School girl not allowed to wear "head gear"

[Guest SikhForLife]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/10/11/sc...reut/index.html

Muslim girl suspended for head scarf

Saturday, October 11, 2003 Posted: 5:17 AM EDT (0917 GMT)

The school board is expected to have a decision next Wednesday on whether Hern can return to school wearing her head scarf, officials said.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) -- An 11-year-old Oklahoma girl has been suspended from a public school because officials said her Muslim head scarf violates dress code policies.

Board officials met Friday to discuss the fate of suspended sixth-grader Nashala "Tallah" Hern, who was asked to leave school in the eastern Oklahoma town of Muskogee on October 1 because she refused to remove her head scarf, called a "hijab."

School officials instituted a dress code in 1997 prohibiting the wearing of hats and other head coverings indoors. Officials said they implemented the code to stem gang-related activity. Hern declined to remove her hijab, saying it would violate the way she observes her religion.

Officials at the school, the Ben Franklin Science Academy, previously summoned Hern to the office on September 11 to inform her she was no longer allowed to wear the scarf. She had worn it since the school year started

a few weeks earlier.

A school attorney said federal education rules adopted in 1998 do not allow for exceptions for religious beliefs.

"As I see it right now, I don't think we can make a special accommodation for religious wear," said school attorney D.D. Hayes. "You treat religious items the same as you would as any other item, no better, no worse. Our dress code prohibits headgear, period."

He added that, under the dress code, a Jewish child would not be allowed to wear a yarmulke, the skullcap traditionally worn by orthodox Jews, to school.

Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Washington D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Muslim girl is being singled out because of her religious beliefs.

The girl's father met with school officials Friday in a closed-door hearing to appeal the decision. The school board is expected to have a decision next Wednesday on whether the girl can return to school wearing her head scarf, officials said.

[S1ngh]

on very first day of me in high skool.. i was approached by the supervisor back in small 7000 ppls only town in georgia.. She asked me in very EXTRA nice way about my turban.. and then she said.. acc. to skool policy noo head gear is allowed, so she said.. "I see no problem cauz it's ur religious symbol".. then she went to principal and within a second principal came out to me just to say "welcome to skool" :umm:

Oklahoma.. ehhh .. whats up with ur peeps rochak.. :e:

[Jassika]

pretty stupid school

[Jkaur]

da same prob happened in singapore too... thank god we dont have this problem in malaysia :umm: ... yeah pretty stupid school i can say.. cant they differenciate btwn a hijab and a headgear :umm:

[Guest mehtab]

S1ngh Posted on Oct 12 2003, 03:57 AM

Oklahoma.. ehhh .. whats up with ur peeps rochak.. 

well not one Singh in my university (in stillwater...around 70 miles from oklahoma city) was told to not wear his turban . Surprisingly the Sikh Gurdwara of Oklahoma is also in Oklahoma City and after 9/11 the local tv station made a video of Sikhs doing kirtan in the Gurdwara (i m also in that video wearing a turban :e: but never saw it on tv :'( ).

looks like these rednecks need more religion classes :umm:

[GABROO KHALISTAN DAH]

tha's damn sad, hopefully rochak will go whoop some <admin-profanity filter activated> :umm:

[Guest mehtab]

GABROO KHALISTAN DAH Posted on Oct 12 2003, 01:13 PM

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tha's damn sad, hopefully rochak will go whoop some

hehehehehe ...i dont need to...if i dont shave for 10 days u shud see the fear on their face when they see me...LOL :e:

[GABROO KHALISTAN DAH]

hahaaa GOOOOOOOOOOO ROCHAKKKKKKKKK

[Mkhalsa]

rochak in a turban?!

VAH VAH!!!!!!! :e:

lets work on that not shaving now :

and then come see me and vicky singh.. he will help u be and ill turn u into :nihungsmile:

:umm:

[me moorakh mugadh]

vwihgurU jI kw Kwlsw!

vwihgurU jI kI &iqh!!

ROCHAK MERE BHAI HUN AMRIT SHAK LAVO VEERJEO AND BE THIS>>> AFTER SOME TIME BE THIS>>>> :nihungsmile: ULL LOOK SO GOOD