A decision by authorities in Oklahoma to allow Muslim women to wear scarves for driver's license photos has provoked a barrage of hate mail, according to officials there.
In a letter to the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, the state's Department of Public Safety said: "A head covering will be permitted, if the head covering does not obscure a full front view of the face, display any: logo; insignia, symbol, or regalia; word or words; letter, number, or character, or graphic design."
The letter was released Wednesday by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. The group welcomed the fact that women in the state now can observe the Islamic restriction on keeping their head covered in identification pictures, both for driver's licenses and for immigration documents like green cards.
The letter says the scarf, which should be made of a common fabric or material, should not "cast a shadow on the face of the person."
In a telephone interview with United Press International, an official from the DPS stressed that the measure would not "compromise the integrity of the photo."
"We allow men to wear a moustache and full beard that cover the lower half of their face," said David Batty. "We have lots of hairstyles that cover much more of the face than the head covering does ... it is not viewed as a threat or as obscuring their identity because it is acceptable in our society," he went on.
He said the department also allows cancer patients, both men and women, who have lost their hair to wear head coverings.
"While (this directive) does apply to Muslim women only, (the rules are) neither religious nor sex specific. It will not allow the covering that only shows the eyes," said Batty, referring to the chador or hijab, a total face covering worn by strict Muslims.
Batty said his department has received a lot of hate mail over the issue, which he attributed to media coverage of the measure -- including that by UPI.
"The word Muslim (in your story) seems to have triggered" the mail, he said.
"Was Timothy McVeigh not enough," Batty said one writer asked -- a reference to the Oklahoma bomber. "My initial reaction to that was that McVeigh wasn't a Muslim, he wasn't a woman and didn't wear a head cover, so I don't see the connection," said Batty.
"Other writers referred to the Sept. 11 tragedy. Again, the hijackers who committed the terrorists acts were not women and did not wear head covers," he added.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said the directive followed complaints from Muslim women who were told they could not wear a scarf when being photographed for a license.
Prior to the change, only the Public Safety Commissioner or his designee could authorize an exception to the rule against head coverings.
The new guidelines will appear as a statutory change in Oklahoma Senate Bill 704, authored by Republican Sen. Owen Laughlin.
In a separate letter requested by CAIR following complaints from concerned Muslims -- and also released by them Wednesday -- The Immigration and Naturalization Service confirmed that it is already their policy to allow head scarves in pictures.
INS Residence and Status Branch Director Pearl Chang wrote: " ... Our policy does permit men and women who are required by their religious beliefs to cover their head and ears and to submit photos that do not conform to requirements of an uncovered head and visible right ear.
"The person must remain clearly identifiable from the photograph and should include a brief statement along with that photo explaining why it does not meet (the usual) requirements," concludes the INS letter.
"We appreciate the fact that Muslim women will not have to violate their religious beliefs when obtaining an Oklahoma driver's license or a green card. We hope that other states and government agencies will follow suit in providing explicit policy guidelines allowing religious attire of all faiths in official photographs," said CAIR Board Member Mujeeb Cheema, an Oklahoma resident.