Support Muslim Students on Campus: Dispel Myths, Address Islamophobia & Break Barriers

September  23,  2015  2:00  –  3:30  PM  ET  

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Panelist  •  Amer  F.  Ahmed  •  Intercultural  Diversity  Consultant  

•  Email:    Dawahpoet@gmail.com  

•  TwiJer:    @amerfarazahmed  

     The  opinions  expressed  during  today’s  event  are  not  necessarily  those  of  PaperClip  Communica:ons  

Let’s  Define  the  Problem…  •  The  post-­‐9/11  era  in  the  U.S.  has  exposed  a  significant  degree  of  

prejudice  and  bigotry  towards  Muslim  people  around  the  country.  Underscored  by  the  horrific  murders  of  three  University  of  North  Carolina  students  earlier  this  year,  there  is  a  great  need  for  educators  to  learn  and  understand  the  current  and  evolving  reali:es  and  needs  for  Muslim  students  on  campuses.  

 •  Beyond  support  for  religious  prac,ces,  Muslims  (and  those  

perceived  as  Muslims)  con,nue  to  be  subject  to  widespread  racial  profiling,  hate  crimes,  surveillance  and  bullying.  Understanding  the  social,  cultural  and  poli:cal  contexts  –  and  how  they  intersect  for  those  living,  learning  and  working  on  college  campuses  –  is  essen:al  in  understanding  how  you  can  best  support  this  unique  popula:on.    

 

Overview  •  Founda,onal  concepts  about  the  religion  of  Islam  •  Common  myths  and  misunderstandings  about  Islam  •  A  historical  context  on  Islam  •  Islamophobia  as  an  issue  of  racism  and  religious  discrimina,on,  

why  it  is  important  and  examples  of  profiling  and  hate  crimes.  •  How  the  intersec,on  of  religion  and  culture  creates  different  

contextual  situa,ons  in  higher  educa,on  environments.    •  What  you  should  be  doing  about  fear  and  lack  of  understanding  

on  your  campus  to  improve  campus  climate  for  all.    •  Recommenda,ons  for  responding  to  Islamophobic  hate/bias  

incidents,  that  can  be  adapted  to  your  unique  campus  environment,  should  an  incident  happen  occur  on  campus.  

 

Islam:  The  Basics  

•  5  pillars  of  faith  –  Faith  and  Declara,on  in  the  Oneness  of  Allah  and  Muhammad  (pbuh)  as  his  prophet  

–  Daily  Prayer  –  Fas,ng  During  the  Holy  Month  of  Ramadan  –  Alms/Charity  (Zak’at)  –  Pilgrimage  to  Mecca  (Hajj)  

•  Abrahamic  Faith:  Jesus,  Moses,  Noah,  Isaac,  Ishmael  are  Prophets  in  the  Islamic  tradi,on.  

•  Works  MaJer:  “Day  of  Judgement”      

Myth  vs.  Reality  

•  Women’s  Rights  •  Violent  (Terrorism)  •  Jihad  •  An,-­‐Semi,sm  •  Muslim  =  Arab  •  An,-­‐American  

Islam  and  Culture  

•  Difference  between  ‘Culture’  and  Islam  

•  Similari,es  across  cultures  

•  Varia,ons  across  cultures  •  Muslim  Iden,ty  across  the  “Ummah”  

•  Interpreta,on  of  Islamic  teachings  

History:  “Islam  vs.  the  West”  

•  Orientalism  •  Crusades  •  Reconquista  (Spain)  •  Colonialism  •  Post-­‐Colonialism  •  Israel  •  U.S.  inheritance  of  Colonial  History  

•  Neo-­‐colonialism  

History:  Islam  in  America  •  W.  African  Muslim  Explorers  in  the  Americas  •  Black  Muslim  Slaves  (Estevan,  1527  A.D.)  •  Morocco,  first  to  acknowledge  U.S.  sovereignty  

•  Georgian  and  Sapelo  Islands  •  Noble  Drew  Ali,  Farad  Muhammad  •  Na,on  of  Islam  •  Immigrants  (Arabs  and  others)  •  1960’s  change  in  U.S.  immigra,on  laws  

Muslim  in  America:  A  Diverse  Community  

September  11,  2001  

•  A  sudden  focus  on  U.S.  Muslims    •  Hate  crimes/Threats/Harassment  •  Surveillance/Inves,ga,ons  •  Muslims  seen  as  un-­‐American  and  expected  to  apologize  

•  Muslim  unprepared  for  response  •  From  unknown  people  to  pre-­‐judgment  and  suspicion  

Post  9/11:  Racial  Profiling  

•  Patriot  Act  •  Disappearances  •  “Random”  security  checks  

•  Widespread  support  of  profiling  

•  Discrimina,on  •  Customs  used  as  a  checkpoint  for  Homeland  Security  

“Ground  Zero  Mosque”  Controversy  •  Not  a  Mosque  or  @  ‘Ground  

Zero’  •  Widespread  Opposi,on  incl.  

