Credit Union Apologizes to Woman Over Head Scarf

Navy Federal Credit Union apologized yesterday to a Muslim woman who was asked to leave her place in line and be served in a back room at a branch in Southern Maryland because the head scarf she wore for religious reasons violated the institution's "no hats, hoods or sunglasses" policy, authorities said.

The credit union's senior vice president for security called Kenza Shelley, 54, of Lexington Park, to apologize for the incident that occurred Saturday, said Mary McDuffie, a spokeswoman for Navy Federal. She stopped short of calling the incident a mistake, but said the credit union's new security policy should have allowed Shelley to be served by tellers at the front counter.

The religious scarf Shelley wore, McDuffie said, left her clearly identifiable, and the credit union's policy does not prohibit religious head gear. "This is a new policy for us . . . and we are in the process of training all our employees," McDuffie said. "We regret that this took place."

On Saturday, Shelley said, employees at the Navy Federal branch in the St. Mary's County community of California asked her to come to the back room to be served if she would not remove her head scarf. They told her the scarf violated the company's new policy, implemented in December to stem robberies and identity theft. The incident was the second time in a month that Shelley had been asked to come to the back room because of her head scarf, and Muslim advocates fear it could become a problem nationwide as many financial institutions, intent on curbing robberies and identity theft, ban hats and similar items without appropriate accommodations for religious attire.

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group sought a meeting with Navy Federal officials after the incident in hopes that they would revise their policy.

"This may be the tip of the iceberg," Ibrahim said in an interview Monday. "There's got to be a way to work it out so that this security concern does not lead to violations of constitutional rights."

Fred Solomon, a spokesman for PNC Bank, said all branches have banned hats and other head apparel for more than a year, although the company put signs in their buildings stating as much only in the past six months. He said the reason for the ban is security. He said his tellers receive "special training on what is and isn't religious headgear" and are told not to ask those wearing religious headgear to take it off.

News reports provided by the Council on American-Islamic Relations indicate that two Muslim women in the state of California were refused service when they would not remove their scarves.