The effect of Islamophobia on children... Pt. 1

This hasn't been wanting to post, so here's the first part, typed into MS Word 2003. Part 2 will follow later today (probably about 12 hours from now). REPOST from Debbie Al Harbi, via my e-mail address (mharkema@yahoo.com). Debbie is the owner of Muslim Toys and Dolls, a truly awesome online store featuring a wealth of Islamic themed toys, gifts, and, yes, DOLLS. Many of which I have never seen anywhere else. It's truly a great place to get Eid gifts for the special Muslim boy or girl that you know and cherish. Website is http://www.muslimtoysanddolls.com -- I've gotten several things from them in the past and have been extremely happy. Ms. Al Harbi is further a coordinator for an Eid toy drive, which is something I can also get enthusiastic about. Charity is a beautiful thing, and when we work together, we can achieve the most positive results.

I do believe if you're trying to teach your child a more positive, multicultural world view, toys are one of the easiest ways to do it. Introduce them to the world's second largest religious body through play, and watch their attitudes change. Yours might just too.

Without further ado, here's the article....

In late March of this year, a Muslim third-grader was found hanging unconscious in his school in Louisville, KY. It was not the first time Muhammad had been bullied and abused.

The same week, a Muslim girl from Dreyfus School in New York was beaten up, thrown on the ground, had her headscarf pulled off, as she was repeatedly called a “terrorist”, “Muslim”, and a “bitch.” She was threatened to be stabbed with a knife unless she handed over her cell phone and all of her money. The victim suffered minor bruises and a cut lip. This was not the first time she was assaulted for being a Muslim

We wish that these hate crimes were isolated cases. But according to a Columbia University study, seven percent of Muslim students in New York report being assaulted. There are 100,000 Muslim students in New York public schools which means about 7,000 Muslim students have been harassed in some way. Most of these daily crimes against Muslims go unreported, as most Muslims don’t trust police and the FBI enough to report them, especially considering that the FBI has knocked on the doors of 700,000 Muslim homes.

Islamophobia is affecting Muslim children in a serious manner. Statistics unfortunately don’t provide the life-impacting, human face of the issue. An NPR story from This American Life program titled, “Shouting Across the Divide” was one of the rare reports like that, showing how a family was devastated after what happened to their daughter in school.

Islamophobia has a serious effect on the well being of Muslims in America. Here are some other stats:

*Muslim youths are less likely than youths in other religious groups to be considered “thriving”. According to Gallup’s life satisfaction measures, 4 in 10 young Muslims are considered to be thriving, compared with almost 7 in 10 young Jews, and 6 in 10 young Mormons. Nationally, slightly more than one half of youth between the ages of 18 and 29 are considered to be thriving.

*The Gallup center reported that Muslim youth aged 18 to 28 are the least happy and the most angry compared to the youth of other faith groups in America. 26% of young Muslims, compared with 14% of young Protestants, say they experienced anger.

            Another alarming report by the Pew center asserted that 26% of young Muslim Americans support suicide bombing of civilian targets.

            Young Muslims are among the most likely religious groups surveyed to say they smoke. 24% of Muslim youth say they do versus 12% of Mormons, 16% of Jews, and 17% of Protestants in the same age group. In the United States, 26% of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 say that they smoke.

            While a significant proportion of young Muslims (24%) say they are professional workers, they are less likely than Jews in the same age group (33%) to report having a professional job. As a point of comparison, 21% of young Americans overall say the same.

            50% of Arab-Americans surveyed had clinical signs of depression (Yale University study).

            The wages of Muslims went down 10% after September 11, 2001 (Columbia University and University of Illinois).

            Muslim social service agencies report higher levels of domestic violence and divorces, post 9/11.