Oklahoma Muslim woman says rights violated over headscarf

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A Muslim woman who alleges she was denied entry into the Tulsa County Courthouse because of her religious headscarf has filed a federal lawsuit against the county sheriff.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of Suha Elqutt by the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. A similar suit was filed in California.

The lawsuit alleges Elqutt was refused entry to the courthouse on April 10 when metal detectors were set off by a hairpin under her hijab. It says officers insisted Elqutt remove her headscarf in front of male sheriff’s deputies in violation of her religious beliefs. She entered the courthouse after two female deputies inspected her hair in a parking garage.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Casey Roebuck has denied the allegations.