UCLA students protest Bosnian restrictions on religious symbols

Students lined up near Ackerman Union on Tuesday afternoon with posters and the Bosnian flag in hand to protest the Bosnian government’s recent ban of the hijab and other religious symbols in legal institutions.

Event organizers hosted the event to show solidarity with Muslim women, said Merima Tricic, an event organizer and fourth-year political science, study of religion and world arts and cultures student. She added she hopes the protest will bring awareness to incidents of religious discrimination in Europe.

“By choosing not to look at discriminatory policies in other countries, we aren’t looking at how policies are made here,” she said. “Ambassadors from abroad come to the U.S. to collaborate with American politicians.”

About 20 students participated in the protest, an event organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Al-Talib Newsmagazine, Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Muslim Student Association at UCLA.

The hijab, a headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women, and its ban earlier this month has invoked protests by thousands of Muslim women in Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to BBC News.

Tricic added she hopes the protest will unite student organizations on campus because the ban affects several religious groups, including Jews, Muslims and Christians.

“It’s a group struggle,” she said. “As free individuals, we need to work together to solve greater issues.”

Tara Kohanim, a third-year psychology student who attended the protest, said she thinks all cultures are tied together, and discussing problems is the first step to bringing about change.

“Freedom of expression is a human right, and we need to pressure politicians to pass non-discriminatory policies,” Kohanim said.

Raad Hilo, an Arab-American third-year philosophy student who also participated in the protest, said he occasionally experiences prejudice based on his ethnicity.

“I still believe in religious freedom, and it’s a person’s duty to speak out against discrimination,” he said.

Tricic said she hopes the protest would call attention to Balkan politicians invoking discriminatory policies, and influence American voters to prevent similar legislation from being passed in the U.S.