Woman wants answers after police removed her hijab following arrest at Temple

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Muslim woman said the Philadelphia Police Department forced her to remove her hijab following an incident at Temple University in September.

Johara Shama, the Muslim woman who had her hijab forcibly removed, said she was held for 20 hours by police without access to her religious headwear.

Now, Shama and the Council on American-Islamic Relations want answers from the department.

Shama and several others were arrested while protesting the war in Gaza at Temple's Howard Gittis Student Center last Thursday.

After she was detained by Philadelphia police, Shama said an officer removed her hijab and under-cap. She and officials at CAIR called it a "serious defilement of her religious beliefs and practices."

"This act of humiliation left me in a state of distress, feeling as though my fundamental rights had been stripped away from me," Shama said.

"We do want to work toward a change in these policies so that going forward Muslim women don't have to experience this," Adam Attia, a legal director of CAIR Philadelphia, said. "And we are more than willing to collaborate and work with whatever agency, police department, university that is willing to listen to us because this is something that deeply violates our religious beliefs."

After the protest, Temple said it placed the Temple chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on interim suspension.

In a statement, Philadelphia police said that current policy does not specifically address the wearing of religious garb during the booking process.

Police added that Shama was allowed to wear her hijab while in common areas, but it was removed for her booking photo and while she was in a holding cell with other women.

"We recognize that our policies need to evolve to better respect and accommodate religious practices," Philadelphia police said in a statement in part. "The PPD is actively working to update our policies to allow for the wearing of religious head coverings during the booking process and while in custody, provided that it does not compromise safety or security protocols."

CAIR also took issue with how Temple police handled the protest, which they called "mistreatment."

In a statement following the press conference on Wednesday, Temple wrote that that what "occurred last week was not a peaceful protest."

"It was a major disruption to an event intended to help students find jobs and internships," Temple wrote in part. "As a result of the aggressive protesting, several visiting employers were escorted from the space for their safety and students were denied an opportunity to engage with potential employers – some students left the event entirely."

Temple also alleged that several protestors pushed and shoved officers when police attempted to "lawfully" detain the leader of protest.

In a statement last week, Temple Public Safety said it reviewed hours of body camera and video surveillance and believes its officers acted appropriately.

Temple officials say they are planning on meeting with CAIR in the coming days.