Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Quebec Teen Looks to Islamic Muscle to Settle Hijab Dispute

As per official FIFA regulations, a Quebec teen has been bold she cannot wear her hijab while refereeing soccer games. She isn't taking it very well:
...Sarah Benkirane, 15, said her Montreal-area soccer association informed her she could no longer referee games wearing her traditional Muslim head scarf after someone filed a complaint with the league.
Benkirane, in her second season as a ref for the Lac-St-Louis Regional Soccer Association, was told religious symbols like hijabs may not be worn on the pitch.
But the teenager insists she’s not going to give up on her summer job that easily.
“I was kind of frustrated, but right away I started to think, ‘OK, this is my chance, if they want to rule (on) this then I’m going to fight it — for sure,’ ” Benkirane said in an interview Tuesday.
“I grew up with friends from every different culture and nobody’s ever discriminated against (me) because of religion.”
Benkirane said she’s contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations CANADA and plans to put pressure on the Canadian Soccer Association to force Quebec’s governing soccer body to overturn its decision...
That should put the fear of God into 'em.

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