2007•12•14 ~ Alberta Soccer Association wrong as wrong can be
For the record.
Does anybody else out there smell something awful around the Hijab soccer issue in Alberta? I’m annoyed. This issue, for me, reeks of something resembling racism. I do not use this word lightly. Racism, according to my computer’s dictionary is: “prejudice or animosity against people who belong to other races.” If it walks like racism, talks like racism, and smells like racism….well? Here’s why I’m using this word: The Alberta Soccer Association has done nothing to prove its case to any sane, rational, thinking human being that a girl wearing a Hijab is a danger to herself, or anybody she might be playing against. The second this issue hit the media, it was incumbent upon this association to make its case publicly, openly, and fully. They did not do this. They have not done this. I understand traditions and rules and uniform codes. I also understand how fear of something we don’t understand can turn evil and racist very quickly. This issue has now been in the media for what, two weeks? What is taking this association so long to make a decision? There is only one sane decision. Make it. And let’s move forward. There is precedence in other parts of the country. This is not, as the association would have us naively believe, a safety issue. It’s a rule issue. It’s a discrimination issue. Will this small-minded association be checking every girl on the field to make sure there are no hidden crosses on fine chains around their necks? Because a cross on a fine chain is, as far as I can tell, a huge safety issue. So let’s sit out any Catholic girls who happen to be wearing crucifixes. Note to the Alberta Soccer Association…grow up. Get over it. Make a quick decision so Alberta does not live up to its red-neck, backwards reputation.
3 Comments
1. Rosemary had this to say: Dec 14, 2007 ~ 10:20 ~ #
I’d agree that it’s racism Thomas, wholeheartedly. It’s like telling people not to wear turbins in the RCMP because it “demeans the traditional Canadian uniform” CRAP people it’s crap! This whole country is filled with immigrants except those who are first nations and we’re all visitors! Stop being so bloody close minded!
2. Adam Snider had this to say: Dec 14, 2007 ~ 10:27 ~ #
How this issue can be considered anything other than Islamophobia is beyond me.
Surely, there have been girls playing soccer while wearing the hijab for years prior to these recent “incidents.” The team in question is an all-Muslim team, and 13 of the players wear the hijab.
Unless this team was literally formed this year, they’ve played while wearing the hijab in the past without incident.
In my mind, the only reason that this has become an issue in 2007 is because people are allowing themselves to fall victim to fear and ignorance. This is Canada, the home of multiculturalism. We should be beyond this kind of petty behaviour.
3. Merle had this to say: Dec 14, 2007 ~ 10:34 ~ #
Well said, how a hijab can be seen to be dangerous in a “hands off” game is beyond me.