Student Told Rosary Is Gang Symbol
A Texas high school forbid a student to wear a rosary because it is considered a gang symbol. From MyFox Dallas (bold added by me):
SEAGOVILLE – A Dallas-area high school student says she’s been forbidden from wearing her rosary to school because it’s considered a gang symbol.
Tabitha Ruiz says her silver and ruby beaded rosary is a gift from her mother that she’s worn ever since she was a child. She had it around her neck last week at Seagoville High School when a security guard stopped her at the door.
“I went to school, walked through the metal detectors and they told me to take it off,” said the teenager. “I asked them why and they said because it’s gang-related.”
Ruiz said school officials told her to hide the rosary or take it off, and she did, before calling her mother.
On Monday, she wore the prayer beads again, only to be told again to take them off again. Her mother is furious.
“If we back down to everything the gangs are doing, the gangs win,” said Taire Ferguson. “Why should we take away her choice to express her religious beliefs because gangs are doing it? It’s not right.”
Tabitha and her mother both say they’ve never heard of a rosary being a gang symbol, but police have.
“Lately they’ve been seen wearing religious jewelry such as the rosary worn by gang members, so it is a factor,” said Sr. Cpl Kevin Janse of the Dallas Police Department.
Although rosaries are not specifically banned by name in the district’s dress code, a DISD spokesman did say, “It’s up to the principal’s discretion. We chose to err on the side of caution.”
That’s no consolation for Tabitha or her mother, who says she’ll take the district to court to fight for her daughter’s religious rights if necessary.
The quote from Sr. Cpl Kevin Janse is priceless. Gang members wear rosaries, thus rosaries are gang symbols. Gang members also wear jeans. Does this mean that jeans are also gang symbols? Should the school forbid students from wearing jeans?
This incident sounds suspiciously like the infamous 2004 headscarf ban in France, which Human Rights Watch blasted as “an unwarranted infringement on the right to religious practice.” Of course, the French government defended the ban against conspicuous religious symbols, which took effect September 2, 2004, as two French reporters were being held captive by Iraqi militants. In the words of BBC correspondent, Caroline Wyatt, “Nobody in France wants to be seen siding with the kidnappers.“
Tags: Christianity, France, Islam, Public Education, Religion, Religious Freedom, Religious Symbols
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