By Douglas V. Gibbs
The safety regulation was made three years ago. The ride park's three year old rule bans any item on the head for the purpose of preventing the head garments or hats from flying off during the turbulent rides, so as to keep hats and scarves from falling onto the tracks of the roller coasters, and other rides.
Rye Playland enforces this "no headgear on rides" rule equally. No hats, no bandanas, no head scarves, no hijabs.
In an effort to enforce the rule, ride operators and officials barred a group of women from rides because of the head scarves they were wearing. The result was a demand that the women be able to ride, even trying to force their way on the rides, and then a scuffle that involved cops and a number of Muslims. Fifteen people, including three women, were charged with disorderly conduct and assault in the chaos.
Muslims filled the amusement park who were celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr (the holiday marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan).
Of course, the Muslims claim to be victims, and say that the rule was made to go against their religion.
"It's not headgear, it's my religion."
If a rule made for my safety required that I remove the crucifix necklace I was wearing, I would take it off, stick it in my pocket, and then ride the ride - either that, or not get on the ride.
The Muslim men that came to the aid of the poor headgear adorned women claim they were beaten by cops.
"She just wanted to get on a ride. That was it," Dena Meawad said of the initial confrontation. "It's clear, this all happened because we're Muslim."
Wanna get on the ride? Remove the headgear.
John Hodges, chief inspector of Westchester County Public Safety, insisted that police did not use excessive force.
When confronted with a group of people determined to act in a violent manner, I expect some kind of force to be necessary, and if that means forcing a subject to the ground, and cuffing him, then so be it.
Up to 100 cops from surrounding departments converged on the park, two park rangers were injured in the melee, and the park was then forced to shut down.
3,000 Muslims throwing a tantrum because of a headgear rule ruined the day for the rest of the park visitors.
One woman said her 4-year-old son was "traumatized" by seeing his father arrested.
However, I am sure they don't think that teaching the child hatred against all non-Muslims, or the fact that kids his age in the Middle East are already armed and taught to kill, is "traumatizing" at all.
"They treated us like animals, like we were nothing," Alrabah said. "They came with their dogs and sticks. We came to have fun."
With freedom comes responsibility, and the willingness to follow the rules of a private business. If a business wants to have a no headgear safety regulation, then you are expected to not wear the headgear where they tell you not to. Don't like it? Don't visit the amusement park. Trust me, I sometimes am bothered by some of the anti-Christian rules I see (like the youth pastor kicked out of a mall for talking about God with other patrons), but the fact is the private business has a right to have the rules they deem necessary to keep their private business safe and profitable.
The difference between the youth pastor in the mall and the Muslims in the theme park is that the man in the mall was targeted specifically for his religious speech. The Muslims were not targeted because of their adherence to Islam. They were asked not to get on the rides specifically because they refused to remove their headgear, of which was banned as a part of a general rule on all headgear.
On top of that, as much as the Muslims in this riot claim they were unaware of the rule, Peter Tartaglia, deputy commissioner of Westchester County Parks, said the Muslim American Society of New York was warned in advance of the rule barring head scarves on rides for safety reasons.
"Part of our rules and regulations, which we painstakingly told them over and over again, is that [on] certain rides you cannot wear any sort of headgear," Tartaglia said. "It's a safety issue for us on rides, it could become a projectile."
This wasn't about Islamophobia. It was about a group of Muslims doing what Islam does in any culture it begins to invade - demanding preferential treatment, exemptions because of their religion, and for the host society to bend over backwards for them.
I appreciate that the amusement park stuck to their rules.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Muslims, police scuffle at Rye Playland over amusement park’s head scarf ban; 15 arrests made - Daily News/Yahoo News
Muslims Can’t Help But Look For Trouble, This Time In A Theme Park - The Salfordian
15 arrested in New York park melee over head scarves - AZ Central
Galleria Mall: Talk About God and Get Arrested - Political Pistachio
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