And hijabs on the pitch are out:
Soccer’s legislators have ruled that no player can wear a head scarf on the field.
The International Football Association Board was asked at its annual meeting Saturday to adjudicate on a decision to ban an 11-year-old Ottawa Muslim girl from playing in a tournament near Montreal last weekend because she was wearing a head scarf.
“If you play football there’s a set of laws and rules, and law four outlines the basic equipment,” said Brian Barwick, chief executive of the English Football Association, which is one of the IFAB members.
“It’s absolutely right to be sensitive to people’s thoughts and philosophies, but equally there has to be a set of laws that are adhered to, and we favour law four being adhered to.”
Law four lists the items a player is entitled to wear and head scarves are not mentioned.
Hissy fits may now resume in earnest.
It seems a tragedy to be using an eleven year old girl to make a statement on any side.
If there is a uniform and rules they should apply to all, no exceptions.
In our Judeo-Christian country we have gone to great and outrageous lengths to make our newer immigrants feel at home.
We’ve even taken Christmas out of our Public Schools in some areas.
Strange…the “reader topics” thread posts a “server error” message (which may explain the lack of reader comments)
The plague of self-delusion
“ In 1969 Nathaniel Branden’s The Power of Self- Esteem appeared and changed the landscape of our psychology and language. ——Self-esteem is synonymous with self-worth.
——85 per cent of parents think praising their kids is very important—
But it turns out self- esteem can really be deceptive —
Not only will too much praise lead to self-deception. It can be positively paralyzing.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_handler/20070303.html
Sorry that was supposed to be in reader tips.
Let the fire and riots begin. I wonder which soccer pitch will go first?
The was a problem posting in the reader tips thread. It should be fixed now.
Bravo to the IFAB–would that we had had as much common sense over the turban on our Mounties. What don’t the whiners understand about the word ‘uniform’?
There was a silly article in the Ottawa Citizen yesterday that stated ‘a bomb cannot be hidden under a hijab’. There are bombs that explode visibly, and there are bombs that explode our culture all to he**. This issue is one of the latter.
“Pushing the radical Islamic agenda on every front, constantly. Why doesn’t the CBC investigate who put the idea in this little girl’s mind to be an advocate for the suppression of women’s rights? (Rhetorical exit question.)”
From LGF’s post on the same topic.
Here’s a link to start her and her family on their quest to find a place more accepting of their beliefs.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/nonresidents/individuals/leaving-e.html
The refreshing thing here is the referee making the right call, by the rules, and then IFAB backs him up. Awesome. About freakin’ time, frickin’ A ref, frickin’ A IFAB. Way to have a pair.
Conservatives, take heart. The rules matter.
We should be thankful her favorite sport is not the the 100m butterfly . . . it would be unfair with all that drag.
If you don’t like the rules, don’t play.
The hijab has no place in Canada – keep it out of Canada.
I have to admit I’m surprised at FIFA – they are an organization modelled on the U.N., and as such is just as corrupt and flawed.
As a footy fan this I find this as unlikely as the SCOC ruling against the hijab.
I disagree in principle with this ruling but agree that a rule is a rule.
However, the rules should be amended to allow female/nonprofessional players to wear the scarf.
I don’t believe that the Hajib confers any risk or advantage to the players. It does seem, however, that this girl is a good player, and raises doubts as to the motives for flagging her.
This reminds me of the Golf tournament when Annika’s brilliant shot was penalized for being out of turn; of course, the US had waited to see how she did before they called her on it.
I trust this will apply to yarmulkes.
This 11 year old girl and her parents knew that this day would come. I wonder about children who are taught to stake their claim, and try to get the rules changes to suit them, rather than they conform to the standards set years and years before she was even born. I totally agree with the family that they will have to move to somewhere that is more along their line of thinking. Perhaps a Muslim dominant country is more conducive to their way of life.
Sounds like CBC.
“Soccer officials fail to change rules about wearing hijab”
Not ruled, not decided.
But failed!
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/03/03/fifa-hijab.html
The issue is really quite simple and the family of the girl who insists on wearing a hijab has an equally simple choice to make:
Either you stop wearing the hijab or you don’t play soccer.
The international rules are clear for everyone, of whatever faith, creed, or ethnic group. Why should special accommodations be made for Muslims? Special accommodations aren’t made for any other group, nor should they be.
