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The Council on American Islamic Relations issued a press release titled:  "CAIR Calls on Mississippi to Allow Islamic Head Covering in Driver’s License Photos."  The release states in part:  "Despite notifying DPS employees that the kufi was a religious head covering, DPS forced the Muslim customer to remove his kufi in violation of his sincerely-held religious belief."

The kufi, which originated in African cultural, is NOT specific to Islam, NOT required for Islamic worship and NOT Mandatory for Muslim men.

Wikipedia reports in part:  “In West Africa, a kufi cap is the traditional hat for men, and is part of the national costume of most of the countries in the region. It is worn by Muslims, African Christians and African Jews. Many grandfathers and other older men wear a kufi every day to symbolize their status as wise elders, religious people, or family patriarchs.

Within the United States, it has become identified primarily with persons of West African heritage, who wear it to show pride in their culture, history, and religion (whether Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Traditional African religions).”

Synonym.com reports in part: 

“A kufi is a round, brimless hat widely seen among African men and their descendants around the world and in parts of Asia.  Because they are so indelibly linked to the wearer’s culture, they have become associated with traditional Muslim dress. Wearing a kufi is not, however, required for Islamic worship or prayer.

Muslim men are not required to cover their heads, only their private parts, as stated in the Quran, Surat 24:30. Islamic scholar Sayyid Saabiq says there is debate over the precise definition of the area to be covered, whether, for instance, the thighs are proscribed. However, Saabiq reports no mention of a requirement that men cover their heads. In fact, Saabiq says that an uncovered head can communicate humility, relating instances of Prophet Muhammad removing his cap to pray.

The kufi is permitted, even encouraged, by Islamic law and custom, but it is not mandatory.”

The United States Middle District Court of Tennessee ruled on January 3, 2012 that a Tennessee jail could bar the Muslim kufi.  "The First Amendment does not require that general prison officials provide inmates with the best possible means of exercising their religious beliefs nor does it require that general prison policies and concerns become subordinate to the religious desires of any particular inmate," U.S. Magistrate Judge Juliet Griffin wrote.  The court noted:  “Although the Sixth Circuit has not addressed the constitutionality of a restriction on the wearing of a Kufi by a prison inmate, other courts have upheld policies imposing restrictions and outright bans on religious headwear as reasonably related to security, disciplinary and sanitary considerations. See Young v. Lane, 922 F.2d 370, 375-77 (7th Cir. 1991); Benjamin v. Coughlin, 905 F.2d 571, 578-79 (2d Cir. 1990); Standing Deer v. Carlson, 831 F.2d 1525, 1528 (9th Cir. 1987); Rogers v. Scurr, 676 F.2d 1211, 1215-16 (8th Cir. 1982).”  

CBSNews.com reported in part: “Florida Circuit Judge Janet C. Thorpe denied a Muslim woman’s petition to wear a veil in her driver’s license photo.  Judge Thorpe ruled that the state has a compelling interest in protecting the public, and that having photo identification was essential to that interest.” 

Allowing any person to wear any headgear that obstructs the full identity of a person in their official state identification defies logic and could threaten public safety.   A kufi blocks the full view of the head including the amount of hair, amount of baldness, hair texture, hair color and birth marks.

A full, unobstructed official identification photo is crucial for law enforcement to properly identify people and is valuable for future investigations, crime prevention and public safety.

Florida Family Association has prepared an email for you to send to encourage the Mississippi Governor and Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety to make public safety a priority over political correctness and the U.S. Constitution the law over Sharia dress code.

The email for this campaign has been deactivated.

Contact Information:

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant
knox.graham@governor.ms.gov    

Mississippi Department of Public Safety
https://www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov/node/10
Marshall Fisher, Commissioner
mfisher@dps.ms.gov