Islamic Group Says Bias Rising in U.S.

Ignorance on the part of some employers and educators, a pattern of exclusion by the Bush administration and demonized depictions in the entertainment media are contributing to increasing discrimination against Muslims, leaders of an Islamic advocacy group said Wednesday.

In releasing its sixth annual report, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the number of complaints of anti-Muslim discrimination it has received rose 15% in the last year. The group said a majority of incidents involve restrictions on religious observances or practices that occur in the workplace or schools.

“We are trying to help educators and employers understand Islamic religious practices,” said Nihad Awad, the council’s executive director. “Misunderstanding and ignorance are our biggest challenges in this country.”

Among the most common complaints received by the council are instances in which Muslim women are not allowed to wear their traditional hijab scarves on their heads in the workplace or men are asked to shave their beards.

Also, council officials said Muslims often encounter difficulties in carrying out their ritual of five daily prayers toward Mecca, of which at least two usually fall during work or school hours.

Mohamed Nimer, a researcher who writes the council’s report each year, said that more than one-third of the reported incidents of discrimination over the last year involved a denial of religious accommodation to Muslims, while 20% consisted of termination or denial of employment.

Council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said part of the rise in incidents of discrimination can be explained by an increased tendency of Muslims to report such occurrences. Hooper said that the growing number of Muslims in the U.S.--the council tabs the figure at 7 million while other estimates range from 3 million to 8 million--also may figure into the group’s data.

Still, Nimer said that discrimination against Muslims in this country is rising to unacceptable levels. He said that while education will continue to be an important component of efforts to end anti-Muslim discrimination, “after six years of this education approach, we have reached a limit to how much it can alter the situation.”

“Muslims want to have this situation reversed once and for all,” Nimer said.

Nimer noted that, although there are civil rights laws in place to protect against religious discrimination in the workplace and in public accommodations, the laws “are not self-enforcing.” He said the groups of Muslims that are most vulnerable--women, children and blue-collar workers--often lack the means to sue when they are victimized.

“These three classes of Muslims are, in many respects, second-class citizens in this country,” Nimer said.

Council officials said that recent actions by the Bush administration have raised their concerns about the president’s commitment to eradicating anti-Muslim discrimination, especially given the considerable support Bush received from Muslim and Arab American voters during the 2000 campaign.

In particular, they cited the June ejection of 20-year-old Duke University student Abdullah Arian from a White House meeting on the president’s faith-based initiative. Secret Service officers had mistakenly believed that Arian, then a congressional intern, had terrorist connections.

Bush later apologized for Arian’s removal. A spokesman said at the time that the administration would “continue to reach out to the Muslim community, as well as people from all different faiths.”

Awad said Wednesday that “the lack of inclusion of Muslims in decision-making circles is a major challenge that we face.” He blamed “anti-Muslim propaganda” campaigns waged by groups that he said have too much influence on the administration.

“The incidents that happened in the administration are a dangerous indication that our administration is not strong enough to be inclusive and to respect the presence of Muslims in our country,” Awad added.

Officials also pointed a finger at Hollywood, saying that several major films in recent years, including “True Lies,” “Executive Decision” and “The Siege”--all of which the council lodged protests against--put forth “negative and inaccurate portrayals of Muslims.”

“Demonization of Muslims in the entertainment industry is one of the key sources for ignorance and stereotyping of Muslims,” Hooper said. “All we ask is that [Hollywood] show the reality of the Muslim experience.”

Spreading greater awareness about the elements of the Islamic faith is the foremost method of reversing the trend of anti-Muslim discrimination, the group’s leaders emphasized.

To that end, the council has issued separate guides for employers, educators and health care providers with information and recommendations on how to accommodate Muslim workers, students and patients.

Also, the council’s report stressed the Muslim community’s opposition to the “secret evidence” provision of a 1996 anti-terrorism bill. The provision allows the government to detain a noncitizen that it deems to be a national security threat without disclosing any evidence it possesses against the individual.

Hooper said that secret evidence rules explicitly target Muslims and Arab Americans and that the council is optimistic a House bill to repeal the provision will soon pass and be signed into law.