LOS ANGELES // Muslim women were discriminated against in separate incidents because of their religion and for wearing the hijab, two lawsuits filed in California have claimed.
One of the suits claimed that police in Long Beach forcibly removed a woman’s headscarf while another suit alleged that a group of women were kicked out of a Laguna Beach coffee house for being Muslim.
According to the complaint against the city of Long Beach and its police department, Kirsty Powell and her husband were pulled over by two officers while driving home in May of last year.
She was subsequently arrested on two outstanding warrants – one linked to her sister allegedly falsely using her identity and one in relation to a 2002 shoplifting incident at a grocery store.
Ms Powell, who is African American, alleged that while being booked at the police station, one of the officers forcibly removed her headscarf, telling her she was “not allowed to wear her hijab”.
The suit stated that Ms Powell “suffered and continues to suffer extreme shame, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional distress” as a result of her experience. “The manner in which Mrs Powell was treated by Long Beach Police Department [LBPD] officers was simply a show of authority over a woman of colour who was unable to protect herself, and is another example of the type of discrimination faced by women who wear a hijab,” said Yalda Satar, lawyer for the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the suit on behalf of Ms Powell.
LBPD said that Ms Powell’s hijab was taken off in line with the department’s policy to remove certain items from inmates – including belts, shoe laces and head coverings – for their own protection.
In a separate lawsuit also filed on Monday, a group of seven women claimed that they were ejected from Urth Caffe, in Laguna Beach, last month because they were Muslim.
The women, six of whom wear the headscarf, alleged that management had asked them to vacate their table on April 22 on grounds that the restaurant was busy.
When the women refused to leave, the coffee house called in the police.
Dan Stormer, whose law firm is representing the women, said it was clear his clients were targeted because of their religion, a charge denied by the restaurant owner.
* Agence France-Presse
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems