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Muslim Girl Back on Basketball Court After Being Benched for Wearing Headscarf
Filed under: In The News, Religion & Spirituality
A CBS Baltimore TV station reports a referee pulled Maheen Haq, a seventh grader from Hagerstown, Md., out of the Jan. 15 game, saying her headwear posed a safety threat. However, the girl was allowed to play the second half wearing the hijab after a league administrator granted her a religious exemption.
"I was upset a little bit 'cause I really wanted to play and I enjoy playing basketball," Maheen tells CBS.
But her mother says there was more to it.
"My daughter's heart was broken and I didn't want to break other hearts, as well," Anila Haq tells ABC.
Maheen was only able to go back on the court after her parents assumed liability for any injuries that might occur as a result of the hijab.
The team volunteered to forfeit the game, and parents of her teammates are expressing their outrage with the situation.
"We were very upset when we heard about it because she has been able to play the entire time and there's never been a problem," Connie Cline, a teammate's mother, tells CBS.
But officials from the Mid-Maryland Girls' Basketball League say the referee was just doing what he had to do, because there was no request on file that would allow Maheen to wear the scarf.
There is now.
"He was right to do what he did," Daphnie Campbell, league coordinator, tells CBS.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, tells the Huffington Post there are hijabs with tear-away strips designed for sports that the girl could wear. He says cases like these can usually be solved with cooperation from both sides.
The team's coach says he regrets the incident.
"I do feel that some people were offended or emotions were hurt, and that's not what we're here for," Mark Hershner tells CBS. "We're here to learn sports and maybe some life skills along the way."
The basketball league is now specifying in its bylaws that any exceptions to the uniform rules need to be put in writing by the child's parent, Campbell tells ABC.
"In no way, shape or form are we trying to discriminate against her," Campbell tells the network.
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 32)
1-21-2011 @ 1:01PM
phil said...You just gave me an idea. If were to claim the towel wrapped on my head was a cultural thing, that would give me a blocking edge against the other team. Suddenly, I am a foot taller and I can block an opponents pass with a simple neck movement! Wow! Everyone on my team would suddenly become Hindi! Folks. They call it a uniform...for a reason. Where does it end?
1-20-2011 @ 4:39PM
NORMA C. said...Ever heard of "when in Rome do as the Romans do" So if they want to be in this country they should do as any other Americian. When I went to school you had to play by the dress code. If playing on a school team they should wear the same uniform or gym clothes that the school has. Nothing more nothing less.
1-20-2011 @ 6:21PM
A guy... said...@Norma, I didnt know our country was run by a book of sayings... I thought it was the constitution...
1-20-2011 @ 3:37PM
jay said...I think it is safety issue......if the girl cannot see because of a scarf then she might get hit in the head!
Reply
1-20-2011 @ 3:39PM
Gia said...Come to Dearborn Michigan. You'll see things you never thought you see in your life. Everyone wears those head wraps and worse! Some wear the ones where they are so fully covered there's even a little black screen covering the opening for their eyes! It's spooky and weird and those types of garments should have to come off for License pictures and other important items. It may be their religion but they are in AMERICA and there's no other country in the world that bends over backwards to appease immigrants! Back when my family came here from Sicily, they got the crap jobs, were treated poorly and there wasn't anyone to help them learn English. They learned on their own, got jobs and built their families. Nobody gave them hand outs. Nobody changed the school lunches so they could eat the foods they were used to. Nobody showed them how to get tax breaks and freebies galore! There was no such thing. So why in the hell are we knocking ourselves out making things so easy for people from other countries to live here? Most of them seem to be sucking down the welfare and Socical Security money at an alarming rate! Now with all of us regular middle class people losing our jobs and homes, just how the hell is the systems supposed to support everyone? We need JOBS in Michigan! We need to stop allowing these tax breaks to people who come here with all the money in the world, build HUGE mansion type homes and then change the name of the owner to a "Cousin" every 7 years or whatever the tax laws are now. It's a joke. They come here and know EXACTLY how to scam the system and our stupid system allows it. I'm tired of it. We lived here our whole lives and we don't get a tax break so what the hell is going on here?
Reply
1-20-2011 @ 3:44PM
finmary11 said...Gia, It's not part of their religion. It is a custom and a cultural thing. People confuse the difference because they're too afraid to stand up. If I were to wear a mask inside a store I would be asked to remove it. Not making a Muslim woman do the same is discrimination.
