[sadean]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...slim_lawsuit_1

Quote:

An Oklahoma school district has revised its dress code to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a sixth-grader who wanted to wear her Muslim head scarf to class.

That good, but on the other hand:

Quote:

Starting this fall, students can wear religious head coverings to school if they apply and have their requests approved by the school board, officials said.

Should people have to ask "permission" to wear religiously/culturally significant symbols?

 

[mahdokht]

No the shouldn't and within reason, they should be able to determine and intepret their religious beliefs themselves. Which means that if I belong to a religion that has only been around 30 years and has no links to the Abrahamic three that says that I must wear Y kind of head covering, then it should be allowed too.

 

[pammysue]

I think the reason the school board put that caveat on their ruling about the head coverings to prevent it from being abused. If you read the article it states:

Quote:

School officials said her clothing violated a dress code banning hats, bandanas and other head coverings - a rule intended to curb gang-related activity.

So, the board had concerns about "head coverings" (probably hats) being used to identify one as part of a gang. I am sure they were concerned about a student (or group of students) stating their choice of "head covering" was for religious reasons when in fact it had other meanings. There are high school students that, I am sure, would abuse this new ruling. I can imagine the baord being concerned about students wearing baseball caps cocked to one side and telling the administrators that this was for religious reasons and name some "religion" they had made up during study hall.

Yes, I agree that it is not the job of the school board to "determine and interpret" anyone's religion and/or each person's symbol of said religion. However, the board is ultimately responsible for making sure the schools are run productively and in a manner that is safe for all students.

 

[PikkuMyy]

Yeah, except that NO ONE wears the most common (and old) religious headcoverings unless they belong to that religion. THere aren't any gangs that wear Muslim head scarves just for girls. It just doesn't happen! I think the entire thing was created because of some fear of Muslims and I'm against the rule at all.

 

[pammysue]

Pikku-my point was that the students would choose to wear the headcovering that symbolized their gang affiliation (i.e. a baseball cap cocked to one side, a red bandana) and use the rule about religious headcoverings to justify their wearing them. Not that they would wear a Hijab if they were not part of a religion that required such.

Also, they fact that they stated that the rule was originally intended to "curb gang related activity", revised it to state that Hijabs and other "religious head coverings" were acceptable and subsequently gave the student permission to wear hers, shows that the rule was not driven by a "fear of Muslims."

Peace,

 

[sadean]

Well, I disagree, given the history (which was talked about at length on MDC) that this had nothing to do with Muslims and hijab. The excuse they have been using has been the coorelation of head wear and gang related violance. However, this child was expelled for simply wearing the hijab and because of outside pressure (the ACLU, etc.) she has been reinstated to school...not becuase I really believe the school board had a change of heart. It would not look very good for the school board to say, "yes, we discriminated against this child because she is Muslim, but now we have changed our minds"

: They need a "plausible" excuse, abeit one based on fear and loathing of a percieved threat (which in my opinion is likely based on race, but that is an entirely different discussion).

And I think we give the children of this country too little credit, which is exemplified in my mind by the idea that high school students will automatically try and pull a fast one, and therefore the actins of the school board are justified. I think this ruling simply gives the school board the right to say what is "real" religious expression is, and have the freedom to excuse whom they choose.

I have issues with this desicion on several different level, but hopefully this ruling is a small victory on which other victories can be won.