(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 8/23/2021) – The Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today released a school resource document with tips and educational resources that teachers can use to teach about the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
READ Teaching September 11, 2001, in Diverse Classrooms:
https://www.cairoklahoma.com/resource/teaching-september-11-2001-in-diverse-classrooms/
“Teaching students about the September 11th attacks and their impact on our nation and the world is necessary and important,” said CAIR Oklahoma Executive Director Adam Soltani. “This resource provides educators with the resources necessary to teach their students in an accurate manner.”
Every year, CAIR offices normally receive complaints from students and families about anti-Muslim bullying and Islamophobic rhetoric in classrooms tied to the anniversaries of September 11, 2001. In CAIR surveys, large numbers of Muslim students reported being mocked, verbally harassed, or physically abused because of their faith or ethnicity. CAIR-OK has recently launched our first-ever Muslim Student survey to learn more about Muslim students’ experience in Oklahoma schools.
SEE: CAIR-OK Oklahoma Student Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CAIROKStudentSurvey
SEE: CAIR-MA Issues First-Ever Report on Muslim Youth Bullying in Massachusetts
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ma-issues-first-ever-report-on-muslim-youth-bullying-in-massachusetts/
CAIR-CA REPORT: 40% of Muslim Students in California Experience Bullying, Discrimination
https://ca.cair.com/losangeles/news/cair-ca-report-40-of-muslim-students-in-california-experience-bullying-discrimination/
CAIR designed the school resource document to give teachers additional tools they can use to discuss the 9/11 attacks using vetted and reliable sources.
The resource document includes a list of general lesson plans about 9/11 created by educators, as well as documentaries, news reports, and articles that cover both the attacks and their impact on people across America, including American Muslims. The document also includes recommended tips that teachers can use to avoid incidents of bigotry in the classroom during the discussion of 9/11.
Examples of tips include:
1. Alert students a few days in advance of the 9/11 lesson plan so that families have time to prepare their children for the discussion.
2. Only use external instructional materials – such as photographs, documentaries, etc. –from vetted, reliable, mainstream sources such museums and major media outlets.
3. Vet all materials, including internal materials such as textbooks, to ensure that they do not include inaccurate information or inflammatory content.
4. Immediately respond to any incidents of bullying or harassment that occur in the classroom during the lesson plan.
5. Refrain from asking students to engage in educational activities that stimulate the roles of perpetrators, targets, or bystanders.
CAIR National’s 2021 Civil Rights Report, Resilience in the Face of Hate, documented various school-related complaints ranging from bullying, Islamophobic school curriculum, and holiday denials in 2020. Bullying accounted for 44% of all school-related complaints.
SEE: 2021 Civil Rights Report: Resilience in the Face of Hate
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/CAIRReport.pdf
Bias and Bullying in Public Schools: Mitigating the Impact on Muslim and Perceived-as-Muslim Students
http://www.islamophobia.org/images/2019/Bullying/Bias_and_Bullying_White_Paper.pdf
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR Oklahoma Executive Director Adam Soltani, 405-248-5853, asoltani@cair.com