Balancing Islam and Middle School in Queens

posted on: Mar 9, 2015

Somewhere between stepping off the school bus and climbing into the go-kart, Sandra Ibrahim, 14, took off her pink hijab. She was on a trip to an indoor amusement park in New Rochelle, N.Y., with her Islamic weekend school, surrounded by other Muslim children, parents and teachers. She knew the adults would like her to keep the head scarf on. But there she was, zooming along the track, her dark brown ponytail swinging freely behind her.

Sandra wants to wear the hijab when she is ready, because she wants to follow the guidelines of her religion. She thought she was ready in fifth grade, when her parents rewarded her with a Barbie video game and other prizes for each week she kept it on. But there was teasing and bullying, her family said. Students at her public school yanked it from her head at least twice. So she took it off. She tried again in the middle of sixth grade, and again in seventh. This year, in eighth grade, she had not even tried.

Source: www.nytimes.com