By Jonathan Montpetit
LONGUEUIL, Que. (CP) - A taekwondo team of Muslim girls withdrew from a tournament on Sunday after they were barred from taking part with their hijabs, threatening to re-ignite Quebec's contentious debate about accommodating religious minorities.
"I feel very sad because we practised so hard," said 11-year-old Bissan Mansour, who wears a hijab. "We pulled out for a useless reason."
Referees at the Quebec regional Raymond Mourad Championship met Sunday morning, the first day of the tournament, to talk about rules and regulations.
During the discussion, it was brought up that a team from a Muslim community centre in Montreal would be competing with their hijabs.
"The equipment that is allowed under the World Taekwondo Federation rules doesn't include the hijab," said international referee Stephane Menard, who took part in the meeting.
"We applied the rules to the letter."
The team, made up of girls between eight and 12 years old, went home following the decision. A boys team from the same community centre also withdrew upon hearing the news.
Tournament founder Raymond Mourad said he wanted officials to let the Muslim girls compete this time, but his pleas went unheard.
"The kids who came today, we could have let them compete and warned them for next time," Mourad said. "I tried my hardest to do that, but the referee didn't want to hear it."
Officials said the decision was taken for security reasons. Taekwondo is a martial art that involves mainly kicking and throwing, and the fear is that part of the hijab could come loose during a bout.
The sport's international rules stipulate that players must not wear anything under their protective helmets.
Jean Faucher, president of the provincial taekwando federation, ultimately made the decision to apply the rules concerning hijabs.
"I am not a racist or anything," Faucher said. "It's a rule and I'm a guy for the rules."
But May Haydar of the Montreal Muslim Community Centre said the team had participated in the tournament in recent years without any controversy over the wearing of hijabs.
"We believe it's unfair and it's discriminatory against Muslims," Haydar said.
"The girls, they're very disappointed... Some of them, of course, don't understand why this happened because they participated before."
A coach for the boys team said the girls always practise with their hijabs and there has never been an incident.
Concerns about accommodations to minorities have been simmering in Quebec for the past several months, and Sunday's controversy fuelled fears the debate is simply alienating Quebec's cultural communities.
The Canadian Council of American-Islamic Relations said the decision won't encourage Muslim women to participate in sports.
"This recent fixation on the hijab is only serving to marginalize Muslim women who wish to participate in athletic activity," the Ottawa-based organization said.
The "reasonable accommodation" debate has become so intense that Premier Jean Charest has struck a committee to study the issue.
It's the second time in recent months the hijab has caused controversy at an amateur sporting event in Quebec involving pre-teens.
In February, an 11-year-old Muslim girl from Ottawa was asked to remove her hijab at a soccer tournament in Laval, north of Montreal, due to safety concerns. She refused and her team pulled out of the tournament.
During last month's provincial election, Quebec's chief returning officer received threats and was forced to overturn a ruling that allowed woman to vote while wearing a niqab, a more extensive face covering than the hijab.
The long-line of racially charged incidents also include:
-A Montreal Muslim woman who recently complained she was forced to chose between her hijab and a job as a prison guard.
-Herouxville, a small town in rural Quebec that set up a code of conduct for would-be immigrants.
-A Montreal community health centre under fire for holding women-only pre-natal classes to make Muslim, Sikh or Hindu women feel more comfortable.
Copyright © 2007 Canadian Press
