1958-2023

Nov/Dec 2023

Loai El-Gazairly, the husband of Dr. Julie A. Belz (former member, ISNA Majlis Ash Shura) passed away on Aug. 22 in Richmond, Va. He was a man of integrity and a model professional who contributed to the Muslim community and American society at large. He was a graduate of the University of Alexandria’s (Egypt) School of Engineering as the valedictorian of his class. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech in civil engineering with a specialization in bridge design. 

During his 35-year career, El-Gazairly designed and served as project manager for numerous multimillion-dollar bridges and interchanges worldwide, including Boston’s Central Tunnel, Maryland’s Purple Line Metro, Delaware’s Indian River Inlet Bridge, the I-64 Interchange in St. Louis, Louisiana’s John James Audubon Bridge and Virginia’s I-895 Pocahontas Parkway. At the time of his death, he was the project manager for the District of Columbia’s 11th Street Bridge Park.

El-Gazairly was the son of Judge Farid Fahmy El-Gazairly, former chief justice of the Egyptian Court of Appeals, and Siza El-Gohary, a certified descendent (musharif) of the Prophet (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). His paternal grandfather was a poet and scholar whose works are housed in the Library of Alexandria and featured in an Egyptian documentary. His maternal grandfather was a navy admiral who commanded the defense of Egypt’s 1,000-mile Mediterranean coast.

While El-Gazairly’s career accomplishments are considerable, his greatest qualities were his devotion to his family and his deen, the practice of which was interwoven throughout his community and domestic life. He was constantly participating in sadaqa, including housing and feeding refugees, tutoring math students, and funding medical procedures and hajj for the miskeen. A warm-hearted and fun-loving husband, he was generous and kind, always smiling at his wife, praying with her at home before work and after dinner and taking her to the mosque for tarawih prayers. 

One of her best memories is a shining example of his kindness and deen. Although he had made hajj and umra several times, he wanted to complete another umra with his wife before his passing. However, when the time came for their trip in December 2022, she had to stay home to care for her mother in home hospice. While in Makkah, he facetimed with her so she could view his running between Safa and Marwa and when he was close to the Ka‘bah so she could make du’a for her dying mother in its view. 

El-Gazairly is survived by his wife, two daughters, one stepdaughter, two stepsons, two nephews, his mother, and brother.

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By Md. Mahmudul Hasan and Boshra Zawawi

Nov/Dec 2023

The deepening crisis in education is the root cause of many other problems and felt across religious, national, and racial divides. Harry Lewis’ “Excellence Without A Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education” (2006) states, “Society is going to hell in a handbasket, and the great universities are going to get there first.” Roughly a decade earlier, the late Taha Jabir al Alwani’s “The Islamization of Knowledge: Yesterday and Today” (1995), said, “By virtue of our submission to Western intellectual, cultural, and institutional influences and the impact that these have had on our lives, we are now full partners in the worldwide crisis.” 

As president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), headquartered in Herndon, Va., he and his team advocated intellectual revival and reforming education by promoting the integration of moral and religious (Islamic) elements in education and pedagogy. 

One of the institute’s educational reform efforts is directed to integrating knowledge, which involves complementarity between moral and material aspects of education and between religious and scientific epistemes in various disciplines. 

The institute’s Integration of Knowledge Summer Program 2023, held from July 24 to Aug. 12, opened with inaugural speeches by Hisham Altalib (president, IIIT) and Ahmed Alwani (vice president, IIIT). Altalib gave a brief history of the journey of the knowledge movement and of the idea of establishing an intellectual institution — IIIT. 

Students were then familiarized with the instructors, program goals and expectations, IIIT publications and journals and the onsite facilities, including the al-Alwani and al-Faruqi reference libraries. Both have been featured on the Religious Collections of the Library of Congress. 

Zainab Alwani (Howard University) was the subject matter expert and lead instructor. Other instructors were Ahmed Ali Salem (Zayed University, UAE) and Md. Mahmudul Hasan (International Islamic University Malaysia). The three-week program was designed collaboratively by Boshra Zawawi (senior instructional designer, Fairfax University of America [FXUA]) and Maimoona Al-Abri (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman), and guided with content feedback from Alwani. Wafia Alchurbaji (project manager, FXUA) was in charge of coordination and logistical support. 

