13 May 2017, 07:37
Organizers announce absence of religious bans at Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku
Participants of the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games are free to choose the form of clothing, and there are no restrictions on attending the sports competitions by gender. This is reported by the Operation Committee of the Islamic Solidarity Games.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the competitions of the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games began on May 8, while the official opening ceremony of the Games was held later, on May 12. The 4th Islamic Solidarity Games will end on May 22.
The Islamic Solidarity Games are an international sporting event that involves the best athletes from the countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. On May 12-22, Baku will host the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games. The programme of the Islamic Solidarity Games includes competitions in 20 sports. About 3000 athletes from all 57 countries participating in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will take part in the competition.
According to a spokesperson of the Operation Committee for the Islamic Solidarity Games, the 2017 Games in Baku imposed no restrictions for men to attend competitions among women and vice versa. Photography is also not prohibited during the Games. The spokesperson has noted that during the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, female athletes are not required to wear clothes to cover their hands and heads, but they can do that.
Tofiq Tyurkel, an expert on religious issues of the news agency "Turan", believes that the question concerning the form of clothing of female athletes belongs to the field of traditions of a participating country and a state hosting the Islamic Solidarity Games. The expert has noted that the 1st Islamic Solidarity Games held in Saudi Arabia in 2005 included no competitions for women at all. The 2nd Islamic Solidarity Games were to be held in Iran in 2009. However, they did not take place, and one of the reasons for the failure was the lack of agreement concerning the participation of female athletes in sports competitions, reported Tofiq Tyurkel.
"The 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games held in Indonesia in 2013 became more liberal, with the only restriction that athletes should not wear short clothing. At the Games in Indonesia, female athletes from a number of countries wore clothing covering their hands and heads. However, Azerbaijani female athletes wore their regular sports clothes," Tofiq Tyurkel told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
