Things got ugly this week for Muslim patrons of an amusement park in Westchester County, New York and local security when several Muslim women were told to remove their traditional headwear before riding certain rides. According to the CNN BeliefBlog, the Playland in Rye was busy with Muslim families celebrating the end of Ramadan when park employees required the women remove the hijab, an argument ensued, and by the end of it fifteen people were arrested for assault. Bits and pieces of cell phone video footage shows police arguing and removing women from the crowd, after which men in the group got involved in the fighting. Local police Captain Thomas Gleason said the headgear rule exists for the safety of patrons on the rides, but the Muslim women insisted park employees were targeting them because of their religious beliefs. But County Parks Deputy Commissioner Peter Tartaglia said the policy was made very clear to the group before they arrived and that signage confirmed the policy on each ride that was affected. The park was closed for several hours while the issue was resolved, and a representative from the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic relations was called in to assist. The representative concluded the melee was just a “miscommunication.”
