Muskogee, Oct 10: A Muslim teenager's battle to wear her religious headdress to school has landed her in hot water with authorities in the state of Oklahoma, and the issue could go all the way to the courts, officials said. Education officials in Muskogee, Oklahoma, have twice suspended Nashala Hearn from Benjamin Franklin Science Academy for violating school dress code by wearing the Muslim head scarf, or hijab The 11-year-old is scheduled to return to school next week after her latest five-day suspension, but officials say Hearn will not be admitted to class if she continues to wear the scarf in violation of school rules. The school district's dress code bans students from wearing hats, caps, bandanas or other headwear inside school buildings, and was initially devised to deter gang-related activity, according to education officials. The school district's dress code bans students from wearing hats, caps, bandanas or other headwear inside school buildings, and was initially devised to deter gang-related activity, according to education officials. Education officials in this town 200 km east of Oklahoma city, said they were not inclined to make exceptions to the rule on religious grounds.
"We have to be as neutral as possible with all religious requests," Eldon Gleichman, superintendent of Muskogee public schools said yesterday.
"I can't let the door open for one and not expect the door to be thrown open wide for everybody."
Hearn's father, Eyvine Hearn, an African-American who converted to Islam, is determined his daughter won't back down.
Bureau Report