Harassment Follows NY Muslims at Schools

A high number of Muslim students in the US western state of California fall victim to bullying from classmates, a CAIR report said in 2013

Amid soaring Islamophobic sentiments across the US, a number of New York Muslim students have been complaining of being discriminated against by their colleagues
"When people get to know us, they come to realize that we are just like regular people,” Saad Shuaib, who attends the Academy of American Studies, a public high school in Astoria, told the New York Times on Saturday, March 7.
“They see we live our normal lives just like them. It’s just that instead of going to church or a synagogue, we go to a mosque.”

The fifteen-year-old Shuaib is one of Muslims students who are trying to tell people they are "normal Americans" who happened to be Muslim.
Sandra Ibrahim, 14, is another Muslim student who had to remove her Islamic headscarf after facing regular harassment at Louis Armstrong Middle School in East Elmhurst in Queens.
“People started saying things like: ‘You are not one of us. Why would you do that now? You were supposed to do this later,’ ” Or like, ‘Are you even ready for it?’ It was just really rude,” Sandra said.
Making a compromise between religion and secular education, Sandra is among dozens of Muslim teenagers who attend Islamic school each weekend at the Muslim American Society community center.
“They say, ‘Your father is ISIS, are you ISIS?’ ” Ahmed Jamil, president of the community center, said of the taunts the Muslim boys had described, using another acronym to refer to the so-called Islamic State (ISIL).

“The kids have a good relationship with their classmates, but if the classmates dislike you for whatever reason, and then you look Muslim or your name is Ziad or Mohammed, it’s easy for them to accuse you,” he added.
“And I am surprised those middle school kids are saying the word itself — ‘You are a terrorist.’ ”

A few days ago, New York Muslims have jubilantly welcomed Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to add two Muslim holidays to public school calendar, something he described as a simple “matter of fairness.”
Feeling Safe
While some Queens Muslim students have been complaining of discrimination, others said that they feel safe in the easternmost city.
“I’m wearing it right now and nobody even asks me a question about why I am wearing it,” said Salma Rashwan, 14, who began to wear the hijab in eighth grade.
“I have a lot of friends who are Muslim and they don’t get bothered at all,”
Although there are no official figures, the United States is believed to be home to between 6-8 million Muslims.
With the recent murder of three young Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the burning of an Islamic Center in Houston, Texas, which authorities ruled as arson, and the numerous reports of personal harassment, Muslims feel they are targeted in the States.
A recent Gallup poll, however, found 43 percent of Americans Nationwide admitted to feeling at least “a little” prejudice against Muslims.
Another Economist/YouGov poll found that a large majority of Americans believe that US Muslims are victims of discrimination amid recent attacks against the community.
“I was insecure for about one to two years, completely,” said Sandra who began to remove her headscarf without telling her parents.
“And I didn’t know how to control any of it.”
Meanwhile, her parents agreed that she could take off her hijab to avoid bullying.
“I don’t want her to always feel that she was an outsider,” her mother, who wears a headscarf, said.
“The bullying was getting a little bit out of hand, and I didn’t want her to get harmed. And she would still have time to wear it.”
Helen Ponella, who started as principal of Louis Armstrong in February, refused to comment on Sandra's complains.
However, the principal said in a statement: “Creating a school environment where students feel physically and emotionally safe is our top priority and we do not tolerate bullying.”
In other Astoria public schools, Muslim students, especially girls, have been complaining of similar harassment.
“There was some teasing, but it was friendly,” Salma Serour, 13, said of the reaction when she started covering her hair.
“They called me Humpty Dumpty, but I thought it was pretty funny too.”
Nayerra Zahran, 14, who is the only veiled girl at Our World Neighborhood Charter School, said that some students have tried to pull off her hijab.
They said, “‘Muslims, you stink,’ ” she said.
“They sprayed Axe, perfume and everything. They used to say, ‘Oh, are you Bin Laden’s daughter?’ And it really didn’t make any sense.”
Credit to Onislam.net

Dispelling Misperceptions: Council on American-Islamic Relations hosts panel discussion in Kingwood

