Taekwondo championship to allow hijab

Muslim women wear hijabs in this April 15, 2007 photo. The Muslim hijab, banned at a taekwondo tournament in Quebec last month, will be allowed at the 2007 World Championship in Quebec City later this month, the International Taekwon-Do Federation announced on Friday.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Muslim hijab, banned at a taekwondo tournament in Quebec last month, will be allowed at the 2007 World Championship in Quebec City later this month, the International Taekwon-Do Federation announced on Friday.

The decision by a Quebec federation last month to bar a team of Muslim girls from taking part with their hijabs at the regional tournament had prompted protests of discrimination, but Quebec federation officials said it was a matter of safety.

That group was affiliated with the World Taekwondo Federation, a rival group to the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), which said on Friday it would temporarily allow the head scarves at its May 31-June 3 championship.

"It intends to adopt a final position when all aspects of the question have been given due consideration," ITF President Tran Trieu Quan stated.

He said a committee would examine all facets of wearing religious symbols during competition.

In March, a Quebec referee ordered a girl in a soccer tournament to remove her hijab, stirring a debate in Canada on what allowances should be made for religious and ethnic minorities.