A Tae Kwon Do team of mainly Muslim girls withdrew from a tournament after they were barred from taking part with their hijabs, another example of the ongoing debate in Quebec about accommodating religious minorities.

"The equipment that is allowed under the world Tae Kwon Do federation rules doesn't include the hijab," international referee Stephane Menard said Sunday.

Menard said he was at the referees' meeting in Longueuil, just south of Montreal, earlier Sunday when the decision was made for safety reasons.

"We applied the rules to the letter," he said in an interview.

The team, made up of girls between eight and 12 years old, is affiliated with a Muslim community centre in Montreal. Five of its six girls wear the head covering under their safety helmets.

May Haydar of the Montreal Muslim Community Centre said the team had participated in the tournament in recent years without any controversy over the wearing of hijabs.

"We believe it's unfair and it's discriminatory against Muslims," Haydar said, adding a boys team from the Muslim community centre pulled out of the tournament in solidarity. [Link]