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a Women in Islam panel discussion at Lone Star College-Kingwood.
Six panelists convened Wednesday March 4, and took turns speaking about American society’s media-driven misconceptions concerning Muslim women and Islam in general.
Daniel Abdullah Hernandez, Imam of the Pearland Islamic Center and National spokesperson for Islam in Spanish, began the discussion by discrediting some of the errors in people’s understanding of Islam.
According to Hernandez, one of the most common fallacies is the belief that Muslim women are not granted autonomy.
“Islam dictates that women and men are spiritual equals,” explained Hernandez. “Both genders have an obligation to seek knowledge of God, of the world, and of their own interests.”
Another common misperception that some might have concerns the hijab – the traditional Muslim head-covering.
Despite public assumption, women are not forced to wear it. Moreover, the hijab is not as foreign of a concept as some Americans imagine. As a Muslim who converted from Catholicism, Hernandez is in the unique position of drawing parallels between both religions.
“Christianity has a similar link between God and veil,” Hernandez noted. “This can be seen in the garments worn by nuns.”
Mujidat Saaka, strategy and development consultant for various nonprofit organizations, expanded on Hernandez’s “unveiling” of the truth about Muslim women.
Saaka practices Islam, but like many American Muslims, she wears characteristic American attire. The stereotypical image of a Muslim – veils, abayas – represents only a fraction of Islam’s cultural diversity.
“Media has created a one dimensional portrayal of a multifaceted identity,” Saaka said. “In the city of Houston, over 90 different languages are spoken. That’s 90 different cultures in one city. So, how could it be possible that the second largest religion in the world has only one culture?”
Maryam Chambler, a post-graduate student at the University of Houston and member of many organizations including the Student Veterans of America, expounded upon why this narrow perception of Muslim women exists.
“Humanity has yet to evolve past bigotry,” Chambler said. “Recall public opinion of the Jewish community in Germany before World War II, or of African Americans post-emancipation, or of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. People have the need to stereotype and group, and Muslims are the new target group.
“Unfortunately, because of traditional garb like the hijab and abaya, Muslim women attract more attention and therefore more prejudice. The only way to end this prejudice is by spreading knowledge of culture.”
Shireen Jasser works at a UT Family Practice and focused her speech during the panel on the impact of discrimination on the mental health of Muslims in America.
According to Jasser, “since 9/11, Islamiphobia has become much more prevalent. The media tends to show Islam in an extremist light, making Muslims seem more prone to violence, or more likely to be terrorists.”
“Muslims are getting a lot of negative attention. We’re under surveillance due to unfair legislation like the Patriot Act which disproportionally targets American Muslims. Law enforcement focuses a lot on the Muslim community; going to homes, asking ‘what are you doing,’ or ‘where are you going.’ What’s tragic is that we don’t see a lot of religious communities having to deal with this, but American Muslims do.”
With all of the negativity surrounding the perception of Islam, many Muslims reportedly suffer from identity confusion. They have an unjustified sense of guilt derived from the allegedly inseparable bond between Islam and terrorism. Such stress has led to an increased number of depression and anxiety cases in the Muslim community.
“We need to challenge Islamiphobia,” stated Jasser. “An individual shouldn’t feel like they have to internalize the wrong-doings of another. You answer for the actions of one.”
Afshan Jilani is active in the Spring Interfaith Dialogue council which brings several religions together to promote unity in diversity. Jilani believes that helping society is more important than any one religion.
“The media fuels this culture of mistrust which is perpetuated by fear of the unknown,” explained Jilani. “And a myopic attitude leads to xenophobia. Interfaith work is so important because we are seeking commonalities. When you do that, you’ll find that they far outweigh our differences.”
Lauren Santerre shares Jiliani’s advocacy of interfaith programs. Santerre believes that the solution to the problem of prejudice is simply to learn how to be humans in a pluralistic society.
“Use your heart,” she advised. “And use your ears. Often, we’re too quick to talk and too slow to listen. People will tell you what they need either through what they say, and often what they don’t say. It’s important to educate yourself about others, but also about your own religion. People will want to know. We all have our spheres of influence, so give your resources: time, talents, and money.”
Organizations like CAIR are doing their part to break the cycle of xenophobia. Knowledge is the only way to accomplish this goal, so it is vital to seek and distribute information about America’s misrepresented minorities like women in Islam.
Credit to Melanie Feuk

'Meet a Muslim Family' aims to dispel fears of the religion

A Muslim organization has launched a cross-Canada outreach campaign called Meet a Muslim Family, in order to help dispel myths about the religion.

