Originally Posted by Sabai
How about nuns in their habits or a Buddhist monk in his robes? Should they also be made to disrobe in a private booth? I don't think Islam is germain to the discussion; I think it's a matter of screening people while showing sensitivity to cultural issues. If none of these women caused an alarm, then I don't see what the problem is.
If we really want to find out what is under the robes (which are often quite thick) in terms of possible forbidden substances, then yes, everyone wearing robes or heavy or bulky clothing should get the same treatment, for what it's worth.
Most jackets and sweaters don't cause an alarm any more often than robes do, but people wearing jackets and sweaters were asked to remove them BEFORE they'd gone through the metal screener, not after. Further, the xray machine looks not only for metal but for strange shapes and these days I presume they're looking for the nefarious creams, gels, and lotion container shapes as well (thought not very well, based on what I've seen getting through since the foiled London attacks). If we really don't want to discriminate in advance, then we should not discriminate in advance, in my opinion.
My question, however, was more focussed on learning what the "official policy" is rather than what is ideal for security, if we were writing the policies.