Velcro's dramatic save leads football to lift ban on hijab
New pinless headscarf persuades world body to reverse ruling
ANDREW WARSHAW SUNDAY 04 MARCH 2012

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/velcros-dramatic-sa\
ve-leads-football-to-lift-ban-on-hijab-7534753.html

What is banned in French schools and Turkish libraries, but allowed on the
football pitch? Answer: the hijab, which women will soon be allowed to wear when
they play the beautiful game.

The International Football Association Board, world soccer's rule-making body,
unanimously agreed to overturn a ban on the headscarf at its meeting in Surrey
yesterday.

But it took the intervention of a Jordanian prince, Premier League footballers
– and a new Velcro-based design – to convince the guardians of the game that
Islamic women should be granted their wish. It is expected they will be able to
wear the hijab while playing once the decision has been ratified in July. the
ban was introduced in 2007.

The issue has sparked heated discussion in the United Nations and proved
controversial with Muslim women teams. Last year, Iran was prevented from
playing their 2012 Olympic second round qualifier against Jordan because they
refused to remove their hijabs before kickoff. Iran had topped their group in
the first round of Olympic qualifiers, but were handed 3-0 defeats as a penalty,
ending their dreams of qualifying for London 2012.

Yesterday's ruling by the board – made up of four representatives from the
world governing body Fifa and four from British home associations – was a
triumph for the campaign, led by Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. The prince,
a senior Fifa executive, had warned it would be a retrograde step to turn down
his proposal. He argued that preventing Muslim women players from covering their
heads amounted to unfair prejudice, a stance supported by United Nations
officials and Premier League players, including the Reading striker Jason
Roberts and Tottenham players Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen.

Prince Ali, who has suggested long hair was more likely to cause injury on the
field than a headscarf, has previously said he had not found records of any
hijab-related injuries in women's football.

A parallel has been drawn between the ban and Chelsea's male goalkeeper Petr
Cech, who has worn a protective cap since sustaining a serious head injury. If
Cech was not in breach of the rules, how could the hijab be?

The new design, fastened with Velcro instead of pins, persuaded Fifa that safety
was no longer an issue, bringing soccer in line with rugby and track and field
events.

Some Islamic countries frown upon women playing sport, but Prince Ali, 36, said:
"I'm confident we will see many delighted players returning to the game. This
piece of cloth is simply an issue of modesty; it has nothing to do with
religion."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tabb basketball player Yasmeen Amer wears her faith with pride on court
February 04, 2012|By Marty O'Brien, mobrien@... | 757-247-4963

http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-02-04/sports/dp-spt-tabbjvgirl-0205-20120204\
_1_tabb-jv-muslim-women-tabb-guard

YORK — — There were times after Yasmeen Amer began wearing a hijab that she
felt conflicted and even self-conscious. She wondered how her Tabb High
classmates would react to the scarf and attire traditionally worn by practicing
Muslim women as a form of modesty.

And, as a typical teenager, she was anxious for her peers to admire her hair and
fashion sense. As her faith and self-assurance has grown, Yasmeen has packed
those concerns away with her baby dolls.

"At first I didn't want to do it, but it grew on me," said Yasmeen, a Tabb
sophomore, of wearing a hijab. "I cared about what my friends would think and
whether I'd lose my friends.

"Then I came to realize, 'You know what? They're not my friends if they don't
accept me as who I am.' "

Yasmeen is very much accepted by her teammates on the Tabb High junior varsity
girls basketball team. For one thing, she is an excellent defender although
she's playing basketball for the first time.

What they love most about her is her bubbly personality and boundless
enthusiasm. The preconception some Americans have that Muslim women are shy
because of their covering does not come close to fitting Yasmeen.

"Yasmeen has a very, very positive attitude," Tabb JV girls coach Megan
Stangroom said. "One game she wasn't here, and it was so quiet without her high
energy, clapping and positivity around.

"I love to put her out there when we need to get some sort of tempo on defense.
Then all the sudden we're playing with more intensity, because when one person
steps up, everybody wants to."

Said Laura Barber, a Tabb guard, "She's a very energetic girl. She's always the
one pumping us up before and after games."

