USA: Chicago woman gets OK to wear hijab at Disneyland

...[T]he civil rights group is urging Disney to integrate the religious requirement into its dress code. After all, Disney's own Muslim princess, Jasmine, even wore a headscarf occasionally in the movie "Aladdin."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Chicago Breaking News
By Manya A. Brachear | September 30, 2010

Every Muslim-American daughter raised on Disney dreams of becoming a princess. But when that little girl grows up and gets a job at Disneyland, the headscarf prescribed for Muslim women could present a problem.

At least that was the case for Noor Abdallah, 22, of Mundelein, who reached an agreement this week with Disneyland Resort to wear a blue beret atop a company-designed headscarf when selling tickets in a resort box office.

"Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has a long history of accommodating a variety of religious requests from cast members of all faiths, with more than 200 accommodations made over the last three years," Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown said.


But a lawyer for the Council on American-Islamic Relations contends Abdallah is the fourth woman to challenge the theme park's policies this year.

Abdallah was recruited by Disney on the University of Illinois' Chicago campus earlier this year. After online and telephone interviews, the psychology major said she was selected for a fall internship.

But after moving across the country to California for orientation last month, she said, managers balked at her hijab and assigned her to a more secluded stockroom while costume designers came up with a more suitable headscarf. Managers told her that likely would take the entirety of her internship, she said.

"It broke my heart a little," said Abdallah, who grew up revering Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" and Ariel in "The Little Mermaid."

"Like any little girl, I liked all the princesses."

But Abdallah is pleased with the solution. "I'd really hate to see another person lose the magic behind the Disney characters," she said.

Ameena Qazi, a lawyer for CAIR, said the civil rights group is urging Disney to integrate the religious requirement into its dress code. After all, Disney's own Muslim princess, Jasmine, even wore a headscarf occasionally in the movie "Aladdin."

"We dream of being princesses someday too," Qazi said. "When we go to Disney as employees, we don't feel any differently. But to tell us who we are might scare away customers, that's really a jab. ... It's kind of killing two visions at once."

-- Manya A. Brachear



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