(LOS ANGELES, CA – 9/28/2022) – The Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today demanded that the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) Board of Trustees investigate RSCCD’s refusal to reveal the results of its investigation into a Santa Ana College (SAC) professor’s Islamophobic statements.
WATCH: CAIR-LA Demands Accountability for Santa Ana College Adjunct Professor’s Islamophobic Comments
In a recording of her Introduction to Psychology lecture discussing social roles, SAC Adjunct Professor Jamie McDonough is heard making derogatory and biased comments about the roles of men and women in the Muslim world. She repeatedly characterized the Muslim world as a violent and misogynistic place in which Muslim men routinely brutalized Muslim women. Her blanket generalizations perpetuate the worst kinds of anti-Muslim stereotypes and biases.
After CAIR-LA’s demands for an investigation, RSCCD agreed to conduct a 90-day investigation but later refused to share its findings. To date, RSCCD has failed to offer a meaningful response to any of CAIR-LA’s demands. It has made no attempt to issue an explicit apology for Professor McDonough’s statements and failed to respond to CAIR-LA’s request that the Professor be prevented from teaching until she received sensitivity training regarding the practices, cultures, and history of the global Muslim community.
The District also continues to ignore the concerns of hundreds of community members and leading American-Muslim organizations, such as the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the Islamic Institute of Orange County, and the Islamic Society of Orange County, who joined CAIR-LA’s call for greater accountability.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“We are extremely concerned that the District’s refusal to release their investigation results or address CAIR-LA’s other demands signal an alarming apathy towards Islamophobia on its college campuses. RSCCD is failing its Muslim students, who already suffer high rates of harassment and bullying targeting their faith. More importantly, RSCCD is creating a campus climate that robs all its students and staff of the opportunity to thrive in an inclusive and safe environment.
“We have tried to initiate meaningful and sustainable dialogue with RSCCD but have been repeatedly turned away. It is time for the Board of Trustees to act and to restore the trust of its students and community.”
CAIR-LA demands that the RSCCD Board of Trusts address the District’s failure to release the results of its 90-day investigation. The Board of Trustees must issue a public condemnation of Professor McDonough’s remarks and make a commitment to address the American-Muslim community’s concerns surrounding Islamophobia on its college campuses. CAIR-LA has requested a meeting with the Board’s President, Vice President, and the Trustee overseeing Santa Ana College.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com