Acclaimed Speaker Lineup

In addition to weekday sessions, on Saturdays the students listened to prominent U.S.-based public intellectuals and scholars of contemporary Islamic thought, among them Ingrid Mattson, Imam Suhaib Webb, and Imam Mohamed Magid. They also visited places of educational and historical interest, as well as guided tours and other monuments of political, cultural and historical importance, located in Washington, D.C.  

IIIT summer programs are generally designed for (active) graduate students who wish to become better acquainted with various debates involving Islam, Muslims and the modern world. Participants interacted with the instructors and peers both as individual and group learners. A notable by-product of such programs is for the participants to establish friendships and network ties with people of diverse backgrounds. Doing so has the potential to benefit them far beyond this short program’s span. 

For many students, this program was transformational in terms of understanding the purpose of their life on Earth as divine vicegerents, discovering and shaping their worldviews, connecting with revealed sources and cleansing their hearts by faith. 

The summer program included a small cohort of 11 students who met daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to learn about the integration of knowledge methodology that allowed them to analyze contemporary issues in the light of Quranic principles. 

The students began a transformational journey that started with their hearts and the importance of purifying them continuously to build a solid relationship with the Quran. The journey continued as they learned about how to contemplate it in a more purposeful manner and how to use the sunna as the highest example of applying the Quran. It was stressed that practices of the Prophet and his Companions help guide the interpretation of Quranic verses. 

The students developed a coherent understanding of the maqasid al-qur’aniyyah (Qur’anic principles or objectives), which gave them a lens to assess and evaluate humanity’s intellectual heritage. The program helped them connect deeply with the Quran by approaching it with questions that seek to identify the root causes of real-life problems. Instead of relying on one source to understand specific Quranic verses, the students learned to use multiple translations that relate different perspectives to expand their thinking and broaden their views. 

The students often started their days with a beautiful Quran recitation that lifted their emotional state and opened their hearts to receive new knowledge. They constantly reflected on their journey, their desire to stay connected, how exceptional it was, their surprise about how much they were learning, and their wish to offer such programs to Muslim youth to help them develop personally, intellectually and spiritually. 

They left the program convinced that Islam allows them to produce, confirm and/or question for the sake of learning and truth-seeking. 

Md. Mahmudul Hasan is a professor of English and postcolonial literature at the International Islamic University Malaysia. Boshra Zawawi is a senior instructional designer and guest lecturer at the Fairfax University of America.  

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By Taskeen Khan

Nov/Dec 2023

The winter holidays are filled with emotion. They can be hectic — schools are closed, family is visiting, and the house is often full. But the season can also be full of joy. Starbucks is carrying your favorite peppermint mocha, you can finally go on vacation, and someone is always bringing cookies to the office. 

For Muslims, the holidays can have an added layer of complexity. From putting up a Christmas tree to reserving the light and decorations for Eid and Ramadan only, Muslim have found a variety of ways to navigate the holidays. 

Younas Ali is a life-long resident of the Minnesota suburbs. Growing up, his family didn’t celebrate Christmas; however, he still remembers the winter holidays as a time of excitement. His family would travel during the break, he would participate in the holiday-related arts and crafts at school and his neighborhood would always be decked out in beautiful lights. His family would send holiday wishes and desserts to his Christian cousin. Looking back, Ali never felt like he was missing out, for the season was always filled with fun, even if he wasn’t celebrating Christmas. 

Shifting Values

Insiya Syed’s family changed how they celebrated Christmas as she grew older. When she and her sisters were young, their parents wanted to make the holidays a fun time. Her family put up stockings, exchanged small gifts, and went out to see the lights. However, as the sisters got slightly older the festivities fizzled out, not only because everyone was growing up, but also because they no longer fit in with her family’s shifting religious values. And yet Syed never recalls feeling left out. She would still go caroling with her Girl Scout troop and enjoyed the lights, decor and festive spirit. 

