A kid is denied a birthday party because a parent doesn’t want “terrorists” there. A student athlete fears being expelled from the track team for missing training during Ramadan. A boy hears his classmates chanting an Arabic expression praising God in a sarcastic way.
Students recount these and other troubling experiences in a new book aimed at raising awareness of anti-Muslim bias in schools. In the book, titled “Equal Opportunity: A Portfolio of Injustices Muslims Face in the American Education System,” the New Jersey authors — teens and students themselves — write about the damage bullying and exclusionary school policies can do. They recommend ways to address these problems through comprehensive policies and education about anti-Muslim bullying.
Muslim Students for Justice, a Paramus-based nonprofit founded in June, published the book to share experiences with peers across the country who may be facing similar struggles. The 100-page book was written by Asad Gilani, Mehreen Khatib and Mateen Aminar, who make up the group’s executive board. Amazon It includes a mixture of researched articles, interviews, and short stories.
“We want this to be a guide for other Muslim students, so that they can understand and know that these injustices are not one in a million and that there are ways to rectify them,” said Gilani, a student at Paramus High School and Jamaat. President.
Excluded from the party
Alina Khan, in an interview with Gilani that appears in the book, said that the harassment and bullying got worse around 2016, calling it “a terrible year for Muslims”. That’s when President Donald Trump boasted of a “Muslim ban” on travelers to the United States, and terrorist attacks by radical Muslims dominated the news.
“Unfortunately, people seem unable to separate these vicious terrorists from peaceful and ordinary Muslims like myself,” Khan said.
At school, classmates learned from social media that she was a Muslim and distanced themselves from her. Afterwards, a friend told her that she could no longer come to her birthday party “because my mom didn’t want any terrorists there,” Khan recounts.
Feeling anxious and upset, Khan did not know where to turn.
“I think they only gave a token slap on the wrist to some kids, but there was nothing hard enough for them to stop,” Khan said in the book interview. . “
It also affected the pride she felt in her faith.
“I originally had such a strong inner identity of what it meant to be a Muslim, even though I didn’t shout it from the rooftops or anything,” she said. “However, after all this hate, I wanted to get away from religion, in order to improve my daily life.”
For other students, the challenges arose from school policies that did not take their needs into account.
Aminar ran track but was afraid to tell the coaches he needed to skip workouts or take breaks because he was fasting during Ramadan. During the fast, observant Muslims do not eat food or drink water between sunrise and sunset.
Sports policy did not include religious accommodations, and he feared that his coaches would not understand or respect his decision to fast. Eventually, he shared his situation with a coach who was accommodating him, and pressured the district to adopt a more inclusive sports policy.
Three ways schools can do better
In Paramus, Muslim Students for Justice lobbied the area to change its sports policy to give fasting students more flexibility in sports and physical education. It wasn’t the only change the group successfully upgraded.
In the book, Gilani writes about feeling guilty over eating Rice Krispy foods from the cafeteria made with marshmallows that contain gelatin, which is taboo for Muslims because it is sometimes made from pig products. He said he could eat most vegetarian options such as chips and fruit, but not meat entrees, and he often got hungry.
“It’s a matter of equality,” he wrote. “No student should be denied the privilege of purchasing food when their peers can freely choose their own meals.”
Gilani met with school principals to raise the issue of halal foods. The students celebrated when, in the fall, Paramus agreed to sell food Halal – Any record according to the teachings of Sharia – in its cafeterias. In the book, he interviews former New York City Councilman Rafael Espinal, who led efforts to introduce halal foods in the city’s schools and gave advice on passing such measures.
Espinal argued that it was a matter of the student’s health and was worth the extra cost to the district.
“What really helped us get to the finish line was when allied groups came together and became part of the process,” Espinal was quoted in the book as saying. “That’s why I think it’s so important to build on advocacy groups and allies and make them aware of how important it is for them to be part of these conversations.”
For Khatib, the lack of awareness of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, was a problem. When she dropped out of school, she hesitated to tell her friends why, and even lied that she was sick, due to negative stereotypes associated with Islam.
As she got older, Khatib learned more about Islam and became proud and eager to tell others about her traditions. Supported a years-long community campaign to add Eid al-Fitr to the school’s holiday calendar. Last year, the Paramus School Board voted to officially recognize the holiday and close schools for the holiday.
The pressure for change has not been easy. Gilani said the students initially planned to create a school club, but Paramus officials wanted them to change the name. “We want to be who we are, so we started a 501(c)(3) instead,” he said, using the Internal Revenue Service term for a nonprofit.
With an inclusive sports policy, halal foods on the menu and Eid on the holiday calendar, the student group believes the Paramus area is showing greater acceptance of its Muslim students. They say this inclusion sends a positive message.
Gilani writes, “By making these reforms beneficial to Muslims in schools, Muslims are made into ordinary kin and students – not as a savage and isolated group of individuals.”
Transfer the message to other areas
The student group has about 20 members, mostly from Paramus but also from other North Jersey areas and out of state. Less than a year ago, she has already met with local lawmakers and plans to teach a youth class on speaking out against prejudice at the Fusion Muslim Community Center of North Jersey. Principal Farhat Khan said the center will also host a book launch event on February 5.
Group members want to help their peers who are seeking similar changes in other areas. They are also calling for educational efforts to combat bullying in schools so that staff can identify prejudice and learn what Muslim students are going through. They say the impact of bullying isn’t just immediate. It can affect mental health, feelings of self-worth, and academic performance.
The students said they were done trying to lie down and hide their identity. Now, by joining together and making reforms happen, they hope to make it easier for the students “while preserving their identity as Muslims.”
Aminar said the first step to change is communication.
He said, “Talk to people and build a community in your own school.” “The school itself can help you fight for change.”