The campaign was launched by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community at mosques across Canada yesterday, including the Baitur Rahman Mosque in Delta, B.C.

Iman Balal Khokhor said they don't want their religion to be misunderstood in light of recent violent attacks by extremists in the name of Islam.

"Canadians have a fear of Muslims. They don't know them. They don't know their culture, their religion, and we want to showcase that in fact we are Canadian and just like any other Canadians," said Khokhor.

 Click to view the CBC Meet A Muslim Family Video.

People can register online at www.meetamuslimfamily.com to meet people living near them and ask questions.

Amad Masood said his family is willing to meet people from the Vancouver area and answer questions.

"We feel that it is important to go out and tell people how we appreciate all the Canadian values of peace, family and multiculturalism," said Masood.

"Over all the media, when you listen to the news and all the time, people are thinking that the word Islam and terrorism is probably synonymous," said his wife Shafquat Malik.

"It is very important for the media to show that Muslims are not only terrorists or whatever. It is not what defines us. We are more than that. We are bigger than that," she said.

The campaign is scheduled to run for two weeks.

Boris Johnson accused of inventing 'jihadi' allegations against Muslim Council of Britain

Boris Johnson made up a “serious false accusation” about the Muslim Council of Britain when he alleged that it claimed jihadists as part of “mainstream Islam”, the organisation has said.

The MCB says it never actually made comments attributed to it by the Mayor of London and has written to the newspaper in which he made the allegations.

Writing in his column, Mr Johnson accused the group of “eliding anti-jihadism with Islamophobia” and attributed criticism of recent comments he had made about Islam to a “spokeswoman” of the Muslim Council of Britain.

But in a letter to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, seen by The Independent, the council says it never made a published comment on the story and accuses the Mayor of inventing the allegations.

“We have investigated this and cannot find any such remark made to the Guardian,” the letter reads.

“So while he was ‘astounded to be denounced’ allegedly by the MCB, we are equally astounded that such a serious false accusation can be published without fully checking the facts.”

The website version of the Guardian story to which Mr Johnson appears to be referring, dated 30 January 2014, does not mention the Muslim Council of Britain.

It cites criticism from Quilliam, an organisation set up to challenge extremism, which refers to Mr Johnson’s claims regarding jihadists being sexually repressed as “ludicrous” and “a generalisation”.

The organisation Islamix, which promotes promotes community cohesion, is also quoted. Its director Mohammed Khaliel, accused the mayor of sowing “discord”.

Writing in his regular Daily Telegraph column, published this morning, the Mayor of London said he was “astonished” to be attacked by the MCB.

“I was astounded to be denounced, on the front page of the Guardian, by the Muslim Council of Britain,” he wrote.

“A spokeswoman said that I was somehow attacking Muslims as a whole. Why on earth would she say that? Why is the MCB effectively claiming these porn freak jihadists for mainstream Islam?”

The complaint referred to an interview Mr Johnson had given to The Sun newspaper in which he had described jihadis as “literally wankers”, arguing “They are not making it with girls, and so they turn to other forms of spiritual comfort — which of course is no comfort.”

At the time, he also told the newspaper: “I often hear voices from the Muslim intelligentsia who are very quick to accuse people of Islamaphobia.

“But they are not explaining how it can be that this one religion seems to be leading people astray in so many cases. They are not being persuasive in the right way with these people.”

His comments were criticised in the Guardian by the anti-extremism group Quilliam and the community cohesion organisation Islamix. The Muslim Council of Britain is not quoted.

The source at the Muslim Council of Britain said they were not sure why Mr Johnson had attributed the comments to them.

