Passport photo of girl, 5, banned 'in case it offends Muslims'

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hannah Edwards: This is the picture the local post office rejected.

A five-year-old girl had her passport form rejected when an official said the bare shoulders on her photograph could offend Muslims.

The post office assistant stunned Hannah Edwards's parents by claiming the skin exposed by her daughter's halter-neck dress would not be accepted by the Passport Office as it might prove unacceptable in a Muslim country.

The incident happened when Jane and Martin Edwards took the picture, which was taken in a photo-booth, to a post office in the Sheffield area along with the completed form for checking ahead of a family holiday in the South of France.

The counter clerk told them she was aware of at least two other cases where applications had been rejected because a person's shoulders were not covered in their photo.

Mrs Edwards, a GP in Sheffield, had to rush around for two hours getting new pictures taken and countersigned.

'I was incensed,' she said yesterday. 'I went back home and checked the form.

'Nowhere did it say anything about covering up shoulders. If it had, I would have done so, but it all seems so unnecessary.

'This is quite ridiculous, I followed the instructions on the passport form to the letter and it was still rejected. It is just officialdom pandering to political correctness.

'It is a total over-reaction. How can the shoulders of a five-year-old girl offend anyone?

[...]

A Post Office spokesman said: 'Our offices have a Passport Office template which says what the photograph should and shouldn't be.

'Bare shoulders don't come into that at all. We can't see any instruction to that effect so all we can do is apologise to Mrs Edwards. It was clearly a mistake made by the clerk.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1770

[Fandango 1,439]

Why is a 5 year old having her hair dyed??? #######

[Alex+R 0]

Do you think the clerk was trying to protect the family for some reason? Was the clerk Muslim? This is just bizarre.

[Veiled Princess 1]

Why is every act of stupidity blamed on muslims today???? This is insane!

Either the clerk is clearly an idiot OR he wants to make things difficult and blame it on muslims to make people hate us more than they already do. Some people just need to get a life!

[Elizabethnhenry 0]

Why is a 5 year old having her hair dyed??? #######

It looks like a blond wig on top of her brown hair. Spooky.

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Why is every act of stupidity blamed on muslims today???? This is insane!

Either the clerk is clearly an idiot OR he wants to make things difficult and blame it on muslims to make people hate us more than they already do. Some people just need to get a life!

that was a rhetorical question, right?

Edited August 17, 2006 by charlesandnessa

[incanada1234 0]

Islam - a religion of peace. Oh, unless your 5 year old wears a tank top. Then they'll kill you.

[almaty 19]

where does it say that?

[Fandango 1,439]

Islam - a religion of peace. Oh, unless your 5 year old wears a tank top. Then they'll kill you.

[rclouse 0]

You do NOT have the right to be unoffended. I'm also looking at you, Xtians. PC Nazis as well.

[raymaga 25]

Absolutely ridiculous!!!!!

[Aussielad 37]

muslims.....what to do with them....any suggestions???

[incanada1234 0]

muslims.....what to do with them....any suggestions???

[Fuzzness 2]

Why is it ok to offend everyone else but muslims?

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

muslims.....what to do with them....any suggestions???

perhaps it's high time to create a microbe that eats clothes and turn it loose in the middle east. the radical muslims will be so busy being offended they won't have time for any nonsense.

and if the microbe migrates to the usa, specifically hooters restaurants, all the better