By Ahmed Sharma
AsAmNews Staff Writer
Tensions still remain after Muslim children were forced to leave a public pool in Wilmington, Delaware, last June. The mayor has since apologized for the incident. However, the pool manager, Glenda Pinkett, maintains their banning was not discriminatory. The parents of the victims seem to think otherwise and have filed a lawsuit against the city of Wilmington for violating constitutional rights and dismissing the act against the Muslim children.
Darul Amaanah Academy principal Tahsiyn A. Ismaa’eel claimed this was the fourth year she had taken the children in her summer Arabic enrichment program to the community pool, and until recently, there were no complaints.
However, on June 25, Glenda Pinkett allegedly approached four girls wearing headscarves and told them to leave the pool immediately because of what they were wearing. Pinkett claimed that there was a policy prohibiting wearing cotton in the pool, according to the lawsuit.
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Pool staff then contacted a Wilmington police officer who allegedly asked Darul Amaanah Academy staff when they would be leaving and said that there were “people waiting to get in and waiting for you to leave.” The lawsuit states the pool did not seem overcrowded and other swimmers who were there longer were not asked to leave.
The lawsuit also claims that Darul Amaanah children were asked to exit the pool on multiple subsequent occasions.
Since the June incidents, parents claim their children have stopped wearing their hijabs to not look out of place. For another parent, Mia Miller, the outcome was much worse. Miller tells AsAmNews that her special needs children must now attend therapy sessions to remedy the psychological trauma they have endured. “It’s not right. One of my kids…came to me and asked me, ‘why don’t they like us?’”
In the formal complaint against the city of Wilmington, parents proclaim that no such law for “proper attire” was ever written. Moreover, the formal complaint asserts, “The reality is that children in public swimming pools across the City have long worn cotton-based clothing. For many local children, these items are the only garments that they can afford.”
Juvaria Khan, a staff attorney for Muslim Advocates, told AsAmNews, “All the parents are asking for is to be treated with respect. To have their kids be able to go to their community pool without having to be afraid.” Additionally, the parents are asking that the seasonal pool time be extended, so the children may make up for lost times.
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