This is a pre-meditated and contrived tempest in a thimble. The family that wants to insist that its daughter be able to wear a hijab AND play soccer has some re-thinking to do. And it would be lovely if they would cease and desist from wasting everybody’s time and false sympathy.
This hijabed girl is not a victim. She has simply revealed that she’s not willing to play by the rules. We all have to play by the rules–or else we end up with total anarchy–and the sooner she and her family come to terms with this fact of communal life, the better.
I presume she does not wear shorts as well, as that would be forbidden by her religion. Let the manufactured outrage continue.
I just saw this on Global National they said that the ref was a muslim! That takes the whole bite out of the argument doesn’t. It is interesting the CBC did not get that part.
Moreso, Russ, by the fact that her mother is an Italian-Canadian who converted to Islam.
From the Globe & Mail:
“Asmahan’s parents are white-collar workers. Her father, Youssef, is from Lebanon and her mother, Maria, is of Italian origin and does not wear a hijab. Mrs. Mansour said her daughter is a practising Muslim who decided to wear a hijab when she was 9.”
While it’s one thing for the mother to be stupid enough to convert to the religion of misogyny, it’s quite another to indocrinate her own daughter in it and to try to make her the poster girl for it.
I trust this will apply to yarmulkes.
Posted by: Dr.Dawg at March 3, 2007 8:15 PM
——————
Don’t worry, Dawg-faced boy. Your Jew-hating friends in the Islamic world refuse to play Israel, resulting in Israel having to compete in the much more competitive UEFA to win a spot in the World Cup.
Scum bag nations like Iran get an easy ride to the finals.
The thing about the hijab is that it is not a religious requirement; nowhere is it mentioned in the Koran.
It is a social requirement, developed over the years, within a tribal society that privileged men and considered women as sexual objects of men’s desire. Therefore, they had to cover themselves, completely, against this desire. The hijab is a partial symbol of this perspective. Therefore, since it is not a symbol of religious devotion but is instead a symbol of sexual submission – I’m against it.
The problem is that the Islamic world has merged sociopolitical behaviour with the religious. If you criticize one aspect, eg the sociopolitical, you are defined as having ‘violated’ their religion. That merger effectively puts all of their social and political behaviour in the religious realm and outside of debate, critique, analysis. Even this young girl can’t see that the hijab is not a religious symbol but an affirmation of her nature as a sexual object.
The referee, by the way, was, according to news reports, a Muslim. The IFAB rules are secular; they are indifferent to religion or cultural symbols.
I find it encouraging that this young girl is playing soccer – an activity that would be banned to her in any Islamic country. I am personally against the hijab because of its denigrating definition of the woman – but, at the same time, I don’t have a problem with this young girl wearing the hijab in a soccer game – because it is showing Muslim women that they can participate in sports.
So- I’m walking a tightrope of indecision.
Since when does everyone wearing a yarmulke come from Israel? What an anti-Semitic comment!
Since when does everyone wearing a yarmulke come from Israel? What an anti-Semitic comment!
Posted by: Dr.Dawg at March 3, 2007 9:11 PM
—————–
I think you’re supposed to say that Arabs are Semites too, so they can’t be anti-Semites. That’s the stock anti-Semite reply.
[cut the name-calling and insults or you will be banned – Moderator]
A player in the last World Cup – can’t remember if he was from Ghana or Ivory Coast – well anyhow he scored a couple of goals and on both occasions he pulled a small Israel flag out of his sock and gleefully waved it around. Turns out he plays his club football in Tel Aviv.
Imagine that: no one told the black African that Israel is an apartheid state.
And CBC news describes the wearing “Religious” head ware as a matter of rights!
So, then…what about my original question? Kinda got lost amid all the stupid neo-McCarthyite blather, didn’t it?
I’d love to see Israel playing against its neighbors in the middle east. That’d be a hoot really.
and if the islamic countries choose not to play them… well I guess Israel can accept those wins by default, and advance to play against real countries in Europe.
It’s a long way off from now, but it’ll be interesting if the SCC sees this as a “rights issue” and sides with the muslim girl… and we see Canada ousted from international competion for flouting IFAB rules…
No, it was predictable and boring, and the answer is obvious
I could never stay behind at school to play baseball. Or go and play hockey.
I had chores to do at home on the farm.
As much as I wanted to play I couldn’t.
