CAIR terms incident bias-motivated assault.
In yet another incident targeting hijab-clad Muslim females in the US, a student was harassed and attacked by her classmate at a school in Minnesota. The girl’s hijab was stripped from her and her hair pulled loose by the bully.
The student, whose identity has not been revealed, was pulled down to the ground and attacked, in front of other students at Northdale Middle School in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called the incident an assault and urged the Anoka-Hennepin School District to initiate an investigation into the matter. CAIR said that a classmate who came up behind the student violently pulled off her Islamic headscarf (hijab) and threw it on the ground. The classmate also pulled on her hair and let it come down in front of other students.
A statement issued by CAIR alleged that the school officials failed to take action and expressed concern about the lack of response. Though the family of the student immediately reported the event, the school officials did not take action until Tuesday.
“School officials must take immediate actions to ensure that all students, regardless of their faith or ethnicity, are provided a safe learning environment,” CAIR-MN executive director Jaylani Hussein said in the statement.
“It should not take days to respond to an apparently bias-motivated assault on a student,” Hussein added.
The district spokesman Jim Skelly has confirmed the incident. He said that the officials are trying to find out whether there was any communication gap between the parents and the school. The description provided by CAIR is different from the district’s understanding.
“The preliminary findings of the investigation indicate that this was isolated and not motivated by bias,” a statement issued by the district said.
“However, the concerns of the family reflect similar concerns around the metro and align with the need in our communities to find ways to talk about race and culture constructively and respectfully,” it said.
The child is feeling emotionally and physically distressed and is yet to return to school as she feels unsafe. Hussein said CAIR has noted a spike in incidents targeting American Muslims and other minority groups since the November 8 presidential election.
He said his organization is also looking into other recent hate incidents targeting Minnesota students in Blaine High School and Spring Lake Park, among others.