As my last civic issues post, I want to talk about the future, and how some people’s futures may be different, or stunted, merely because they have a different race or religion. Unfortunately, in a place meant to education and provide hope for one’s future, there has been bias present against Muslim/Middle-Eastern students, making it hard to move on and truly get an education. In some cases, it is the teacher’s duty to help their students lose these prejudices, unjust biases towards other people, and see everyone as equal regardless of how they look.

Most of the issues that occur in places of education or schooling are not started by educators or teachers alike, but rather the other students present in classrooms or lecture halls, creating a very hostile, unsafe environment for people, especially Muslim/Middle-Eastern people. “When Basir Jamil was 8 years old in 2001, he hated the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center, smashed into the Pentagon and downed an airplane full of people in rural Pennsylvania. So when he was called the same thing—a terrorist—a few years later in middle school, he was shocked.” While Basir Jamil’s experience is in no way okay or should be tolerated, unfortunately, it is not the worst experience someone has had in school.

On the website Tolerance.org, they attempt to show others why tolerance is important and should be enforced. There, they have an unfortunate list of just a few things that have happened to Muslim/Middle-Eastern people in their schooling environment. It says:

• In St. Cloud, Minn., a high school student created a short-lived Facebook group called “I hate the Somalians at Tech High.” The area is home to one of the largest groups of Somali refugees in the country, many of whom are Muslim.
• In Oklahoma, a student was suspended after wearing a hijab, or headscarf, at school on September 11, although she had worn it for weeks before.
• In Massachusetts, when a Cambridge store burned down, Muslim high school students were asked by classmates if they bombed the store.
• In New York, four high school students were charged with a hate crime after spending more than a year bullying a Muslim classmate, occasionally beating him and calling him a terrorist.

Obviously, because of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, there was an increased amount of fear surrounding Muslim/Middle-Eastern people. While this is an incredibly unfortunate, misguided side effect of these attacks, it justifies to these Islamophobic (an exaggerated fear, hatred and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes) people their actions, though no act of hate or intolerance is justified.

In a study done by the University of Nebraska, they found, ” between 2015-2017 about Islamophobia and schools, we discovered 55 documented cases of “Islamophobia” in the US and 61 in North America, and these account for only the ones reported in major newspapers, so they do not include cases that were not reported regionally or nationally, and in many of the federally refugee designated sites.” Further, it is brought up, “As William Dalrymple explained in a follow-up in The New York Times, this renewal of those fears stems from the American tendency to see the Islamic world as a “single, terrifying monolith” — prejudicial perceptions that continue to result in the marginalization of Muslims from the
social, political, and public life of the nation and our schools.”

According to NPR.org: “Muslim children are more likely to be bullied in school than children of other faiths. A new survey by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) reveals that 42 percent of Muslims with children in K–12 schools report bullying of their children because of their faith, compared with 23 percent of Jewish and 20 percent of Protestant parents.” Even effects of the previous Presidential election had an effect on the school environment, especially regarding Muslim/Middle-Eastern children, many teachers have said.

If these are words that children are hearing their parents, aunts or uncles use, they are most likely going to be repeated, as children are very good at imitation. The place where these children will repeat these words is in their sole social atmosphere, which is school, and towards other children. Not only does this result in a hostile atmosphere, but it discourages these Muslim/Middle-Eastern children to continue their education and establish a successful, fulfilling future.

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In this weird, trying time of dealing with a global pandemic, health care and health service providers have been in the forefront in countless people’s minds. It is the expectation of every person that if they need health care, a doctor, a hospital etc. they will receive the best possible care available to them, and not have to worry about mediocre care based on their race, religion, or any kind of other appearance.

For the sake of explaining and dissecting the issues of health care bias, I will be focusing on Middle-Eastern Muslim people. According to a study conducted by Mary Brigid Martin PhD, RN-BC, CTN-A, a certified transcultural nurse, it was found that “Almost one-third of Muslims in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health said they had perceived being discriminated against in a health-care setting.” Source.

Within this same study, it was found “To inquire if participants experienced discrimination in the health care setting, item number 13 elicited a “Yes/No” response: Did you ever feel that you were discriminated against in the health care setting because you are Muslim? A total of 62 (27.6%) responded “Yes” and 163 (72.4%) responded “No”.” Source. While 27.6% of the responses within the sample surveyed said that they felt as if they were discriminated against because they were Muslim is less than those that felt non-discriminated against, that does not mean there is not an issue. That means that there is still 27.6% of an issue, and even more because there are millions of Muslims that were not surveyed in this study, which must be considered.

