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Discrimination on the Rise, According to Report

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According to a new report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, discrimination against American Muslims is on the rise. The report called "Accommodating Diversity," documented more than 360 incidents of discrimination.

The report is the group's sixth, and shows a 15 percent increase in the number of discrimination incidents against American Muslims. The report lists cases of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination, stereotyping, bias, and harassment that occurred between March 2000 and March 2001.

American Muslims, who number some 7 million, have been subjected to intolerance almost on a daily basis. The cases of discrimination have occurred in states with large Muslim concentrations, across the nation, from California to Illinois to New York.

Most of the cases reported involved the lack of religious accommodation in the workplace and schools. Discrimination has mainly been against females who wear the religious headscarf as well as males who wear beards for religious reasons. In one incident, a Muslim courier for Fed Ex in Georgia was asked to shave his beard, and when he refused was placed on unpaid leave and then later fired.

Thirty-seven percent of complaints centered on denial of religious accommodation, which is an increase of 31 percent from the previous year. Workplace complaints rose to 48%, an increase from 42 percent in 2000. Some of the workplace complaints Muslims filed include not being allowed to perform daily prayers or to attend Friday prayer. Federal law entitles all employees to reasonable religious accommodation by their employers.

Incidents of discrimination in schools increased from 13 percent to 15 percent and ranged from inaccurate representation of Islam and Muslims in school textbooks and materials to attacks against Muslim college students. CAIR said the increase in the number of discrimination incidents might partly reflect a growing tendency among Muslims to report such experiences.

The report also documented a hate crime attack at a mosque in Memphis, Tennessee. The attack happened at the Masjid Al-Noor in June of last year. A neighbor shot at the mosque while worshippers gathered for morning prayers. One person was wounded.

The Council on American Islamic Relations issued its first report in 1996, after the1995 terrorist attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The report, “A Rush to Judgment,” documented 200 incidents of discrimination that resulted after it was believed those responsible for the crime were Middle Eastern or Muslim.

To view the 2001 civil rights report released by CAIR, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/civilrights/2001...