Yasmeen went out for the JV basketball team this season because Barber and Tabb
varsity player Brooke Mahan convinced her she could be good at it. Yameen's
attitude was typically sunny.

"I thought, 'Why not? What's going to stop me?' " she said.

Positive attitude not withstanding, basketball is not easy to master when you
begin nearing your 16th birthday. So Yasmeen immediately gravitated toward the
part of the game you can become good at quickly with hustle and enthusiasm:
defense. She is working hard to become a better shooter, passer and dribbler.

"I'll look at a move a girl just did and tell myself, 'I'm going home and
practice that so I can be just as good as she is,' " Yasmeen said. "I've always
picked up sports pretty quickly for some reason.

"Soccer is my main sport, so I'm a fast runner."

Yasmeen started for Tabb last week in a win over Bruton. Her athleticism was
apparent in the several steals and rebounds she had, although she did not score.

She stood out in another way: In addition to covering her hair, Yasmeen wore a
long-sleeved white shirt under her jersey and black leggings beneath her shorts,
because Muslim females who wear hijab must also cover their skin. Because she
wears yoga pants under her shorts in practice, her teammates have nicknamed her
"Yasercize."

Yasmeen, the consummate teammate, accepts the moniker with a smile.

"I love to cheer my team on and I love every single person on it," she said.
"They're like my inspiration and I want to do everything I can to encourage
them."

Some, she senses, are not so accepting of her attire or the Muslim faith it
represents. She has learned not to take the occasional double-takes to heart.

"Honestly, you always get those looks, whispers and stares," she said. "You just
take it, brush it off and say, 'That's just who I am.'

"As I became stronger in my religion and matured, it didn't matter what people
thought of me. It's between me and God.

"My faith guides me and helps me with decisions I need to make. If I question
something, I go and repent to God and ask him for advice, and he's always
there."

Yasmeen, whose parents emigrated to the United States from Egypt in the early
1970s, prays five times a day. She leans on prayer most when she's stressed out
about school.

She's doing very well academically, with a 4.1 grade point average and ambitions
of becoming an anesthesiologist. She balances religious devotion and studying
with basketball, soccer and lots of time for her friends.

Yasmeen fits in perfectly with her teammates and friends, even if her attire
sets her apart. So her days of feeling self-conscious about wearing a hijab
appear to be permanently behind her.

"I can do whatever I want, as a normal American teenager does, but with my
scarf," Yasmeen said. "I love to hang out with my friends, play sports and go to
movies.

"It doesn't hold me back from anything."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Burqa wearing banned in Canada for those taking citizenship oath
Ban on face and full body veils during immigration ceremony is 'matter of deep
principle', says citizenship minister
Ben Quinn and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Monday 12 December 2011 21.38 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/12/burqa-wearing-banned-canada

Muslim women will no longer be able to cover their faces as they take Canadian
citizenship after the country's immigration minister announced a ban on anyone
wearing the niqab – the face veil – or burqa – full body and face covering
– while taking the oath of citizenship.

He said that he had received complaints from citizenship judges who had claimed
that it was difficult to ensure that individuals whose faces were covered were
actually reciting the oath.

"They told me last month that it's a fairly common problem. Every week, in every
region of the country, we're dealing with situations where applicants arrive
with a veil on," said Jason Kenney, the minister of citizenship and immigration.

"Frankly, I found it bizarre that the rules allowed people to take the oath with
a veil on."

He added that the move was also not simply a practical measure, saying: "It is a
matter of deep principle that goes to the heart of our identity and our values
of openness and equality."

Kenney said the oath of citizenship has to be done freely and openly and under
equal conditions.

The announcement was made in the French-speaking province of Quebec, where a law
passed last year banned the wearing of any face cover while applying for
government services in the province.

Legislation that would force individuals to show their face in government-funded
institutions is also currently being considered in Quebec.

Canada's supreme court last week also heard arguments in a case where a Muslim
woman wants to testify while wearing a niqab, pitting her right of religious
freedom against her alleged rapist's right to face his accuser in the trial.

Europe's first ban on face veils came was introduced in April in France, where
anyone wearing the niqab or burqa in public faces a fine or lessons in French
citizenship.

