Muslim Teen Disqualified from Ohio Cross-Country Race for Wearing Hijab

The controversy over the wearing of the veil also affects the United States to the point of upsetting a teenager in the midst of a sports competition.

Engaged in several competitions, just like her other classmates, Noor Alexandria Abu Karam has stood out through her good performances over the past three years.

The recent competition in which the 16-year-old girl registered is the high school cross-country race in Ohio. Unfortunately, when crossing the finish line, she was surprised to find that her name was no longer on the results board. She was simply disqualified without further ado. And the reason? Her hijab.

On the American news channel, CNN, Alexandria expressed her outrage by revealing that she had even beaten her own record during this 5,000-meter cross-country race, with a time of 22 minutes and 22 seconds.

For the young high school student, "it’s a nightmare to compete and find out that you’ve been disqualified for something you love".

Questioned, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) reacted in a press release by indicating that Noor needed a waiver to be able to compete.

In the same press release, the OHSAA recalls the incriminated provision: "Cross-country runners can participate in competitions wearing religious head coverings if they have obtained an OHSAA waiver and submitted it to an official before the race."

The institution adds that the judge (who disqualified the runner, editor’s note) was only applying this law since no waiver had been filed.