A Muslim family recounts a very traumatic time in November of 2019 in which they faced discrimination in a hospital. “A Muslim family went to a hospital in Northern Virginia to celebrate a joyous occasion: the birth of a newborn baby. But they say hospital staff humiliated them by telling them they looked “scary,” and threatened to kick them out.” They continue, “”He screams and he says, ‘You’re not allowed to be here!’ And then he said, ‘You know, you look scary,'” she recalled. “I was shocked, like, ‘Did he say that?'” The story, unfortunately, continued in a very poor way, “”It was surprising to me. First of all, we weren’t threatening in any way. No one had done anything,” Ahmed Zahr said. Source.

According to Quality Interactions, a blog created for health care professionals, “Unconscious (or implicit) bias occurs when this automatic processing is influenced by stereotypes, and therefore those stereotypes impact your actions and judgments.” While this is very true, the post continues, “Unconscious bias can lead to false assumptions and negative outcomes. This is especially dangerous in healthcare, where decisions can mean life or death. As more attention is paid to health disparities in the United States, there is increasing evidence that unconscious bias leads to negative outcomes for minority groups in healthcare settings. This in turn contributes to health disparities, in which certain groups experience inequalities in the provision of and access to healthcare.”

It is important for health care providers to acknowledge that this unconscious bias is most likely present in their judgement, because acknowledging that the bias is present is the first step in getting rid of this unfair judgement. If someone refuses to accept that there may be bias present in their judgement, than they will not make the proper changes and adjustments when it is needed to provide the best possible care. Health care providers must acknowledge that their job to care for others does not just include certain people with certain stories and backgrounds, but includes everybody who walks, rolls, or crawls through their doors.

To help health care workplaces eliminate judgement and discrimination, there must be classes put in place, and immediate revocation of medical license if an incident like this occurs. Hate should not be present in a place where hope must be the leading force.

In 2016 after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) warned employers and their employees about discrimination in the work place against Muslim, or perceived to be Muslim, people. EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang said, “America was founded on the principle of religious freedom. As a nation, we must continue to seek the fair treatment of all, even as we grapple with the concerns raised by the recent terrorist attacks. When people come to work and are unfairly harassed or otherwise targeted based on their religion or national origin, it undermines our shared and longstanding values of tolerance and equality for all.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and potential employees on the basis of national origin, religion, race, color, or sex. Discrimination can potentially occur in many forms throughout the employment process, including hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, disciplining, and accommodating. While several minority groups are all too familiar with bias and discrimination in the workplace, Muslim/Middle-Eastern people receive discrimination that could most likely end up in violent actions against the innocent people with a different culture.

The EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2017-2021 included within its focus areas the “backlash discrimination against those who are Muslim or Sikh, or persons of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian descent, as well as persons perceived to be members of these groups, as tragic events in the United States and abroad have increased the likelihood of discrimination against these communities.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Strategic Enforcement Plan Fiscal Years 2017-2021. In the recent years, protection of Muslim/Middle-Eastern people in the workplace became a priority for the EEOC as there has been several counts of discrimination against these marginalized groups in the public eye, especially certain politicians and others with a big voice.

In June of 2015, the United Stated Supreme Court rejected Abercrombie & Fitch’s defense to a religious discrimination claim filed by a Muslim woman who was not hired because her wearing of a headscarf conflicted with “Look Policy”. Abercrombie argued that its Look Policy was neutral on its face (in that it did not allow head wear by anyone of any religion) and could not therefore constitute intentional discrimination noting that, “when an applicant requires an accommodation as an ‘aspec[t] of religious . . . practice,’ it is no response that the subsequent failure to hire was due to an otherwise-neutral policy. In other words, do not forget that Title VII requires that otherwise-neutral policies give way to the need for religious accommodation.”

One year later, in September, 2016, a jury awarded 1.5 million dollars to a Muslim employee of the Illinois Department of Transportation whose request for a quiet place to pray during lunch was rejected and was then terminated approximately three months later. This is an example of how bias and discrimination results in hostility and threats, as when this employee was terminated, there are allegations of threats and hostility towards the employee simply for their religion and request for a quiet place to pray, as prayer is an incredibly important part of the Muslim religion.

