(SAN DIEGO, CA, 4/30/2022) – The San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego) today condemned the alleged bullying of an Afghan-American student and called on Poway Unified school district officials to investigate and take action to protect the student.
The family of a 10th grader at Del Norte High School says the 15-year-old is being targeted by other students because of his Afghan heritage and are concerned that the district is not doing enough to protect their son. The student says the harassment has been occurring for the past eight months and includes the student being spat on and called “terrorist.”
Del Norte High School Principal Bryan Schultz issued a statement claiming that, “Del Norte High School takes every incident of harassment or bullying reported to us very seriously. Each of these incidents was thoroughly and immediately investigated and consequences were issued according to Education Code and PUSD policy.”
In a statement, CAIR-SD Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said:
“We are outraged to learn of the alleged attacks on a young Afghan-American student at Del Norte High School and shocked that the school and the district failed to take actions sufficient to protect the student from ongoing attacks.”
“A school must be a supportive space of trust and respect. It is the duty of school administrators to promote a sense of well-being in order to facilitate learning. We invite the PUSD staff and administration to launch a series of learning sessions offered by CAIR-San Diego so that they are equipped to handle such matters when an issue arises.
“CAIR-San Diego continues to work on anti-bullying education in our school districts. We ask the Poway Unified School District Superintendent to immediately investigate this matter and take appropriate action to protect the student being bullied.”
Nizam said 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.
A recent study published by CAIR-CA surveying shows that a very high level of Muslim students feel unsafe at schools. Some 55% of all respondents surveyed reported feeling unsafe, unwelcome, or uncomfortable at school because of their Muslim identity.
She noted that CAIR recently released its latest report on the civil rights of American Muslims, titled “Still Suspect: The Impact of Structural Islamophobia,” detailing more than 6,700 civil rights complaints – including 177 school incidents – the Washington, D.C., based group received in the past year.
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-SD Executive Director Tazheen Nizam, 760-201-7626 or [email protected]