Parents were not informed in advance, and many were angry. Experts say that the hijab is actually not an Islamic requirement.
Officials at the World [High] School of Inquiry in Rochester, New York, spent a week this month fielding dozens of calls from parents angry about a “World Hijab Day” event that encouraged girls to wear the Muslim religious head covering.
So reports EAGnews.org, the flagship website of Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.
The “Hijab Day” was held in the school on the first Friday of this month, at the request of a sophomore who wears a hijab every day. The principal approved the idea, and teachers brought in 150 scarves for female students to try on and wear for the day. Boys were given carnations to wear in solidarity.
Little did the principal realize, for some reason, the backlash the idea would cause.
“As a high school teacher for over 30 years, let me say that this is wrong on so many levels,” Jim Farnholz wrote on his Facebook page. He elaborated: “All religions are taught in our global studies classes. That being said, that is where understanding, tolerance and the good and bad of religion and history are taught. This, however, is a clear violation of separation of church and state.”
The student who initiated the project – originally from Yemen – said, “We wanted [the students] to experience it and feel how we feel… I just feel proud that I”m sharing my culture.”
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