Lawmaker backs off bid to ban hijabs on drivers' license photos

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: March 6, 2009 - 12:17 PM

A showdown between Minnesota Muslims and a state legislator over driver's license photos may have been averted. Or maybe not.

Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, announced Thursday he will tweak a bill that would have banned from the photos all head scarves that many Muslim women say they are required to wear at all times.

Instead, he will amend the bill so that head coverings, called hijabs, can be "worn for religious or cultural purposes."

The change may not go far enough, a local Muslim spokeswoman said.

The new standards would adhere to standards required for United States passport photos.

In a press release, Gottwalt said his bill "is not intended to offend any person or group of people,"

The proposal sparked an uproar earlier this week, when Muslim organizations loudly complained that it did precisely that.

Local Muslims aren't yet sure if the amendment satisfies their objections, said Jessica Zikri, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"It's still unclear what the actual amendment will say," she said, calling Gottwalt's proposed language "overly vague and broad. It needs to be more precise."

The council's national organization asked Attorney General Eric Holder to determine whether the bill and a similar measure being considered in Oklahoma, amount to violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The council said the bills would infringe on First Amendment rights of Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and members of other faiths who wear head coverings for religious reasons.

Zikri said her organization has been contacted by local Jews and Amish who are worried the bill would adversely affect them