Her family also began to decorate more for Eid and Ramadan, inspired by a desire to increase the holiday feel of these special occasions and because appropriate décor was no longer so hard to find. Today, Syed doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but she has maintained the tradition of making Eid and Ramadan a special, festive time.

Even as a young child, Deniz Namik grew up knowing that Christmas wasn’t one of the traditions and holidays her family celebrated. Her mother wanted to ensure that her family kept sight of their own traditions and holidays, so lights, elves and anything Christmas-themed never entered the house. School was her only exposure to the holiday, although she still developed a love for Christmas movies. 

Namik has observed her younger sister, who is still in elementary school, grow up in the same environment. Although her little sister absolutely loves the holiday, Namik has watched her grow into someone who can differentiate what holidays she and her family celebrate while also appreciating those of other families and cultures. 

Christmas was absent from Sara Raja’s childhood. While she was growing up, it was clear that participating in non-Muslim religious practices was strictly forbidden. Although she was allowed to enjoy hot chocolate and a candy cane at school, she knew that Christmas would forever remain outside her home. Going to a public elementary school, she sometimes felt left out and wanted to join in the festivities. But Raja explained that as she grew older and more secure in her Muslim identity, this faded away. 

As a parent, Raja is following in her parents’ footsteps. While Christmas and non-Muslim holidays aren’t celebrated in her house, she does make Eid and Ramadan exciting times for her little one, a time filled with decorations and activities. As her daughter grows up, she plans to focus on connecting her to her Muslim identity by immersing her in the mosque and Muslim youth groups. By fostering pride and excitement in their faith and community, Raja hopes that her own children will feel secure, even if they are not joining in their fellow students’ holidays. 

A licensed professional counselor, Raja suggests that parents worried about navigating the holidays should “foster a healthy line of communication with children, so that when/if their child is struggling, he/she feels comfortable enough to come to them.” 

Books and Resources

The worry that children will feel excluded during the holidays is not uncommon. Aisha Dawood wrote “Yusuf and Yusra’s Merry Dilemma” (2023) to address this very concern. She remembers feeling fascinated by Halloween as a child and wanting to be part of it. This inspired her to write the three-book “Yusuf and Yusra’s Holiday Dilemma” series, which focus on Christmas, Halloween, and Hanukkah. Her intention is to show Muslim children that their mixed feelings about the holidays are valid and that not all children celebrate these holidays. 

These books emphasize that even if you’re not celebrating a holiday, you can still enjoy the time off by spending time with friends and family. Dawood’s books not only provide enjoyable alternatives, like youth nights at the masjid, but also educate readers about other faith communities’ celebrations. 

It’s not just Muslim parents who are trying to address this issue. From universities to TV shows, the holiday hoopla has become an increasingly prevalent topic. The Michigan State University Extension has developed a set of guidelines to help parents teach their children about holidays and beliefs other than their own. The guidelines emphasize that people can learn about and respect someone else’s holidays without celebrating them. 

Sesame Street, a show that many of us can remember growing up with, has an episode in which children share the different holidays they celebrate during the winter, including Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. Even PBS had an article on navigating the “December Dilemma” (2015). These resources are not just for parents and teachers, but for anyone who wants to better understand how to appreciate a holiday without feeling pressured to conform.

Speaking with these families provides a snapshot of the many ways Muslims navigate Christmas and other holidays. While some have incorporated various elements of Christmas into their own celebrations, others have created clear boundaries. As we move forward, let’s work to create an environment that enables us to respect the many ways Muslims deal with the holidays, because there is no one-size-fits-all approach. 

Taskeen Khan has a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology and a minor in sustainability,

energy, and the environment from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is

passionate about science, communication and research.

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By Sanaa Asif

Nov/Dec 2023

When Muna Mohamed was younger, all her goals revolved around playing basketball. It was an easy way to make friends, connect with people, and build a community. However, there was one issue: As most basketball leagues at that time didn’t allow women to wear the hijab while playing, Mohamed would often find herself sitting on the bench. This continual frustration inspired her to become a youth basketball coach for her community and, later on, the founder of her activewear brand, Kalsoni.

