| De: |
"Rebecca Cohn" |
| Sujet: |
Article: Islamophobia downplayed
|
| Envoyé: |
Mar 22nd, 2007 - 13:01:08 |
|
| |
Discrimination
Schools downplay Islamophobia, students warn: Study says colleges and
universities avoid acknowledging hate-motivated violence
The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Page: A4
Section: News
Byline: Pauline Tam
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
A groundbreaking study by Ontario's largest student group accuses
universities and colleges of downplaying the growing incidents of
hostility and hate-motivated violence toward Muslim students.
The report by the Canadian Federation of Students provides the first
detailed picture of how young Muslims are coping with a rise in
"Islamophobia" and hate-motivated acts, five years after the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks.
The report calls for universities and colleges to respond more quickly
to complaints, do more to accommodate the needs of Muslim students and
participate in public campaigns to fight racism and Islamophobia.
It also suggests students often don't report incidents because they
either don't know where to turn, or don't believe their complaints would
be treated seriously.
"We know far too many cases where the universities and colleges do
everything possible to downplay these issues," said Jesse Greener,
Ontario chairman of the student federation.
"We want the colleges and universities to acknowledge that they have an
obligation to ensure a safe learning environment."
The report is the result of public hearings conducted at 17 campuses
across the province. A 10-member task force, created in response to a
string of anti-Muslim acts on Ontario campuses, heard from nearly 1,000
students, including those at Ottawa's universities and colleges.
The task force heard that Muslim students have become growing targets of
racial and religious slurs. In extreme cases, some have been harassed
and assaulted. Muslim women, particularly those who wear the hijab,
reported being belittled, ostracized and singled out for being not
"educated" or "liberated."
The report says days after the task force held a public hearing at the
University of Guelph, the Muslim Students Association office was
vandalized, and anti-Muslim graffiti covered the door. At Queen's
University, a banner outside the Muslim Students Association office was
set on fire.
According to the report, "the most egregious examples of systemic
Islamophobia" took place in classrooms where professors and other
students made hurtful comments that promoted negative stereotypes.
In one case, a University of Ottawa student told the task force that she
and her friends routinely felt singled out in their sociology and
feminism courses by professors who told them that Islam oppressed women.
The University of Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment.
Mohamed Sheibani, president of the Muslim Students Association of Canada
and a University of Ottawa student who participated in the hearings,
said a number of Muslim women at the university reported feeling they
were "looked down upon."
At Carleton University, one student told the task force that when he
tried to excuse himself from a class to attend prayer, his professor
allegedly pressured him to drop the course. Another Carleton student
said he felt belittled when a professor asked him if he was able to read
during Ramadan while he was fasting.
Barbara Carswell, Carleton's director of equity services, said she
doesn't know about the incidents cited in the report, but suggested they
do not represent the behaviour of most professors. "You're always going
to have somebody who is insensitive or makes a mistake," she said.
Ms. Carswell indicated that with a growing number of Muslim students on
campus, her office has received more questions from professors about how
to accommodate the religious needs of students.
Ms. Carswell said the university has conducted its own campus hearings
on Islamophobia and established a committee to monitor complaints.
The university has also attempted to accommodate Muslim students by
providing prayer space on campus, Halal food options and a once-a-week
women-only swim at the athletics centre.
At Algonquin College, which has also seen an increase in Muslim
students, vice-president Chris Warburton said the college meets monthly
with leaders of the college's Muslim Students Association to discuss
issues of concern.
He added that the college has an ombudsman who handles human rights
complaints. "We would take any allegations of hate very, very
seriously," Mr. Warburton said.
Muslim student rights pushed
The Ottawa Sun
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Page: 8
Section: News
Byline: BY MIKE KOREEN, SUN MEDIA
A report issued by the Canadian Federation of Students is asking Muslim
students to stand up and take action if post-secondary schools in
Ontario do not follow the Human Rights Code to accommodate them.
After a task force met with almost 1,000 Muslim students across Ontario,
the group recommended that students who experience "Islamphobic" or
racist acts should immediately report it to a campus office and the
Ontario Human Rights Commission.
"The Human Rights Code is only as strong as the use people make out of
it," Jesse Greener, Ontario chairman of the Canadian Federation of
Students, said at a news conference unveiling the report yesterday at
the U of T.
CASE-BY-CASE
"One of our recommendations is that students, on a case-by-case basis
and in a collective format as well if possible, need to actually
exercise rights under the Human Rights Code. We want to lay out some of
the ways for people to do that."
Over the coming months, Greener plans to share his group's findings with
university and college presidents. The group makes recommendations in 11
categories and stresses issues like providing Halal food at a reasonable
cost, offering prayer space and increasing flexibility for assignment
due dates and exam scheduling to allow for Friday prayer.
"People shouldn't have to change their values when they come to campus,"
said Mohamed Sheibani, president of the Muslim Students' Association for
Canada and the United States.
One of the obvious dilemmas for universities is trying to accommodate
all religions and ethnic groups on campuses.
|
|
Message
Retour aux messages 