In September, a judge in Meaux fined two French women for wearing the niqab –
the first sanction since France banned Islamic full-face veils in April.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Muslim fencer has it all covered
Dec 8 | By Hannah Storm/Brainstormin Productions

http://espn.go.com/espnw/journeys-victories/7323847/muslim-fencer-ibti-muhammad-\
all-covered

[VIDEO]
When Ibtihaj Muhammad discovered fencing in high school, there was no way she
could have known her hobby would take her all the way to the cusp of the Olympic
Games. Her passion for the sport was much simpler: As a practicing Muslim, she
needed to cover herself in public. Here was a sport that required she do just
that -- while still letting her experience the thrill of competing. Muhammad's
knack for fencing quickly became evident, and she rose through the ranks to
become one of the best in the country. Now, just three months from the
announcement of the 2012 American Olympic team, she is training harder than ever
for a spot on the roster, determined by points in upcoming tournaments. The
competition is intense -- one mistake can be the difference between having a
spot on the team or watching the Games from home -- but Muhammad remains
focused. Her mother, Denise Muhammad, credits her daughter's success in part to
her desire to be the first American
Muslim female Olympian in her sport. espnW learned more from Denise about what
it's been like for Ibti as an ethnic and religious outsider trying to fit in.

espnW: Fencing is a pretty niche sport. At what age did Ibti commit to it?

Denise Muhammad: We didn't even know what it was, really. She started getting
involved with the sport in high school. But even at a young age, I encouraged
all my children to be active. I have four daughters and a son, and they all
played some kind of sport.

espnW: What else did Ibti play?

DM: She swam, played tennis, softball, track and field and volleyball. I'd make
her outfits that covered her arms and legs, which allowed her to participate
while still being true to her faith. She kept with volleyball through high
school, along with fencing. But when it came time for college, it was clear
there were better school opportunities for a fencer than a volleyball player. So
she went that route.

espnW: Were you concerned about her fitting in?

DM: To a certain extent. Fencing is a very white sport. It isn't integrated, so
she was truly a minority when she joined her team. But her teammates have been
very accepting; it's her other friends, especially when she started, that gave
her a hard time -- "You're doing what?!" -- that kind of thing. She learned
early on not to let other people's opinions influence her goals in this sport.

espnW: Is that something she learned from you?

DM: I never played sports; I was just a spectator. I grew up in an era where
girls were not encouraged to play sports. There were no female athletes in my
family before Ibti.

espnW: The religious requirements do make it difficult ...

DM: As a Muslim girl playing school sports, you set yourself up to be singled
out because of altering the uniforms. I don't think any of my Muslim friends or
other Muslim women I knew would have encouraged their daughters to pursue
athletics in a public school. Most of their children went to private schools, so
they didn't have to face that situation. Financially, we couldn't do that. But I
still encouraged my girls to play sports because of what it does for
strengthening your body and your mind, and also because it's a healthy place for
a social life. My girls knew I would never let them go to parties or mingle with
the boys, but that was OK because they could socialize with their teammates.

espnW: What do you want your daughters to gain from playing sports?

DM: I want them to be self-confident. I raised Ibti to be very self-assured.
With sports, when you're good at something, people are drawn to you -- they want
to be around you, you're like a magnet. Ibti has made her identity as a fencer
and an athlete. People respond to that, and it's given her confidence.

espnW: Where does she get her work ethic from?

DM: As a family, we never had money to play with. So it was always, if you're
going to do something, we'll support you, but you need to give it your all.
Don't be lackadaisical. But really, she pushes herself. She's a very competitive
person.

espnW: You probably never imagined her getting to this point. Now that she has,
any thoughts on her future?

DM: Well, last year at this time Ibti's goal was to make the world team. She
kept saying, "Oh, Mom, if I could just make this team ..." And she did. Now
it's, "Oh, Mom, if I could just make the Olympics ..." So that's obviously the
big goal right now. We'll see -- the competition is very tough, but she's also
very focused. As her mother, I don't want her to lose sight of having fun! I
tell her, you don't have to carry our entire community on your shoulders. Just
relax and enjoy it. You can't do any more than what God has planned for you."

-- Julia Savacool
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