Question:

My child came home very upset that some students were picking on Arab students and calling them "enemies." How can we make the school climate more tolerant and teach children behaviors that show respect for all cultures?

Answer:

These are confusing times for kids. News reports of terrorism, kidnapping and battles can be scary, even to grownups. It makes it harder when people in your school look like the enemies in the news reports.

No matter which groups in your community face oppression, these social strategies and guidelines by the Muslim Education Council of Metropolitan Washington, DC may help.

The group suggests that this message be made loudly and clearly to all teachers and students:

  • The school is a place of safety for everyone in it.
  • Help and care is available for all students and staff; those who feel uncomfortable or fearful during school hours should tell an adult in charge.
  • The school will not allow any teasing, threats or so-called joking directed at students or staff.
  • No individual should be blamed for current events based on their ethnic or religious membership.
  • Not all Arabs are Muslims; not all Muslims are Arabs.
  • Only perpetrators are responsible for their violent actions, and no religion condones violence against innocent people.

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said, "We must not descend to the level of those who perpetrated Tuesday's violence by targeting individuals based on their race, their religion, or their national origin. Such reports of violence and threats are in direct opposition to the very principles and laws of the United States and will not be tolerated."

It's our job to bring those words to life in our schools and communities.


 

Taken from "Protocols for Addressing Issues Concerning Public School Students of Middle Eastern/Arab/Muslim Backgrounds When Catastrophe Has Occurred," Sept. 14, 2001, by Sharifa Alkhateeb, President of the Muslim Education Council of Metropolitan Washington, DC. Contact the author at P.O. Box 942, Great Falls, VA 22066; 703-759-6378.