Saturday, February 25, 2006

Islamic Basketball

From the February 19, 2006 Chicago Tribune and reprinted in the February 25, 2006 Washington Post:

"...[T]he girls can't accept that they have only been allowed to compete against girls basketball teams from other Muslim schools. There are only four in the Chicago area, they complain, and their competition isn't exactly tough.

"Since last year they've been beseeching Coach Farida Abusafa, 26, an English teacher who also coaches sports, to ask public schools and non-Muslim private schools if their girls teams would be willing to compete against girls from the Universal School.

"The problem is the schools would have to agree to bar men and boys above the age of puberty from watching the games.

"'It's not like it's a sin to play a public school,' Abusafa said. 'The problem is the males coming to the game.'

"The dilemma underscores the balancing act many Muslims perform as they toggle between American and Middle Eastern culture....

"Conceivably, the Muslim girls could play in headscarves, sweat pants and long sleeves. But the bulky attire might make playing difficult, they said...."

Too bad! If these Muslim girls feel so strongly about the restrictions of Islamic law, let them play games against other Muslim schools. After all, the parents of the boys in the public schools are paying the taxes which support the schools' sports programs.

We don't need to Islamify basketball!

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