(BALTIMORE, MD, 5/16/2023) – The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on that state’s Prince George’s County Public School System to investigate allegations of racist bullying targeting Afghan refugee students.
In a letter to Parkdale High School Principal Dr. Tasha Graves, CAIR’s Maryland director Zainab Chaudry described an incident in which an Afghan refugee tenth-grader and other male Afghan refugee students in his class were confronted by a group of males who allegedly approached them in a threatening manner and told them to “go back to where they came from.”
Chaudry wrote in part:
“CAIR was told that the teacher fled the class during the incident, and that the school counselor and/or the school officer advised the Afghan students to ‘not return to school until the matter was handled.’
“Out of fear for his safety, _______ did not return to school the next day, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, but other Afghan refugee students did. CAIR was informed that some of them were physically assaulted and choked. CAIR was notified that at least two of the Afghan refugee students sought medical attention for injuries sustained in the attack.”
The letter noted that CAIR has urged the students to file police reports. CAIR is calling on you and the Prince George’s County Public School System to launch a transparent investigation into the allegations of assault, intimidation and racist bullying and describe the steps taken against the offending students.
Last year, CAIR announced the filing of a civil rights complaint against Baltimore’s Academy for College & Career Exploration for an alleged assault and bullying of Afghan children by staff and students.
Also last year, CAIR welcomed the “swift” response to an assault on three Afghan students who attend Gholson Middle School in Maryland’s Prince George’s County.
She noted that CAIR offers a booklet, called “An Educator’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” designed to help school officials provide a positive learning environment for Muslim students.
CAIR National’s 2022 Civil Rights Report, “Still Suspect,” documented various school-related complaints ranging from bullying, Islamophobic school curriculum, and holiday denials in 2021. Bullying is consistently one of the most common types of school-related complaints received at CAIR offices around the country.
SEE: 2022 Civil Rights Report: Still Suspect
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Still-Suspect-Report-2022.pdf
SEE ALSO: Bias and Bullying in Public Schools: Mitigating the Impact on Muslim and Perceived-as-Muslim Students
A 2022 poll by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding reports that almost half (48%) of Muslim families with school-age children reported having a child who faced religious-based bullying in the past year, with one in five families saying their child faces such bullying on a daily basis.
SEE: American Muslim Poll 2022
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Office in Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@cair.com, 410-971-6062