Muslims, Cops Fight at NY Theme Park

The Rye Playland, an amusement park in Westchester County, New York, was shut down Tuesday after a fight erupted between Muslim visitors and local police. About 3,000 Muslims from New York City visited the park to celebrate the end of Ramadan, but learned, upon arrival, that women wearing headscarves would be banned from certain rides. (The theme park bans all headgear on rides in order to prevent hats from falling onto tracks; the trip’s organizer, the Muslim Society of New York, knew this but failed to alert the travelers.) As families began lining up for refunds, squabbles broke out between them, leading to 100 cops converging on the park. Fifteen people were arrested, and two are being charged with felony assault. Some of the Muslim families allege that the cops used excessive force and were attacking girls and women. The head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations–New York said the fracas was a result of “a lot of miscommunication.”