Jenks Public Schools is facing yet another in a string of accusations alleging civil-rights violations . The claims are being brought by a group of Muslim students and their parents, a member of which has been documenting discriminatory abuses on the Jenks High School campus since 2008.
The most recent issue focuses on the showing of a video as part of the approved curriculum surrounding the Oklahoma City Bombing in which Muslims are implicated in the attack. Sources close to the issue say that the video had been approved by the school with the stipulation that it be used as a tool to promote critical thinking and discussion.
Speaking with the mother of a Muslim student present in the Oklahoma History class in which the segment was shown, she attested to the fact that it was her daughter who had brought the issue to her attention and who also reported that there had been no class discussion on the issues the video raised.
As stated above this is just the most recent example of an institutional bias which while not flatly anti-Islamic, does not afford those adherents of religions which compose the minority at the school the same climate as those who hold more mainstream beliefs.
Among issues suffered in the past by Islamic students include the forcible removal of the hijab, or religiously mandated head covering, from female students by other students, the school allowing Christian ministers on campus periodically during the lunch hour to witness to students, and the distribution of Christian-sponsored T-shirts at a school-sponsored camp.
The documentation collected concerns not only issues raised by Muslim students and their parents at the high school, but extends to discriminatory behavior and bullying present at the middle school and elementary school as well.
The issues have been brought to the attention of administration, but progress towards creating a safe environment for those of divergent faiths has been slow going.
One goal the group of students and parents are hoping to accomplish is improved tolerance, and one way in which they are petitioning to accomplish this is by asking that the teachers at the school be sent to classes emphasizing religious rights and common ground. Tulsa Public Schools as well as Union Public Schools both require this training of their teachers, however Jenks has yet to do so.
The group has remained in close dialogue with Jenks administration, has provided the school with a list of concerns, and is hoping to advocate for teachers training on bullying to extend in the future to issues of religious persecution in schools.
The group has remained in close dialogue with Jenks administration, has provided the school with a list of concerns, and is hoping to advocate for teachers training on bullying to extend in the future to issues of religious persecution in schools.
The group of parents and students has partnered with the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and is hoping to reach its goals of promoting religious tolerance and mitigating Islamophobia in all forms through continued advocacy.
“This is not the concern of one parent or a group of parents, this is a concern of our entire collective community”, said Adam Soltani, Executive Director of CAIR-OK, when asked about the incidents of religious discrimination and bullying seen at the school.
Soltani’s stance highlights the concerns of parents in regards to many of the circumstances surrounding the incidents which, far from creating an unbiased environment, may contribute to future anti-Islamic incidents at the school.