Life went on and I have gone on to enjoy other things in my adult life.
She will too…if the press and her parents let her.
Holy cow, pig, rodent, shellfish, bullshit:
In case you don’t know the girl’s team and four others from Ottawa quit the tournament in Quebec by vote of the players.
http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/BreakingNews/2007/02/28/3676886.html
“Ontario’s soccer association lets players wear religious headgear, while Quebec’s rules are more vague.”
This is no plot by the great Islamic menace to undermine our world as we know it. Dr Dawg may disagree with most of you on most things. But deal with the questions he raises rather than writing: “Here’s another little nugget for Jew-hating Dawg-faced yarmulke-watchers”.
I may soon be permanently out of here. As a teen-age communist, then socialist, later anarchist, then Rhino Party member, and finally conservative. Guess what? Hatred is not the answer. Sarcasm, invective and, if smart, irony are appropriate. Other things bring one down the bin Laden level.
Mark
Ottawa
[One warning has already been issued to cut out the name calling. Please keep this thread civilized – Kevin]
I apologize to all, especially Dr. Dawg.
I remain against the hijab though.
Kevin: I did not engage in “name calling”. I quoted. One who, it seemed to me (amongst some others) was being rather less than “civilized”.
Mark
Ottawa
Mark, I just wanted to reduce the temperature on this thread, and your opening line was rather inflammatory. Carry on, all, just keep it civil please. – Kevin
I remember boys on on my son’s soccer team being told that they could not play in the field wearing a baseball hat.
yarmakuh-wearing boys will not be joining leagues that play on Friday nights or Saturdays – I don’t recall demands to change soccer leagues to suit their religious practices
I accept your apology, Matt. Never mind the symbolic aspects of the hijab (and the debate around that is complex), surely it doesn’t get in the way of a good game. Have the girls tuck it into the neck of their uniform if there’s a practical problem.
Is it headgear in general, or the symbolic baggage of the hijab, that’s really at stake here?
“The thing about the hijab is that it is not a religious requirement; nowhere is it mentioned in the Koran.”
Surah 33-59
Oh Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known (as free and respectable women) so as not to be annoyed.
With all the back and forth about rules, you all are missing the point. I am sick and tired of bending over backwards to make sure no one’s feelings get hurt. The same goes with the turbans on mounties. If you do not like the way we do things, leave and don’t let the door hit your backside on the way out. Life is not fair, I am not fair, nature is not fair. Get over it, I am tired of all the crying about hurt feelings.
Ivan
It is interesting to note that this non event went all the way to the international football federation for a glimpse.
A nothing event, appreciated only by the participants, taken to an international forum. Why, what is the deal? It kind of boggles the mind.
If you look at junior hockey, they are kids full of enthusiasm and want of playing the game, they are rough and if they were allowed they would be even rougher, and nothing goes to the international federation.
It must be the publicity with apparent help and cooperation of the Communist Broadcasting Corporation, not watching the channel one really can’t say too much, only what can be derived from some of the comments. It would seem that the channel would like Diktat to be instituted so they will be the arbiters of what should be and no one else.
Perhaps it would be advisable at the offices of immigration everywhere to explain to potential immigrants what is this country about, what are its customs and perhaps they may find it difficult to live here if they want to change the locals to their liking.
Now the CBC may find it difficult to accept this, since it is not a Diktat, only a suggestion.
I’m an immigrant.
I’ve been fortunate enough, in the 11 years that I’ve coached youth sports, that the parents (or other adults) have had nothing in mind but the children. Anyone … parents, associations that want to make a statement … as far as I’m concerned … can go and f**k themselves.
If I’m not clear enough … even if the parents of an 11 year old child are complete a-holes … let the child play.
I have to say I’m puzzled by the attention this story has gotten, too. I play soccer and some refs are outrageously picky about the equipment, and others just point out things that could reasonably affect safety.
Surely these sorts of questions could be sorted out between the teams, referees and the local soccer association. Having politicians commenting and FIFA getting a ruling from FIFA strikes me as bizarre.
And it is really incredible that multiple teams pulled out of a tournament over something like this. They must feel like fools now that FIFA itself has endorsed the referee’s decision.
The claim is she chose to wear the hijab.
She also chose to play soccer on a non-religious public atmosphere with her religious symbolism displayed.
Is she so devout at ll years of age that she can’t be a kid?
