Sporting the Veil: Representations of Asmahan Mansour in the Canadian Media

Abstract

In February 2007, eleven-year-old Asmahan Mansour was expelled from a girls’ soccer tournament in Laval, Quebec, on the grounds that her headscarf was a safety threat. Issued by Quebec soccer officials, this charge produced Asmahan both as a passive female victim and a Muslim threat. In this essay, I conduct a survey of English-language newspapers in Quebec and Central Canada from the date of Asmahan’s expulsion, February 27, 2007, until March 6, 2007. I argue that the press constructs Asmahan’s case into a nationalist narrative that highlights Canada’s ostensible commitment to “multiculturalism” and “tolerance,” and serves to augment public faith in these national values.