A recent study revealed that nearly 60% of Muslim students in New York have experienced bullying at school by their peers, especially after Israel’s onslaught in the Gaza Strip.

The survey “Feeling The Hate In Our Schools” was conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in New York, and revealed that “58.2% reported being bullied at school by another student because they were Muslim.”

“Almost half (44.7%) of students who wear a hijab reported their hijab was tugged, pulled, or offensively touched by another student rarely, sometimes, often, or very often,” the findings said.

The survey also revealed that “64% of students have witnessed a Muslim student at school being bullied by another student,” and nearly 65% of students have seen “their school make offensive comments or posts about Islam or Muslims online.”

According to the survey, many students (43.6%) did not feel it was necessary to report them, believing it would not make a difference. The survey noted that “74.6% of students said that they did not report to an adult at their school about being bullied by another student for being Muslim.”

The CAIR report also included a special note on Palestine, highlighting a surge in “anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian sentiment within the fabric of New York City” when the conflict in Gaza escalated in October 2023.

“In 2023 alone, CAIR-NY received 555 requests for legal assistance, with 43% directly linked to Palestinian solidarity, highlighting the urgency of this issue,” it added.

It further stated that 32% of students reported school silencing for voicing opinions on Palestine, while 13% faced unwanted attention from staff, 11% from authorities, 10% experienced online harassment or doxing, and 9.5% reported social isolation.

The report was based on a survey of 500 Muslim students, 91.7% of whom attend public schools, 4.6% attend charter schools, and 3.8% attend non-Islamic private schools.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Bullying against Muslim students is happening all across the United States. It is real, it is ugly, and it is happening way more often than you might think.

According to a 2022 survey by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding:

– 48% of Muslim families reported that their child had been bullied because of their faith.

– 20% of Muslim students experience bullying nearly every day.

Muslim students encounter various forms of bullying, including physical attacks, verbal threats, and social isolation. These experiences can leave them feeling threatened, frightened, and disconnected from their school community. Some common examples of bullying reported by Muslim students include:

Having their hijab pulled off without reason, being targeted with jokes and unfairly blamed, facing offensive questions about terrorism and bomb-making.

Bullying and racism have far-reaching effects on Muslim students such as:

– Emotional Impact: Anxiety, depression, insomnia, and low self-esteem are common consequences.

– Identity Struggle: Some students feel torn between being a citizen of their country and being Muslim.

– Cultural Disconnection: The feeling of a deep gap between the student and the society in which he lives.

In order to take action, we need to pay attention to the critical role of the educators. First, they should train to recognize the address biases. Then, they can raise the awareness about the contributions of Muslim Americans to dispel stereotypes. Providing moral lessons to educate students in terms of morality can be helpful as well.