Just read at LGF that a Texas girl wearing a hijab did get seriously hurt during a game.
Her family sued to allow her to play in one, now they are sueing because the officials did not make her comply with the rules and she got hurt.
… and the beat goes on, while the LSM shills for more tolerance from non-muslims …
cal -yes, in a slightly different translation from yours, the reference is:
XXIV: 30- “let them cast their veils over their bosoms, and not reveal their adornment save to their husbands”
That’s it. Nothing about the hijab and covering the hair. Nothing about the veil over the face either.
Remember that the Koran was written by a people living in the desert – requiring garments shielding the body from the sun and sand. Remember also, that it was written within a pastoral nomadic economy – which explains a LOT of the other sociopolitical rules.
My point is that the hijab has nothing to do with any religious requirement, and that Islam itself has so merged a sociopolitical mode of life of the 7th century with a religious ideology that it has sealed that social and political behaviour into concrete. Not only is it difficult for Muslims to challenge this behaviour, but, it prevents the rest of the world from criticizing it – because just about everything they do is ‘off limits’ as ‘required by religion’.
If the world soccer rules say ‘no headgear’, then, it’s no headgear. It would be great if this young woman could show that she can be Muslim AND also a participant in activities that have universal rules. Not wearing the hijab won’t make her any less of a Muslim. If her Muslim identity exists only through her clothes, then, she’s no different from any teenage clothes fanatic.
ET,
11 years old … your expecting more from her than most of your students can deliver.
You can find all kinds of contradictory rules/suggestions/guidance in the koran. Each iman makes up his own as he goes as well. This from a female co-worker whose ex is muslim…That’s a big part of the problem with the religion . There’s lots of confusion.
Ridiculous decision.
I’m an evangelical Christian and obviously not a supporter of the wide influence of Islam.
However, I’m also a BIG fan of personal freedom. Let the girl wear her head scarf. There’s no reason not to. Where’s the big safety risk?
In these days of trying to have kids wear helmet while riding their sleds it drives me crazy when there are arbitrary rules.
Why not say… “Gee, the rules were interpreted correctly but we didn’t anticipate a situation like this. In the future, religious garb will be permitted as long as it doesn’t cause a significant safety risk”.
Quit making so many rules and let people live.
Who cares!
Let her play!
“Quit making so many rules and let people live.”
No one is MAKING rules. They are simply enforcing rules that already exits. If you want to play the game follow the rules. If not, find another game.
Horny Toad
“No one is MAKING rules. They are simply enforcing rules that already exits. If you want to play the game follow the rules. If not, find another game.”
Of course SOMEONE made the rules. They were MADE by someone.
“If you want to play the game follow the rules. If not, find another game.”
Well fine, but somehow you leave out the possibility that the rule is asinine and should be changed.
Stupid rule. They should admit it’s stupid and let her play. I hate it when people say “our hands are tied, we can’t do anything” as if the rules are somehow eternally unalterably fixed, instead of finding what, in this case, is an extremely simple solution.
Change the rule and let her play.
This blog talks far to much and says far too little
Whats strange is that if it was a Christian’s freedom of religion that was being infringed the usual suspects at SDA would be up in arms.
I believe in FOR and reasonable accomodations for ALL religions, and excess concessions to NONE.
A little consistency would be nice here. You can’t degrade the entire concept of secularism in one context and embrace it when it serves as a useful tool with which to beat another religion.
I wonder what the differences are between the Nazi’s and Islam, as far as their social disorders go? They both advocate genocidal activities.
That in consideration, why not Swastika headbands? It’s just a political statement, just like the hijab is.
A few people here have drawn parallels between the whole turban-Mountie issue and the hijab. I think the two are similar in that they both represent cases of minority groups attempting to change the established rules – thereby taking advantage of Canada’s bend-over-backwards, don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings, spineless “standards”. But, I don’t think that they’re identical.
At least the Sikhs could point to precedent. In India, Sikhs have, for centuries, been allowed to wear the turban as part of their British military uniform – going back to the days of the red-coat. Since, technically, the RCMP are “Royal” in that they are loyal and committed to service of the same crown, the Sikhs could at least make an argument that went beyond “that’s not fair, I don’t like it; change to accomodate my whims”. And, as I recall, the turban issue only extended to the RCMP – not other police forces.
Just point out a technicality.