CHARLESTON, S.C. A Muslim student is “heartbroken” after being told on Tuesday that The Citadel military college in SC will not allow her to wear a hijab with her uniform should she enroll this fall, according to a Muslim advocacy group, which said it may take legal action in response.
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Although the Citadel will not allow cadets to wear a hijab, the military college is generally sensitive to their students’ religious beliefs.
President Lt. Gen. John Rosa said the college’s strict policy on apparel and appearance is “essential” to the institution’s goals, NBC News reported.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has been in touch with the student and her family, and spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said that she will not enroll unless The Citadel allows her to wear the hijab, according to USA Today. There is now no accommodation for any religious dress, although several cadets of Muslim faith attend the school. “The trend in the American military is to accommodate, and if our own nation’s military, which is a real military, not just cadets, can accommodate, there’s no reason why the Citadel can’t as well”.
The Citadel, which is a public college, admitted its first female cadet in 1995.
The unidentified student, accepted to the school and otherwise set to start classes this fall, had asked for the exception to the uniform code in keeping with her faith.
“Paluso’s decision was made with my support and the support of The Citadel Board of Visitors”, Rosa added.
A spokeswoman for the US Department of Defence said each branch of the military has the authority to make determinations for religious accommodation as long as it doesn’t interfere with military readiness, unit cohesion, standards, or discipline. The legislation resulted from the case of a Jewish U.S. Air Force officer’s desire to wear a yarmulke, which AJC supported in an amicus brief.
“It’s not the cross that they care about”, he said.
The diversity of religions and cultural backgrounds represented in the Corps enriches the overall cadet experience and better prepares graduates to become principled leaders in all walks of life, underpinned by The Citadel’s core values of honor, duty and respect. But Hooper says the school’s decision on the hijab in particular is silly, given that the traditional Muslim headscarf is worn by Muslim women in the United States military. The school also offers rides to and from places of worship and accommodates dietary and prayer requirements.
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Mr. Pinelli said making a special accommodation for one student would not be fair to other students, who similarly leave aspects of their identities behind when they attend The Citadel. Kamal Kalsi, the first Sikh in a generation to whom the Army granted religious accommodations, told The Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine.
