WASHINGTON, March 6: Immigration officials in Oklahoma said on Thursday Muslim women in the state could wear scarves for green card photos and state officials also decided to accept similar photos for driver’s licences. The decision, however, has provoked a barrage of hate mail, officials said. In a letter to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Immigration and Naturalization Service confirmed that it is already their policy to allow head scarves in pictures.

“The person must remain clearly identifiable from the photograph and should include a brief statement along with that photo explaining why it does not meet (the usual) requirements,” the INS letter says.