KENT, Wash.–A member of Sound Credit Union here claims she was refused service at the CU because of the religious garments she was wearing.
Jamela Mohamed, a black Muslim woman, said she was discriminated against and treated unfairly at the CU when she stopped in to make a car payment, while other members wearing caps were not turned away.
Mohamed’s cell phone video, which she posted on her Facebook page, shows the branch supervisor counting to three, and then saying she was going to call 9-1-1, after being asked by a teller to remove her hood.
In observance of Ramadan, Mohamed said she was wearing her hooded sweater and a scarf. As typical at all credit unions, to protect against robbery, the CU had a notice posted saying hats, hoods, and sunglasses are not allowed.
“I didn't even get to utter a word. She started screaming. ‘One, two, three. I'm going to call 9-1-1!'” Mohamed told KOMO News. Mohamed, on her video, is shown crying, distraught over the incident.
“My problem is not with the rule, but with the selective treatment, and how it is applied,” Mohamed’s attorney Thaddeus Martin, told KOMO News.
Sound Credit Union has issued a statement saying, in part, that they did not handle the situation well, and will consider revising their policy going forward, according to Q13FoxNews.com.