CALIFORNIA, Md. -- A Muslim woman said employees at a southern Maryland credit union asked to serve her in a back room because her head scarf violated the institution's "no hats, hoods or sunglasses" policy.
Kenza Shelley, of Lexington Park, said in the 10 years she has used the Navy Federal Credit Union in the California area of St. Mary's County no one complained about her scarf, which covers her hair, until February.
Shelley said she complied the first time, but on Saturday she demanded to be served like everyone else and left.
A Navy Federal security official defended the policy to the Washington Post, saying there was a significant increase in bank robberies last year and the policy was designed to prevent armed robbery and identity theft.
Tom Lyons, senior vice president for security at Navy Federal ... said it would not be unreasonable for bank employees to ask customers who refused to take off their hats to move to a separate room so they could be identified.
"We want to be able to clearly identify who you are and make sure the transaction is safe," Lyons said. "This is a policy that applies to everybody in the branch. She wasn't singled out. . . . We tried to accommodate her and help her with her transaction and move on."
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations disagreed.
"Navy Federal's policy on head coverings clearly forces bank employees to impose a 'separate but equal' status not only on Muslim women who wear hijab, but on all those who wear religious attire," said CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin.
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"The banking industry needs to come up with a standard policy based not only on security needs, but also on the religious and civil rights of customers," Rubin said.
Navy Federal relented Tuesday afternoon. Officials said they will apologize to Shelley.
