Chicago-area Muslim group launches anti-bullying initiative
A recent surge in bullying targeting suburban Muslim students has prompted the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization to launch a major anti-bullying initiative.
Among the cases cited was that of Lisle High School sophomore Zoya Shaik.
At a school board meeting last month, Shaik complained that during an Oct. 12 health class, an unidentified staff member made offensive and profanity-laced statements about Muslims, immigrants and Indigenous people for 25 minutes. Lisle Unit District 202 officials are investigating those claims.
Shaik and two other students joined the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) for the launch of Healsters.org, a project to help Muslim students stand up for themselves and get help.
“All students are entitled to safety and acceptance,” Shaik said at the news conference late last month.
Shaik said she is the only hijab-wearing Muslim student at her school. She called for cultural sensitivity training for district employees, adoption of a bystander intervention program and a districtwide anti-bullying campaign.
CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said the group has received a number of reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination of Muslim students at suburban school districts, including one case in which a student lost his life.
“For every case reported, there are probably dozens that go unreported,” Rehab said. “Bullying is another pandemic that affects not just Muslim students, and it needs to be addressed. Safety, dignity and respect are basic human rights.”
SOURCE: https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20211108/chicago-area-muslim-group-launches-anti-bullying-initiative