As a youth basketball coach, Mohamed wanted to empower girls to play basketball regardless of where they came from and, most importantly, to embrace and wear their hijab proudly. Her interest in advocating for more inclusion in sports, regardless of religion or culture, became an initial steppingstone for her brand. 

This interest peaked at Augsburg University, where Mohamed participated in an undergraduate research project that proved clothing was the number one barrier why East Asian Muslimas weren’t physically active or participating in sports. Her interest grew when she became involved with a University of Minnesota project that encouraged young women to design their own activewear. These experiences provided her with the encouragement to let her creativity flow.

Her first design project was to create a modest uniform for her team. She then drafted a business plan and started pitching in competitions where entrepreneurs competed for funding. However, Mohamed found that these competitions weren’t a good fit for her ideas, because her audience didn’t usually include people who could see a direct benefit from her product line. “If investors looked like me or my community or even understood the problem, I think the results would have been different,” she said.

Training at Target

Mohamed shifted her focus to grants and incubator programs, specifically through Target. “They selected ten businesses to work with, from clothing and food to baby products, and they taught us so much — concepts such as marketing and sales strategies, how to build a business, social media techniques and other important skills.” Mohamed and her fellow members graduated by crafting and presenting a pitch.

She continued learning and wasn’t afraid to edit her business plan. “I wanted to make sure I know how to build a business, as well as find the best fabric for hijabs and tops. I wanted to ensure that I provide the best quality clothing for women,” she added. In the beginning of 2022, Mohamed launched Kalsoni. 

In Somali, Kalsoni means confidence. “I wanted to ensure that any woman who wants to dress modestly while being active should feel confident about what she’s wearing,” Mohamed said. While she built Kalsoni to create modest activewear for Muslimas, her customer demographic evolved as women from diverse backgrounds began looking for more modest clothing while being physically active or traveling. Kalsoni products are now being shipped to Canada, Norway, and Africa.

Eventually, Mohamed joined a program through REI, a retail and outdoor recreation store, and was able to display her products in two of their Minneapolis locations. “That opportunity of building relationships with major retailers took Kalsoni to the next step in showcasing that we don’t have to go shopping at the men’s section,” Mohamed said. “Folks didn’t have to shop online and wait for their orders to be delivered.” 

The Kalsoni Vision

As Kalsoni continues to grow and reach new customers, Mohamed hopes to exhibit her products in more stores outside of Minnesota.

“Alhamdulillah, I’m really lucky that in our Somali community that when one sister wins, we all win,” she said. “My goal is to be able to spread out the production and bring it over to different states and countries so that it’s easily accessible.” She also hopes to not only build collections, but also experiences. 

To carry that vision forward, Mohamed now closely works with Girls on the Run, a national nonprofit that combines exercise and education to promote healthy lifestyles for young girls. She provides sports hijabs for girls running the annual Girls on the Run 5K. “I want to continue building relationships with organizations that work with Muslim athletes and strengthen partnerships with schools, nonprofits, and sports organizations,” she said. 

Through clothing, Mohamed hopes to connect women from all over the world. “I want to be of service to people and bring together a community of women, not only Muslim women but all women in a space where they can be comfortable with one other.” 

Sanaa Asif, a student at Hinsdale Central High School, is an avid reader and loves to learn about other people’s stories.

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By Samar Al-Majaideh

Nov/Dec 2023

In the dynamic, data-oriented domain of education, full-time Islamic schools in the U.S. require a comprehensive understanding and strategic analysis. First established in the 1990s, their roots can be traced back to the 1930s University of Islam — renamed the Clara Muhammad Schools in 1978 — which initiated this country’s Islamic education movement.

Despite these schools’ growth, substantial knowledge gaps persist about their status, trends, governance, and societal integration. To bridge these gaps, the Islamic Schools League of America (ISLA) launched its groundbreaking ISLA Database Project in November 2021.