1-20-2011 @ 3:58PM
lara said...remember 911?? they said they would take us down from within and put a mosque on every corner.. it is happening!!!
1-20-2011 @ 4:14PM
Get Real said...Maybe you need to educate yourself on who is exactly on welfare. The majority of people on welfare are Caucasian, not even African American or Asian. Like most Americans and their ancestors, my parents and grandparents came to America for opportunity and a better life. A majority of Americans work hard and don't ask for welfare or hand outs, that goes for all races and religions and what not. So to insinuate that only muslim or "foreigners" are the ones draining social security and on welfare is wrong.
In fact Americans can learn something from foreigners...when you got to the doctor or the hospital, how many foreign doctors do you see? Asian people work hard and they push their children for higher education, that's why you have so many Indian, Asian, Muslim doctors. That's why they have huge mansions. Don't hate and get real. Americans can learn something from all "these people" and get ahead instead of collecting welfare in the trailer park.
1-20-2011 @ 4:34PM
kpamesa said...Very well said, Gia! It is time for us to quit worrying about being politically correct, to stop giving away the barns to buy horses and
if that offends the minority, so be it. Our ancesters came here to make a better life for themselves and their families and worked hard to become good Americans. When did this become such a bad thing?
1-20-2011 @ 9:57PM
Omar said...Some people are so ignorant it's ridiculous! Hijab or headscarf is not a cultural thing at all, it is purely religious and if you think otherwise then you obviously do not know what you are talking about and are better off not saying something which makes you look more stupid than you probably are.
1-20-2011 @ 5:19PM
Kay said...Gia you certainly hit that nail on the head!!
1-20-2011 @ 3:38PM
Yaya said...How about learning some tolerance? Surely, as Americans, we can overlook such petty arguments. In their homeland country, they are brutal with such laws-- we, as Americans, are civil and should be tolerant for such encounters. It's NOT about being right or wrong- it's about being HUMAN and DECENT, something THEIR HOME COUNTRY KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT.
Reply
1-20-2011 @ 3:42PM
Lol said...Haha, are you kidding me? America maybe half civil now but they were nothing of the sort before.
1-20-2011 @ 6:37PM
CPU64 said...Excuse me? tolerant? so we must be the only ones who accept everyone else's differences? No. Rules are rules and they exist for EVERYONE. Just because its a culture thing for her, doesn't mean the uniform rule must be changed just for her. I'm sure basketball is NOT part of her country's culture, so why change it to fit her?
1-20-2011 @ 4:02PM
lara said...sorta like when they cut off our soldiers and reporters heads. that kind of tolerance??? this is America.. adjust to our ways or stay home!!!
1-20-2011 @ 6:18PM
kittyfriskywhiskers said...Yeah....and just look at what being kind and tolerant has gotten us from these people.........sorry..........but I don't trust any of them. You can only get bitten so many times from the same dog before you learn to walk a wide berth and keep your distance.......if you want to label me as racist, that's fine, I really don't care. I'd rather be cautious/wary and safe than trusting/blind and dead. You have 9/11 and what followed in its wake to thank for my attitude. here we are, just sitting here minding our own business, then WHAM....and watching the (radical) Muslims dancing, cheering, and high five-ing our demise. They are here infiltrating our society from within, any Muslim dying in the process is a martyr. So I really don't give a flip about who knows how I *really* feel. At least I don't pus*yfoot around and talk out of both sides of my mouth about it, I'm honest and forthcoming. Too bad who doesn't like it.
1-20-2011 @ 3:42PM
Lol said...I think it's funny that a seventh grader wearing a piece of cloth on her head can be seen as a safety threat. Worst that'll happen is that it slips over her face momentarily.
It's obviously descrimination, nothing more to it. It's not like it's a surprise. Well, that and there hasn't been much bashing against them for awhile now so there need to be a way to draw attention back.
Reply
1-20-2011 @ 5:24PM
Kay said...Lol - you are definitely in denial. Can you spell "suicide bomber"?
1-20-2011 @ 5:33PM
Kay said...Lol - you need to wake up! Can you spell "suicide bomber"?
1-20-2011 @ 11:22PM
dino said...How Exactly is this "DISCRIMINATION?"