but he is still perpetuating a system of injustice.”
The demonstrators’ presence outside law school on the night of May 15 was deliberate. Layla Soliz emphasized that making their stand in front of an institution tasked with upholding justice and equality was entirely logical.
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“This is where students learn about those values so it sends a strong message. We are here for a good cause and to bring awareness to a situation that is urgent and that needs to change. We were peaceful and have the right to be here,” she said.
Zanne said that the university administration’s regulations, which confine demonstrators to a specific area of the campus, continue to impinge upon their First Amendment rights.
“There is no designated free speech zone. We should be able to freely speak anywhere, especially about injustice and not feel afraid,” he said.
Source: knoxnews.com
