veiled4allah

report on discrimination faced by Muslims in America

Meanwhile, CAIR has published its annual report on Muslim American civil rights. A sample of the report is available online (Word document). According to the report, there was a 15% increase in discrimination complaints from last year. Overall, discrimination complaints are 64% greater than before 9/11. The most common places of occurrence were workplaces, government agencies, and airports. The most common types of complaints were passenger profiling; unreasonable detention, search, or interrogation; employment discrimination; and verbal harassment. After religion or ethinicity, the most common trigger is the hijab (headscarf). I think that the religion/ethnicity category subsumes the other categories since a hijab or niqab, physical appearance, or a name are what indicate religion or ethnicity to others so that a person could list the hijab as a trigger while also reporting that the harassment was targeted at her religion. The increase over last year jibes with my experiences. Fortunately, I have not experienced any form of official discrimination, either by agencies or in a workplace or school. However, the amount of verbal harassment I experience when out and about has increased, I feel, as has the amount of low-level annoyance like rude comments or exaggerated staring. I think there's also been an increase in "internet harassment" (hateful or obscene email messages targeted at my religion, comments posted to my blog, and similar). I would consider only a few of these incidents to be truly serious and only one real-life incident was genuinely frightening to me.

study finds that gov't roundup of Muslim immigrants fosters prejudice

In Making Enemies, Solana Pyne discusses the conclusions of a study by social psychologists:

The violent attacks of September 11 and their aftermath have created a real-world experiment for social scientists who usually develop their theories in university labs. Their research, much of which is still in progress, shows that the more positively people feel toward their country, the more likely they are to hold anti-Arab prejudices. Taken with statistical evidence of hate crimes and job discrimination, the new research suggests that while the shock of the attacks sparked bigotry against those associated in American minds with Islam, subsequent sweeping crackdowns, such as the government roundup and detention of Muslims, are sending "social signals" that are worsening the biases. "I would hypothesize that the aftermath of 9-11 - the Patriot Act, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq - would do more to increase anti-Arab bias than 9-11 on its own," said University of Virginia social psychologist Brian Nosek... ...By requiring male immigrants from Middle Eastern, South Asian, and other Muslim countries to register with authorities, the government is signaling that all males from those countries are dangerous, Harris and others agree. A similar message was sent in the months after 9-11, when the Justice Department detained 750 immigrants, mostly South Asian and Middle Eastern, on minor immigration violations to look for terrorist ties. A recent Department of Justice internal report tells how the government held many people without any proof of terrorist links, often for long periods of time, effectively stigmatizing entire groups.

Their study also suggests how prejudice can be overcome:

Harris found some evidence of how familiarity with people of other races can change one's perspective. In a study of 1,667 college freshmen, he found that whites with nonwhite roommates were less rigid in their racial classifications and more likely to classify photographs of multiracial individuals as mixed-race, rather than trying to fit them within categories such as white and Latino. It's a reach to say that having less rigid classifications indicates less prejudice, Harris acknowledged, but the evidence did indicate that living with someone of another race can change how people perceive race. "You need people to interact with each other to realize that the 'other' isn't that different," Harris said, citing the Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. "Most people know white guys, so after that bombing, no one said all white guys are terrorists."

I think this is really true. Prejudice and hatred are often built on ignorance. When you get to know someone personally, you're less likely to judge them by what group they belong to - racial or religious - and more likely to see them as an individual.

several hundred Muslims detained in CA for immigration violations

Fear mounts as U.S. calls on Muslim men to register

Foreign visitors tripped by deadline

Is the U.S. going to deport all immigrants who have visa violations, or only those who are unfortunate enough to have been born in a Muslim country? How is detaining people because of their nationality supposed to fight terrorism? What is this country turning into?

Links found via alt.muslim

Update 12/19: See also Mass arrests of Muslims in LA and INS still holding foreigners. Thanks to Natasha of the watch for these links. Also, INS arrests hundreds from Mideast, Africa | They were held when they showed up, as requested, for a registration program and California Muslims Detained in Freezing, Overcrowded Conditions. Also, see the ACLU's statement

Update 2: Maybe it isn't just Muslims who are the target after all. Iranian Jews are also being held

Update 3 (1/2/03): Here's some more news stories from the last week or so: Is This a Way to Ease Muslim Fears?, Detentions in Cleveland, INS Misses Mark in Nationwide Arrests, Class Action Suit Filed to Halt Detentions, and Targeting Muslim Men is Unjust. And here's some commentary in blogs: Talk Left, Eschaton, Mikhaela's News Blog, Alas, A Blog, eRiposte, Long Story, Short Pier, and Politics in the Zeros

Of terror scares and stereotypes

Of Terror Scares and Stereotypes, by Hesham Hassaballa. This article is a bit long as a blog post, but it brings up a very good point and one that's been troubling me.

On September 13, two days after the one-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks, three Muslim men were detained by Florida law enforcement officials on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack. A customer in a Georgia restaurant, 44-year-old Eunice Stone, told police that she overheard a conversation in which one of the men said Americans had mourned on September 11 and would mourn again on September 13. That was enough evidence to move law enforcement officials to track the three medical students, shut down a stretch of highway in south Florida for several hours, and search their vehicles with both sniffer dogs and a robot. In fact, live television showed a bomb squad team blowing up what appeared to be a backpack. After 17 hours of detention, the three were released without being charged. Contrast this false alarm with another case, also from Florida. In August, police arrested Dr. Robert J. Goldstein and charged him with possession of a non-registered destructive device and attempting to use an explosive to damage and destroy Islamic centers. Deputies found more than 30 explosive devices, including hand grenades and a 5-gallon gasoline bomb with a timer and a wire attached, and a licensed cache of up to 40 weapons, including .50-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles, during a search of Goldstein's Seminole home. They say they also found a typed list of approximately 50 Islamic worship centers. Almost immediately, the judge in the case ordered that the doctor undergo psychological testing. Why? Is it because Muslims are considered to be violent by their very nature, and potential acts of terrorism by non-Muslims must be, a priori, due to some mental deficiency? It seems so, unfortunately. Although Dr. Goldstein openly admitted he wanted to kill, in his words, "Islamic rags," his mental state has become a major issue from the very beginning of the case. For why else would a non-Muslim American want to terrorize other Americans if he were not mentally ill? Yet, no one questioned alleged shoe bomber Richard Reid's mental health. Would not attempting to detonate a bomb in one's shoe be a glaring sign of mental illness? Not for a Muslim, apparently. The Muslim medical students were considered terrorists until proven innocent. It is a disturbing double standard, but it illustrates how entreched is the notion of Arabs and Muslims being terrorists. I do not blame law enforcement officials. Their response may have been a bit exaggerated, but it is their duty to follow up on potential threats to our safety. I am thankful that they released the men after finding no evidence against them. Many Muslims have expressed anger at Ms. Stone's action. This is only natural as every American Muslim can see this happening to them (and you wonder why Muslims are wary of Operation TIPS). Surprisingly, the three students are not angry with Ms. Stone, and we should follow their lead. Anger is the wrong response; education is the answer. I strongly doubt Ms. Stone ever met a Muslim American before this incident. I would be delighted to see the Muslim community reach out to Ms. Stone, teach her about Islam, and show her the humanity of her American Muslim neighbors. Such a gesture will make our country a better place for everyone. Without education and outreach, I fear incidents such as these becoming more commonplace, tearing at the very fabric of our unity as a people. This is what the terrorists who attacked us wanted to happen, and we cannot let them win.