title: SAY WHAT?! Muslim Women Can Now Cover Their Faces For License Picture In Obama’s Home State Of Illinois
text: Soooo ah, what s the point of the picture?Not to worry though muslim women never commit acts of jihad right? To prevent religious discrimination, the state of Illinois plans to start mailing fliers to employees at offices that issue drivers licenses and photo IDs to remind them that people are not required to remove  articles of faith  for their photos. The state s efforts follow complaints from Muslim and Sikh agencies that some residents have been asked to remove religious head coverings.The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund brought the issue to Illinois  Secretary of State s office about a year ago after Sikh residents complained that they had been asked to take off their dastaars, the turbans Sikhs wear around their heads, for photos. We had been getting complaints from around the states from Sikh Americans who were being asked to remove or modify their turbans to get their photo ID,  the executive director Jasjit Singh told Fusion Friday.Muslims became the state s fastest growing and third-largest group in 2012, according to the Chicago Tribune. And while there is no readily available state data about the Sikh population, there are half a million Sikhs living in the United States.A spokesperson for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White emphasized to Fusion that it has always been illegal to ask people to remove their head covering, and that the fliers serve as a reminder for government employees of how to respect religious diversity. No change has actually taken place to our procedures,  said Henry Haupt, Deputy Press Secretary for the Secretary of State s office.  What we re doing was always allowed the religious head coverings of this nature but what we want to ensure is that the public s aware of them because we were told that some individuals were unaware that they could have their photo taken for the drivers license wearing them. We re always mindful of the fact that we want to communicate well with the public. Via: IB Times