ADL  and  +50%  Democrats  •  Muslims  compared  to  Nazis  •  Exposed  opposi,on  to  

Islamic  Centers  around  U.S.  •  Tennessee  Mosque  arson  •  Qur’an  Burnings  

King  Hearings  •  “The Extent of

Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response”

•  Salman Hamdani

Pastor  Terry  Jones  

Pamela  Geller  

NYPD  Muslim  Surveillance  

Wisconsin  Shoo,ngs  of  Sikhs  

Miss  America:    Nina  Davuluri  

@Cademinnick413 Are you serious??!!! The Arab wins??!!! This is miss AMERICA!!! Not miss Arabia!!! Miss Kansas is in the army and is a country girl!!! C'mon!

@Buckiller14 This is miss America not miss terrorist #getoffthescreen #USA

This is Miss America, not Miss Muslim. #sorrynotsorry

Nice slap in the face to the people of 9-11 how pathetic #missamerica

UNC  Shoo,ngs  

“30  Second  Stretch”      We  think  your  health  is  important.    

Please  feel  free  to  take  a  30  second  break  to  stand,    stretch  and/or  reflect  before  we  conKnue.  

Addressing  Islamophobia  on  campus  •  What  resources  are  on  your  campus  to  address  Islamophobia?    (e.g.  administrators,  faculty,  chaplain,  student  orgs,  etc.)    What  is  being  done  and  what  needs  to  be  done?  

•  Who  are  the  targets  subject  to  the  implica,ons  of  Islamophobia?    Who  are  the  allies?  

•  Who’s  responsibility  is  it  to  proac,vely  engage  the  issue  and/or  respond  to  any  incidences  that  may  occur?  

•  What  are  students  and  campus  community  cons,tuencies  saying  about  this  issue?  

Proac,ve  Campus  Outreach  •  Develop  strong  rela,onships  with  leadership  of  relevant  

student  organiza,ons.  •  Muslim  Student  Associa,on  (MSA)  tends  to  be  an  important  

star,ng  point  that  represent  a  significant  number  of  students.  •  Remember  that  not  all  Muslim  students  par,cipate  in  MSA.    

Some  chapters  are  deemed  too  conserva,ve  or  too  liberal  by  other  Muslim  students  on  campus.  Varies  campus  to  campus.  

•  Some  Muslim  students  prefer  ethnic/na,onality  student  org  over  MSA.    (E.g.  Arab  Student  Assoc.,  Malaysian  Student  Assoc.)  

•  Recognize  the  need  to  outreach  to  American  Muslims,  Interna,onal  Muslims,  Refugees  and  others.    Typically  this  requires  collabora,on  across  Int’l  &  domes,c  resources.  

Proac,ve  Campus  Outreach  (cont.)  •  Do  not  forget  about  non-­‐Muslim  students  also  subject  to  

Islamophobia  (Arab  Chris,ans,  Hindu,  Sikh,  etc.)  •  Reach  out  to  Hindu,  Sikh,  Arab  and  South  Asian  organiza,ons.    

Consider  also  outreaching  to  interfaith  groups.  •  Coordinate  outreach  efforts  across  campus  resources  possibly  

including  spiritual  life  depending  on  their  effec,veness.  •  Consider  facilita,ng  cross-­‐cons,tuency  space  to  discuss  and  

address  Islamophobia  across  these  various  groups.    They  oqen  do  not  work  together  but  may  if  they  understand  the  value  of  collec,vely  addressing  islamophobia  together.  

•  Ensure  that  these  groups  are  aware  of  exis,ng  hate/bias  protocol  resources  on  campus  so  that  they  report  any  incidences  that  occur.  

Broad-­‐based  Campus  Educa,on  •  Develop  programs  that  are  geared  towards  educa,ng  the  

campus  community  about  Islam  and  Islamophobia.  •  Draw  from  faculty,  student  affairs  professionals  and  staff  as  

resources  of  exper,se  and  experience.  •  U,lize  available  off-­‐campus  community  resources  like  Islamic  

centers,  etc.  •  Bring  outside  speakers,  educators  &  facilitators  to  conduct  

educa,onal  programs  campus.  •  Create  spaces  for  dialogue  on  the  subject.  •  Protect  the  safety  of  Muslims  students  and  other  students  

subject  to  Islamophobia  in  educa,onal  spaces  so  they  are  not  over-­‐burdened  with  responsibility  to  educate  the  en,re  community.  

Hate/Bias  Protocol  •  What  is  your  Hate/Bias  Protocol  on  campus  like?  •  Is  there  a  repor,ng  system  communicated  and  conveyed  to  all  campus  cons,tuencies?  

•  What  types  of  responses  occur  when  an  incident  is  reported?  

•  Are  there  students  engaged  in  addressing  Islamophobia  Hate/Bias  incidents  on  campus  as  part  of  the  broader  Hate/Bias  incident  efforts?  

U.S.  Muslims  Organiza,ons  

•  CAIR  (Council  on  American  Islamic  Rela,ons)    www.cair.com    

•  ISNA  (Islamic  Society  of  North  America)    www.isna.net    

•  IMAN  (Inner-­‐City  Muslim  Ac,on  Network)  www.imancentral.org    

•  Islam  on  Demand    www.islamondemand.com    

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•  Historical  context  about  Islam  and  Islamophobia  

•  Diversity  across  cultures  and  groups  •  Islamophobia  is  a  form  of  racism  •  Campus  Outreach  and  educa,on  as  part  of  a  proac,ve  effort  to  confront  and  address  Islamophobia  

•  Hate/Bias  Protocol  as  part  of  response  effort  to  incidences  that  may  occur  on  campus  

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