Letters to the Editor
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Seems reasonable
It's a custom not a commandment. Like the kippah in Judaism, it is a custom not a law. One is free to wear it or not. The excuse that Allah will smite thee dead is selfserving nonsense. I mean seriously, what if they're at a sporting event and they have to take a shower? Do they have to leave it on then too? Of course not. Muslims have to stop making a test case out of this.
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Seems reasonable
It's a custom not a commandment. Like the kippah in Judaism, it is a custom not a law. One is free to wear it or not. The excuse that Allah will smite thee dead is selfserving nonsense. I mean seriously, what if they're at a sporting event and they have to take a shower? Do they have to leave it on then too? Of course not. Muslims have to stop making a test case out of this.
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Play by the rules of the game
I don't know enough about tae kwan do to say whether this is reasonable or not, but almost all competetive sports have strict dress codes so I don't see why tae kwan do would be any different. And I bet a lot of them have clothing rules that don't really make sense to everyone. I can't get too upset that this sport is enforcing their rules, especially since these rules were probably available to anyone entering the sport. I 'm unclear, however, how a head scarf is a problem in a classroom.
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We need more info on the "Political climate in Quebec"
Its what hyperlinked text is all about.
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Wrong before, but unenforced is still wrong
If you get pulled over for speeding, I think you should explain to the cop that you have driven by a number of cops at that same speed before and they didn't issue you a citation. Therefore, you shouldn't get one this time.
When that happens, tell us how far that excuse got you.
Next time you call Microsoft Windows tech support because a third party application you purchased isn't working, and they tell you it's outside of their area of support, try explaining to them that the last guy helped you and see how far that gets you.
Just because you got away with breaking the rules N times, does not mean you have the right to get away with breaking the rules.
Tae Kwon Do has an international governing body that sets the rules of the competition. The rules are enforced by human beings, some of whom may have shown inappropriate lenience.
However, I don't think it is a young Canadien woman's right to participate in Tae Kwon Do, just as I don't think such participation is compulsory.
Stupid rules should be changed, sure. However, the reason for change has never been "because I broke this rule before without incident."
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another example of intolerance
Dear Editor,
This most recent hijab-ban in Quebec is just another example of the province's xenophobes asserting their power. There is absolutely no excuse for this behaviour -these young women have competed with hijabs before and certainly wearing a headscarf fits easily into the category of "reasonable accommodation". As I said, this is just an example Quebecois xenophobia at work, and it is shameful. I should note that the organizer of the meet had asked the referee to let the girls compete in the tournament and then take the whole issue to the international governing body to sort it out, but the referee would not comply with the request.
To be frank, I hope that this issue (and the equally shameful case of the young soccer player) make it to the Supreme Court of Canada - frankly, I suspect, any court - where this kind of outright bigotry is sure to be overturned and condemned. Muslims in Canadian - in this case, Quebec - society are being subjected to unreasonable and ridiculous discrimination and it is time that this stopped. At the least, let's identify this as what it is - ie., the expression of outright prejudice.
These kind of actions are an embarrassment to Canada and a black mark against our ideal of creating a tolerant, multicultural society. And yes, that applies in Quebec, too.
Sincerely,
Shaun Narine
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What a bunch of Meanies!
You would really tell a little 8 year old girl she can’t play because of a little head scarf? This isn’t mortal combat or military service these children are walking into – it’s just a friendly competition and one they’ve taken part in before. These kids (all of them) are learning sportsmanship. It’s a game. It’s play time! It’s time to meet other kids and share common interests and show everyone what you’ve got.
Adults determined to following every single rule of a children’s game, no matter how many little girls they make cry or hurt along the way, are very un-cool.
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Explained?
This is the worry in soccer, which offically bans jewelry and watches:
The idea is that with arms and hands flying (as when going up to head the ball), a necklace can potentially catch a finger and cause injury. That is, the finger can be yanked, dislocated or even broken if caught in a larger chain, or cut with a thinner chain. Or, the person wearing the chain can accidentally have their neck pulled down quickly and violently.
I never really bought into this rule until one game in high school when I came down and hurt my elbow on something and it started to bleed pretty seriously. I turned around and saw that the guy I was going up against had a metal watch on, and somehow his watch and my elbow collided. Ever since then, I've been a believer that in such situations, it best to remove all jewelry.
Better referees actually check out all players before each match, and actually looks for necklaces, bracelets, watches, etc.. Worse refers, lazier refs and lower level refs often do not.
I've got to think that hijabs pose the same kind of danger as necklaces. People move quickly, in close contact. Fingers could easily get caught, and then pulled dangerously. That these girls had not encountered referees in their sport who were concerned with this does not mean that is not actually a real rule.
If there were some kind of break-away hijab, that woud be a different matter. But the cultural (NOT reglious) desire to avoid revealing the head and neck seems to be running afoul an honest safety issue. Sports like this, with lots of physical contact and little no real safety equipment really DO have to take these things seriously.
So, Tracy, how does that matter get raised without seeming to be anti-Arab or anti-Persian? This is not a new rule, nor is it an irratational rule. I would suggest that earlier referees/tournement organizers were at fault for not enforcing the rules properly in the past. If some girl's finger had gotten broken at another tournement, the tournment would have been at fault for not enforcing the rules designed to prevent such things. The fact is that these girls were endangering their oppenents far more than themselves (i.e. necks are stronger than fingers).
Should these girls get a waiver from a safety rule? Or are you saying that rule is an unwise one, regardless of cultural sensitivities? If these girls can wear hijabs in the ring, then should others be able to wear rings, watches, bracelets and necklaces? If it is not an unwise rule without taking cultural differences into account, under what circumsances should cultural differences trump safety?
I think that it is wonderful that athletes can compete without violating their cultural norms. I thinkt that it is great that the athlete Ruqaya Al Ghasara can compete with her hijab. I applaud finding ways for female swimmers to compete as well. But not all athletic endeavors are equal. There is a big difference between contact and non-contact sports.
So, if you want to take a stand on this, I think you should either:
a) come out against this particular safety rule overall, and explain why.
b) explain why hijabs should be excempt from this particular safety rule, and explain why.
or c) acknowledge that, unfortunately, for the sake of safety, these girls should not wear their hijabs in competition.
Or, you could just acknowledge that safety rules in contact sports are not arbitrary, are preeminently important in YOUTH sports, and that you should speak to people who really understand them (the sports and the rules in question) before castigating them.