The Fourth Circuit in Guessous v. Fairview Prop. Invs. LLC, 828 F.3d 208 (4^th Cir. 2016), reviewed a case involving allegations of a supervisor referring to Middle Easterners as “camel people” and Middle Easterners as “a bunch of crooks [who] will stop at nothing to screw you.” Clearly, it is not surprising that these statements would support a discrimination claim. What is more interesting is that the Fourth Circuit found that the supervisors’ frequent discussion and questions regarding Islam and Moroccan culture might be found to have been “motivated by broader ethnic animus.” Obviously, these statements are unacceptable from an employer/supervisor, and foster a hostile environment not including equality or acceptance, making employees and others feel in danger and completely unsafe.

It is clear, when considering hiring and treatment in the workplace, employers should not deny employment to individuals on the basis of their religious attire. Employers should also work closely with the employees to find appropriate religious accommodations that meet requests for prayer space and other religious needs that would not cause undue hardship to the company. Employers should consider conference rooms and other unused space and work with employees regarding breaks and make-up time (where break time is unavailable to accommodate prayer needs).

It is a human right to have different religions and practices, so it must be respected when in the workplace, as everyone is there to simply work and earn a living.

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23 year old Adama Bah recounts her experience with her and her family after 9/11. “I was 13 when 9/11 happened. My teacher announced that a Muslim might have done it, and that there might be hatred against Muslims. I felt 9/11 when I came back to New York for Ramadan break. Altogether, there were six classmates who had to get on a plane to come back. At that time, we covered our faces. I couldn’t believe the looks. Everybody was scared, pointing. We got extra screenings, our bags were checked, we got pulled to the side. I’ve never had racism directed toward me before.”

Unfortunately, these acts of fear and bias are not a single story, and most definitely did not only happen to one person during this critical time in the United States. For Raed Jarrar, acts of prejudice were committed against him for merely wearing a shirt with the words, “We Will Not Be Silent” translated in both English and Arabic. This was in order to raise awareness for the wars and murders of innocent people in Palestine or Iraq. “Inspector H [at JFK Airport, in TSA] asked me, “What does it say?” I said, “It’s the same thing that it says in English. We will not be silent.” He said, “Oh, but we can’t be sure that’s the translation.” I was so confused that I didn’t know how to answer. Then he said, “We want you to take the T-shirt off, or put it on inside out.” I said, “It’s my constitutional right to wear this T-shirt. If you have any regulations against Arabic T-shirts, show them to me and I will take it off or cover it.” I was very polite, but it was becoming a scene and people were looking at us.” As you can see, just because of another country’s and culture’s language was present on a T-Shirt, officers within the airport requested that this man take his shirt off because they found it threatening.

Not only is prejudice an all too common reality for middle eastern people in the United States, but even practicing their religion is a time of fear and nervousness. Observant American Muslims—who must pray five times daily—are left with a problem within the United States. How do they maintain their religious faith without attracting attention in an environment of heightened fear? Some ask why they should be expected to change their behavior in a country that promises religious freedom. As the United States was once known as “the melting pot” of different religions, cultures, languages, and races, it is now becoming segregated out of fear, and people are unable to truly be able to practice their religion safely in the country.

Some may say that these people must be aware of the fear and caution surrounding Middle Eastern people in light of the terrorist attacks, but it is an unfair generalization based on ignorance and lack of motivation to be educated. Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, says that everyone should have a right to pray, but that in this day and age, “people must be sensitive to how their actions might impact those around them.” But Shahin and the North American Imams Federation say their group has taken every precaution possible. “That’s my question to the people,” Shahin says. “What more do I have to do? I am American, I speak this language, I do everything by the book and I’m still suspicious. I cannot change the color of my skin.”

Amad Shaikh, an American Muslim, shares his recount of 9/11, and explains the difficulty of sharing in grief with the rest of his country, but also feeling the effects of hate and prejudice.

“9/11 caught us all by surprise. American Muslims, ever so comfortable and free in our ways, were caught off-guard. We were grieving with our nation, but also required to share responsibility and answer for the actions of a few who claimed to share our faith. The wider Muslim community’s reaction was thus filled with confusion and inaction. Denial, victimization, silence and anger were all utilized to one degree or another. The only common voice was that of condemnation – but somehow, that escaped most of the public. The rest of the American public also grieved, but without the burden of “guilt by association”. Most Americans, to their credit, were actually quite precise in their initial raw reactions, with the larger focus on victims and the entity of Al-Qaeda, and less on the religion and practitioners of Islam.”

