SXSW apologizes for asking U.S. Olympian to remove her hijab

Ibtihaj Muhammad is a world champion fencer, and will soon be the first U.S. woman wearing a hijab to compete in the Olympic Games ^[1] – not that you would notice it under her protective mask.

Yet, when the 30-year-old athlete tried to register for the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, TX this weekend, that didn't seem to matter.

On March 12, a volunteer demanded that Muhammad remove her hijab to receive her ID card at the festival, where she was scheduled to appear on a panel called "The New Church: Sport as Currency of American Life ^[2]."

When she explained that she wore the hijab because of her religious beliefs, the volunteer insisted that she remove it anyway.

Even after I explained it was for religious reasons, he insisted I had to remove my hijab for the photo to receive my badge #SXSW2016 ^[3]
— @IbtihajMuhammad ^[4]

The request came despite the fact that Muslim women aren't even required to remove their hijabs ^[5] for U.S. passport photos. So long as it doesn't cover the hairline, most religious head-wear is allowed in some form for ID photos throughout the United States.

Eventually, Muhammad did manage to have her picture taken for the ID card, but her embarrassment didn't stop when she got it.

Thennnnn I was given the wrong ID! From now on my name is Tamir & I work for Time Warner Inc #SXSW2016 pic.twitter.com/TE3jJR16P6 ^[6]^[7]
— @IbtihajMuhammad ^[8]

"Someone asking me to remove my hijab isn't out of the norm for me. ... Do I hope it changes soon? Yes, every day," Muhammad said at her 5:00 p.m. CT panel, according to the Chicago Tribune ^[9].

SXSW officials have since issued an apology, and said that they have removed the volunteer in question.

"It is not our policy that a hijab or any religious head covering be removed in order to pick up a SXSW badge," SXSW wrote in a statement to the Guardian ^[10]. "This was one volunteer who made an insensitive request and that person has been removed for the duration of the event."

"We are embarrassed by this, have apologised to Ibtihaj in person, and sincerely regret this incident."

Muhammad, along with the U.S. fencing team, won bronze at the 2015 World Fencing Championships in July. She is currently ranked seventh in the world ^[11].

Along with her sisters, she runs a fashion line called Louella, which caters to Muslim women looking for modest, but stylish clothes.

She elicited a lot of support online upon tweeting about the situation.

@IbtihajMuhammad ^[12] Very sorry to hear this! Apparently they don't understand that #hijab ^[13] IS part of your ID.
— @njqrn ^[14]

@IbtihajMuhammad @kumailn but are all the white girls required to take off their Native American headdresses & flower crowns?! #unfair ^[15]^[16]^[17]
— @rachelmaggio ^[18]

@AbuKedem ^[19] @IbtihajMuhammad ^[20] @sxsw ^[21] yeah, and if she's wearing hijab during sxsw it's actually going match her appearance LESS. stupid.
— @winged ^[22]

@IbtihajMuhammad ^[23] @kumailn ^[24] Shame on @sxsw ^[25]. This is not OK.
— @minhalbaig ^[26]

Many of the comments in opposition tried to excuse the discrimination and assumed she was an immigrant.

@SenorDroolcup ^[27] you know she's from new jersey right
— @amydieg ^[28]

Muhammad was born in Maplewood, N.J., where her father was a narcotics detective. Because her family is African American and Muslim, they have had to face discrimination in multiple forms.

"9/11 impacted everyone. The children were ostracized and targeted. People shouted at me when I drove down the street," Muhammad's mother, Inayah, said to the New Yorker.^[29]

"I've flown to domestic competitions, and T.S.A. agents at airports have spoken to me in demeaning ways, as if I'm foreign, because I wear hijab, " Muhammad told the magazine, repeating a phrase she's heard far too often in this situations: "'Do—you—speak—English?'"