Muslims in NY Riot over Head Scarf Safety Ban

15 arrested in N.Y. Playland melee over head scarves

Two people were charged with felony assault and two police rangers were injured
during a melee that broke out Tuesday at Playland Amusement Park when Muslim
visitors became angry that the park was enforcing its ban on headgear by
prohibiting the women from wearing their traditional head coverings on some
rides.

Westchester County police and other departments respond to an altercation at Rye
Playland on Tuesday.

The park was crowded with Muslims celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, one of Islam's two
major holidays.

Police from at least nine agencies converged on the park after county police
sought assistance in responding to the disturbance, which involved 30 to 40
people.

Another 13 people were arrested, most charged with disorderly conduct. All those
charged were released by Tuesday night.

"It's unfortunate because everybody just wants to be home with their families
today," said Zead Ramadan of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Parks officials "painstakingly" told the organizer about the headgear ban, said
Tartaglia. But he said that the rules might not have been communicated by the
organizer to some attendees.

Three accidents on Playland rides that killed two children and a park worker
between 2004 and 2007 were unrelated to clothing the victims were wearing. But
the headgear ban was among safety rules that went into effect after those
deaths.

"It's a safety issue on rides. If it's a scarf, you could choke," Tartaglia
said.

Accounts of what happened varied, but everyone agreed the dispute began after
parkgoers were told the headgear ban applied to women wearing traditional Muslim
head coverings, known as hijabs.

Tartaglia said once word of that got out there were "a lot of unhappy people."

Tartaglia said park officials were in the process of arranging refunds when
members of the Muslim group got into a scuffle with each other.

Ramadan said he could see both sides.

"The people feel like victims, and the police feel like they were just doing
their jobs," Ramadan said. "Personally I think things got a little out of
control on both sides."

Lola Ali, 16, of Astoria said she witnessed a group of girls and women wearing
hijabs go to park security to confront them about the headgear issue.

She said the women were upset and yelling. She said the security officers
started pushing them away and the girls stood their ground, at which point the
security officers grabbed them, pushed them to the ground and handcuffed them.

Men within the park saw this and tried to intervene, Ali said, and the situation
went downhill from there.

"They were beating down the girls, then they started beating down the guys," she
said of the security officers.

Earlier, a park cashier told a Journal News reporter that a woman wearing a
hijab either pushed or hit a ride operator who forbade her from going on the
ride. She said a police officer tried to restrain the woman and the woman's
husband took offense, at which point a multiple-person fight broke out.

Brooklyn resident Amr Khater, who had come to the park about noon with his
family, said his family was told about the hijab rule by park employees when
they arrived.

"Everybody got mad, everybody got upset," he said. "It's our holiday. Why would
you do this to us?"

Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It is a three-day period
during which Muslims give to charity and celebrate their completion of Ramadan's
requirements with family and their community.