“The only comment we made at the time was ‘We have not got sight of the MI5 report cited by Boris Johnson, so we cannot comment on his interpretation of its contents,’” the MCB’s letter to the Daily Telegraph read.

The Mayor’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

Credit to The Independent UK

What Actually Causes American Fear of Islam and Muslims?

An ambitious 81-page document, Fear, Inc. 2.0: The Islamophobia Network’s Efforts to Manufacture Hate in America, just appeared from the Center for American Progress, a liberal Democratic organization. Unlike its first iteration, in which a group with a $40-million annual budget and deep ties to big business had the nerve to claim that seven much smaller institutions were overpowering the country through their financial clout, this one looks at what the alleged “Islamophobia network” actually does.

The report, written by Matthew Duss, Yasmine Taeb, Ken Gude, and Ken Sofer, makes for interesting reading. Its premise is that critics of Islamism (1) are really anti-Islamic and (2) have single-handedly distorted a the fundamental American value, namely a “basic respect for the rights of minority groups throughout the country.” According to the CAP study, “the views of anti-Muslim actors stand in stark contrast to the values of most Americans.”

By dint of hard work, however, “a well-funded, well-organized fringe movement can push discriminatory policies against a segment of American society by intentionally spreading lies while taking advantage of moments of public anxiety and fear.” This effort “takes many shapes and forms”: a general climate, cynical political efforts, and institutional policies. Despite some setbacks, continues the CAP narrative, the network’s efforts “continue to erode America’s core values of religious pluralism, civil rights, and social inclusion.”

Those fingered as part of this network (I am one) should be perversely proud of our accomplishment: Just a handful of individuals lying manage to subvert a core American value – and all this with what CAP itself estimated to be less than $5 million a year!

But there is a more convincing reason why Americans fear Islam and Muslims. The news is filled almost daily and even several times daily with bulletins from one Islamist front or another. I hardly need rehearse the repertoire; just turn to the day’s headlines. ISIS and the Charlie Hebdo-like massacre most dominate the news, but Islamists are all the time winning unfavorable attention for themselves by making aggressive cultural demands (say, wearing a face-covering burqa in the courtroom), pushing the superiority of Islam (don’t dare say a negative word about Muhammad), or apologizing for some repulsive practice (such as honor killings or female genital mutilation).

Another way of putting it: the United States hosts about as many Buddhists and Hindus combined as it does Muslims. Yet, when did Buddhists or Hindus try to change the existing order or engage in violence on behalf of their faiths? Who ever hears about them? Who fears them?

Maybe it’s Islamists who are prompting powerful and spontaneous responses through their threatening behavior. Maybe we critics are not “intentionally spreading lies” but honestly interpreting Islamist aggression and supremacism. Maybe CAP and its ilk should blame the fear of Islam less on we critics and more on the Islamists themselves.

Credit to National Review Online.

Saudi Arabia slams 'terrorist' murder of American Muslims students

The shooting death of three American Muslim university students in North Carolina has been condemned by Saudi Arabia as a "heinous terrorist" act" presstv.ir reported.

The Arab country also condemned Saturday’s deadly attack in Denmark that left two people dead and five policemen injured.

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia followed with strong sorrow the heinous terrorist and criminal incidents that occurred lately in the Danish capital Copenhagen and in the US state of North Carolina that resulted in the death and injuring of innocent," the Saudi Press Agency said in a statement on Sunday.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offers its condolences to the families of terrorism victims and wishes the wounded speedy recovery," it added.

The statement came after a gunman killed three of his American Muslim neighbors in an apartment near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last week.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, shot dead Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19 in their home on Tuesday afternoon.

Families of the three victims, who were shot in the head, say they were executed for their religion, Islam, and want Hicks to be charged with a hate crime.

The fatal shootings have caused outrage among Muslims all over the world. Many claim the crimes would have gained more attention if the attacker had been a Muslim and the victims were non-Muslim whites.

On Saturday, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an international Islamic organization based in Saudi Arabia, also condemned the “gruesome” murders of the three students and voiced concern over rising Islamophobia in the United States.

US President Barack Obama on Friday called the deaths "brutal and outrageous murders" and said no one should be targeted for their religion in America.