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About 10 million middle eastern people live in the United States, making up at least 3% of American citizens. Middle Easterners are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in America. While the size of the overall immigrant population (legal and illegal) has tripled since 1970. Middle Eastern Americans make up our neighbors, our peers, our teachers, our friends, doctors, and so much more. Interest in coming to America remains very strong in the Middle East even after September 11. In October 2001, the Department of State received approximately 1.5 million applications from the Middle East (not including Pakistan) for the visa lottery, a program which awards 50,000 green cards each year to randomly selected applicants.

Though people from the Middle East have been treated differently in the United States ever since the attacks of September 11th, they still want to come to this country. Middle Eastern immigrants are one of the most educated immigrant groups in America. In 2000, 49 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 28 percent of people born in the United States. The issue of Middle Eastern immigration and acceptance is important to the larger population of the United States because there are intelligent, hard working people being denied refuge in the United States because of fear and because of only a fraction of Middle Eastern people.

Currently, The Trump administration made several changes early in 2017 affecting inflows of MENA (Migration from the Middle East and North Africa) immigrants. Through a series of executive orders, the administration barred the entry of nationals from several Muslim-majority countries; lowered the fiscal year (FY) 2017 refugee ceiling to 50,000 from the 110,000 level set by President Obama; and temporarily suspended resettlement of refugees. While these changes have faced ongoing legal challenges, refugee admissions have slowed considerably: In calendar year 2017, about 33,400 refugees were resettled in the United States—just one-third of the total resettled in 2016. The number of Syrian refugee arrivals fell from about 15,500 in 2016 to roughly 3,000 in 2017.

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You may think that this problem does not affect you, because maybe you don’t know anyone from the Middle East, or don’t feel like you know enough about the actual issue at hand, but this is an incredibly important issue for all humans, in order to recognize humanity and people who may have a different background than you. Addressing this issue at hand is what helps us as humans better understand others, and create a safer, kinder environment. The first MIddle Eastern immigrants initially encountered a variety of prejudicial attitudes beyond those associated with belonging to any group of newcomers to America working to establish themselves.

Obviously, an everyday citizen may feel as if they have no impact on this issue, and that they will never be able to do enough to make it better, but that is not true. Voting, which is obviously an incredibly civic action, is the best way to make a difference in the lives of these Middle Eastern people as well as the Country’s morale in entirety. Voting for an administration that encourages the acceptance and immigration of Middle Eastern people legally is an important step in creating a more accepting, compassionate environment.

The Presidential Administration is obviously the best way for change to be made as they are the people that can make judicial and governmental change. There are ways to petition for governmental change and to get involved in Committees that work towards these similar goals, but voting and making your voice heard are the best options when trying to make big, impactful change for several years to follow.

For my civic issue this semester, going along with my obvious fondness for the fight for people’s rights to be whoever they choose to be, my civic issues blog posts will be falling under the Identities and Rights category. This category, as stated on the class blog, examines identities, such as race, class, sexuality, gender and religion and how that corresponds with rights and fairness. Primarily, as of right now, I want to focus on what being Middle Eastern looks like in the United States of America, under the current governmental administration and recent events, what past events have influenced the perspective of Middle Eastern people, and why those who antagonize Middle Eastern people living in the United States are very falsely informed, but also show high levels of arrogance in response to fear rather than compassion.

As I have already heavily focused on the lives of people with various sexualities in the United States last semester, I would like to focus on race and how that affects the lives of colored people in the United States, even though many non-colored people may say that there is no longer any oppression towards colored people in our country. I could talk about colored populations in prisons, and how this compares to white people who have committed the same offense but got a lesser charge, and the bias and prejudice that is present in law enforcement, either very obviously or slightly more subtly than believed.

For my group’s public controversy, we have chosen the reality of Food Oppression and how it relates to Socioeconomic Status. We will be using research and previous experience of this specific issue in order to frame and ultimately create our video. Our ultimate hypothesis is based around the fact that people in a lower economic class will often eat more unhealthy and frequent at fast food restaurants than those with a higher economic status.

My specific job in this project will be to aid in research and creating credibility for the points that we bring up in our video, as well as being the voice-over for the less exciting parts throughout the video in order to still keep it intriguing and informational. I will also keep my group on schedule, making sure that all of our parts are done and placed in order to make a functional, cohesive final project. Max and I will be helping each other to create a video that outlines all of our team members hard work in the effort of making a full, informational video about our topic.

