In the aftermath of Sept. 11, many fresh wounds have opened across a wide spectrum of the human race. Most are based on ignorance or some deep-smoldering ethnic or racial bias that reared its ugly head when given this opportunity to legitimize such distorted feelings
The following are two such incidents that had occurred in the days following Sept. 11. The first one as related to me took place at a school in west London. Sometimes after Sept. 11, a Saudi mother had taken her daughter over to this school to enroll her. The child’s name was Asma. When they met up with the school principal, a relic from the British Raj as characterized by the mother, he appeared extremely irritable and rude. Upon hearing that the girl’s name was Asma, he asked the mother what her relationship was to Osama Bin Laden.
The mother was somewhat taken aback with this line of questioning. When she explained that Asma and Osama are two different names, the principal fired back, "Asma, Osama, what’s the difference? You’re all terrorists anyway!"
With that, he abruptly concluded their meeting, saying there were no open slots in the school for her seven-year old girl.
The other incident is much closer to home. I chose to include it in a mother’s own words with minor editing. "Last week I had an experience in the school where I have my five daughters. It is a private school. My two oldest daughters are in high school and they had a problem with a teacher who was calling them derogatory names.
"As a parent I felt that I had to do something about it so I went to their school. I did not want to blow this thing out of proportion and get the principal involved. All I wanted was to speak to that particular teacher alone in order not to get her in trouble and to hear her side of the story.
"When I approached her and opened the subject about the wrong vocabulary she had used towards the classroom and to my children in particular, her response was to dismiss my allegations with a wave of the hands to my face, and she called my kids liars. I told her that there were other girls complaining also of the same problem, but she continued arguing with me.
"Due to our loud voices the principal heard us and came in, to my surprise, only to support the teacher against my children and I. "The other children are none of your concern, you are not their mother, may be you Americans see yourselves better than us," these were the principal’s words. "The Americans are getting it on their heads, they are getting what they deserve," fired back the teacher as she walked back into the classroom while my daughters and I were being yelled at in the principal’s office.
"Are these people the ones we trust our children to be taught by? Are these the role models of our children? A teacher that calls them stupid and ignorant, and a principal that yells at them and their mother for trying to clear up a bad situation. As a Muslim, I believe, we are all parents and role models to all our children, and if we as a society do not show them the correct values of life and respect towards others, then who will?
"Living in Saudi Arabia for eighteen years has been a real experience. I have witnessed a lot of good and bad things; this article is not about the good things, as good things do not need to be fixed. Discrimination, aggression, racism, these are only a few of the many problems in our school system. It seems no one wants to acknowledge there is a problem. Parents are scared of what will be the outcome if they complain; therefore no one says anything and the problems just keep on getting worse.
"As an American Muslim this is a big disappointment and very disheartening to see that my kids are been discriminated against just because their mother is an American, and when I decide to stand up for my children I am catalogued as "too sensitive, too caring, too motherly".
"In our society it is OK to call our children names" (animal, stupid, ignorant, etc.) was a factual statement made by the same principal.
"Have we left our religion at home or in the mosque? Have we forgotten the teachings of Islam? So, my question is, what are we supposed to do?" Signed J.B.
Well Ms. J.B., the woeful fact is that such contemporary bias is a swelling tide against the face of decency. Caught up in the frenzy of events lately, we mortals seem to have shrugged off the cloak of civility, of respect and of tolerance. And it is not confined to a particular race or people. Sadly I may add, tolerating such outburst as an acceptable inevitability in light of the recent events will only hasten our mutual disintegration as a human race.
— Tariq A. Al-Maeena, [email protected]
