DETROIT — A young Muslim woman said she and another woman were refused seats directly behind Barack Obama — and in front of TV cameras — at a Detroit rally because they wear head scarfs.
Hebba Aref said Wednesday that she and Shimaa Abdelfadeel were among 20,000 supporters who gathered Monday to see the presidential hopeful when the groups they were with were invited by Obama campaign volunteers to sit behind the podium. But Aref said that volunteers said women wearing hijabs, the traditional Muslim head scarves, couldn’t sit behind the podium.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement saying such actions are “not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama’s commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run. We sincerely apologize for this behavior,” the statement read.
Aref thanked Burton but requested that Obama apologize directly to her and Abdelfadeel and allow them to sit behind the Democratic candidate at a future event. The Associated Press