The biggest challenge that I believe may present itself is going through the information and research that was found during the beginning phase and creating a video that is still within the 7-10 minute window, informative to the audience, but also somewhat entertaining. This challenge goes along with the limitations of this project because while a lot detail was found through research, the video cannot include every single detail while still meeting the desired time constraints. Some information, such as very basic meal outlines, nutritional constraints, and every confounding factor that may influence food choice, will have to be left out, as we only have 7-10 minutes to present all of our information. However, though it is a struggle to organize all of the information that presented itself, it is very clear that this is a controversy that should be discussed and hold those in charge accountable.

Two public controversies that specifically the United States has had to deal with include the Supreme Court Case of Roe vs. Wade in regards to abortion laws, as well as some parents refusing to have their kids vaccinated out of fear that they may develop autism or another kind of developmental deficiency.

The Supreme Court case of Jane Roe (not true name) versus Henry Wade, who was the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas. Jane Roe was challenging a Texas law, which made abortion illegal unless ordered by a doctor in order to save a woman’s life. In her lawsuit, Roe alleged that the state laws were unconstitutionally vague and abridged her right of personal privacy, protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Justice Harry Blackmun delivered the conclusion made by the majority of the court, with a 7-2 ratio, ruling that the anti-abortion law was unconstitutional and violated a woman’s fundamental rights to her body and choices. This was not well received by several people throughout the United States, as some people consider abortion to be murder, and that life is formed immediately at conception.

In the early days of immunization, distrust in vaccines was well-warranted. There was no official quarantine procedure for those who’d already been diagnosed with the disease and 18^th Century doctors didn’t have quite the same standards as we do in modern day when it came to sanitation and disease prevention. In 1998, a British doctor released a paper investigating the association of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccine to bowel disease and autism. However, in 2011 this paper was found to be false, and founded on false claims with insufficient evidence. Though this paper was debunked, it had ruined the public’s opinion of the MMR vaccine and created several controversies across not only the United States, but worldwide, in the opinion of vaccines and the effects that they may have on the children who receive the vaccines.

Introduction: Imagine finding your perfect person. This person makes you laugh. You do everything with this person, and you want to spend the rest of your life with this person. Now imagine the government tells you that you cannot marry your person. This is a reality for countless Homosexual couples across the world, and includes an even more gruesome history within the United States.

• Main Points to Mention: Beginning of Shift – First reported execution of a homosexual man named Richard Cornish, in 1624.
  • • • • Brief history of Gay rights
        • Sodomy Laws
        • McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare
        • The Riots at Stonewall
• Main Points about turn of Shift – First “Pride Parade” known as Christopher Street Liberation Day March one year after Stonewall Riots in 1970.
  • • • • The Annual Reminder in Philadelphia
        • “GRID” to “AIDS”
        • Shift in Public Attitude towards Homosexual Couples
• Modern Day Shift:
  • • • • Barack Obama State of the Union Address mentions people of the LGBT+ Community
        • Supreme Court Ruling to Legalize Gay Marriage
• Impact to Everyone, and how it benefits the rest of the United States people

Conclusion: Homosexual tolerance in the United States has shifted greatly since first recorded in 1624, to 2015 when gay marriage was declared legal by the Supreme Court. Living in a country where people are not able to marry each other, solely because of their gender is ridiculous, and not the business of the government. Love is not something that should not be tolerated, as it is the one thing that is able to bring people together without condition. The government does not get to decide the quality of a relationship based on the gender of two individuals, because that is not their job.

Tolerance of Homosexuality in the United States, without a doubt, has gone through a very intense shift. One of the first mentions of a hate crime against a homosexual person was in 1624 against a man named Richard Cornish, who was executed in Virginia for alleged homosexual acts with a male servant. The shift begins to take a turn in the McCarthy era, under Senator Joseph McCarthy due to institutions carried out through him during the late 194os to the 1950s. Under McCarthyism, several homosexual people were executed due to their “private lifestyle”, and being accused of hiding secrets. This era was known as the Lavender scare, which was basically a witch hunt and mass murder of homosexual people, or the Cold War persecution of homosexual people. The shift begins to take a turn in 1969, when the Stonewall Riots begin, where there were numerous, spontaneous, violent demonstrations by the gay community against a police raid as a form of liberation for homosexual people. These riots caused a major shift in the tolerance of homosexual people in the United States, as members of the gay community didn’t really give other Americans the choice to tolerate them, as their demonstrations became violent. Then, finally, in 2015, the members of the gay community were officially addressed by the President of the United States, and it was stated that the intolerance towards these groups of people will not be tolerated any longer.