CALIFORNIA'S MUSLIM STUDENTS are twice as likely to be bullied than Muslim students in other parts of the country.
"Being called 'terrorist' or 'Bin laden' is still a reality for many American Muslim students," said Fatima Dadabhoy., civil rights manager of Council of American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles.
A 2016 survey of 1,041 students ages 11-18 from San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay Area were asked questions about their relationships with peers and teachers, as well as their comfort levels participating in discussions about Islam and Muslims.
"Throughout the course of this study, we were alarmed to find that many Muslim students didn't even deem this as a form of bullying," said Dadabhoy. "Through this report, we hope to show that a decision to dismiss mistreatment as a natural consequence of being Muslim in America, or simply part of growing up, is unacceptable and normalizes a toxic school environment."
This study follows similar studies conducted by CAIR in 2012 and 2014.
Fifty-three percent of respondents report that students at school are made fun of, verbally insulted or abused for being Muslim. Additionally, 26 percent of students reported being victims of cyberbullying, and a shocking 57 percent of students view their peers making offensive comments about Islam and Muslims online.
Thirty-six percent of female respondents, reported having their Islamic head scarves (hijab) tugged, pulled or being offensively touched, an increase of seven percent from CAIR-CA’s 2015 report.
Survey results reveal an increase in offensive comments made by teachers, administrators and other officials about the students’ religion. Only 30 percent of students reported that they felt their problems were solved by an adult, a decrease from 42 percent in 2014.
READ the full report.
“The results of this survey reveal that Muslim students have to carry a heavy burden every day at school by facing bullies whose religious intolerance is now being legitimized by a sitting U.S. president,” said CAIR-LA Civil Rights Attorney Marwa Rifahie, the lead author of the report. “It is hard to ignore the negative effect the 2016 presidential campaign and that the election of Donald Trump has had on the progress made in the school bullying arena. It is important to continue advocating for learning environments that are free from hostility and discrimination.”
"As we feared, our survey results showed that the school environment for Muslim students has continued to worsen on all fronts,” said CAIR-SFBA Civil Rights Attorney Brittney Rezaei. “Students face bullying from peers, teachers and even school administrators, and often feel as though they cannot get help. However, we have also seen amazing resilience from the students we work with who continue to thrive in the face of adversity. "
Other highlights of the report included:
- More than 10% reported physical bullying such as slapping, kicking, or punching.
- 17% of female students who wear a hijab, reported being bullied at least once because of they wear a hijab to school.
- 50% were subjected to mean comments and rumors about them because of their religion.
- 18% didn’t feel comfortable participating in classroom discussions in which Islam or Muslims were discussed.
- 19% didn’t believe or were unsure that their teachers respected their religion.
- 35% of bullying victims indicated that reporting harassment incidents to school administrators did not help.
CAIR said it has witnessed an unprecedented increase in hate incidents targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump.
The Washington-based civil rights and advocacy organization urges community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/report
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