This study builds upon two previous studies conducted to form a comprehensive picture of Islamic schools in the U.S. The first one, published in 1989 by ISNA in an obscure booklet entitled “In-Depth Study of Full-Time Islamic Schools in North America: Results and Data Analysis,” estimated the number of full-time Islamic schools at approximately fifty.

A second study was conducted in 2011 by ISLA’s executive director Karen Keyworth (d. 2017). Entitled “Islamic Schools of the United States: Data-Based Profiles” and published by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), it stated that “the number of Islamic schools recorded was 235 schools” (2011). Today, ISLA’s Directory of Islamic Schools provides the figure of approximately 320 such schools.

Project Objectives

The ISLA Database Project’s focus revolves around full-time Islamic schools in the U.S., with two pivotal objectives:

●    Developing an Updated, Comprehensive Directory of Islamic Schools: Its goal is to craft an exhaustive current directory of these schools. This target serves as a crucial resource for stakeholders in education.

●    Building a Data-Driven Profile of Islamic Schools: This endeavor seeks to formulate a wide-ranging, data-base profile that will provide insights into facets of Islamic schools to drive informed decisions and strategic planning.

Database Project Vision and Mission

Through this initiative, ISLA aspires to elevate the Islamic school community by promoting a culture of informed decision-making through data and nurturing bonds both within and beyond this community. Its mission is to identify and understand these schools’ characteristics by building an updated directory and a data-based profile.

Eight key research questions guide its scope:

• How many full-time Islamic schools are there in the U.S.?

• What are their key characteristics?

• What is their demographic profile?

• How do they manifest leadership?

• How do they approach teaching and learning?

• What resources do they have access to?

• What are their growth trends?

• What are the top three challenges they face?

Answers to each research question will provide a foundation for future research and allow full-time Islamic schools in the U.S., organizations that serve them and researchers interested in American Muslims education to build upon in seminal ways and/or direct their services and programs to address the established needs.

Study Tool Creation

To fulfill these objectives effectively, ISLA embarked on a comprehensive initial study that harnessed diverse resources (e.g., scholarly articles, industry reports and expert opinions) that offered significant information on how to design an effective survey and identified pertinent data points.

In addition, ISLA ensured a collaborative approach in the survey’s development by engaging various stakeholders, among them Islamic school principals, board members, parents, Muslim educators, and education researchers.

Key Achievements to Date

Since its inception, the ISLA database project has realized numerous key accomplishments:

1.   Promoting Data Culture: The project instilled a data-driven culture among Islamic schools, thereby highlighting the significance of data for strategic decision-making and educational advancement.

2.   Community Engagement: A broad engagement with the Islamic school community has been achieved, fostering a sense of shared purpose, and promoting growth.

3.   Extensive Data Collection: The project has made significant strides in data collection, with 110 full-time Islamic schools completing the Islamic School Profile Survey.

4.   Stakeholder Reports: Preliminary reports about the initial findings have been shared with stakeholders and donors, promoting transparency and inclusivity.

5.   In-Depth Data Analysis: Currently, ISLA is deeply involved in analyzing the data to draw valuable insights.

6.   Updated School Directory: The collected data has been used to update ISLA’s existing school directory.

7.   Collaborative Efforts: The project has greatly benefited from collaborations with organizations like ISPU (Institute for Social Policy and Understanding).

Future Directions

As the ISLA database project continues, we are committed to expanding its scope and enhancing its impact.

1.   Research Collaborations: We plan to partner with more research organizations for in-depth data analysis, thereby enabling us to reveal valuable insights into trends and challenges in Islamic education.

2.   Variety of Reports: We aim to convert our findings into various report formats, ensuring the information is accessible and beneficial to a wide range of audiences, including school leaders, parents, and researchers.

3.   Communication and Sharing: We will share our findings as broadly as possible, thereby maximizing their use for the benefit of Islamic education.

4.   Interactive Map: We are developing an interactive map on our website to visualize the updated Islamic school directory, providing a more intuitive user experience.

5.   Continuous Data Collection: A brief survey collecting public information will remain active to capture new data from emerging and evolving schools. This ongoing data collection will help keep the ISLA directory current and valuable.

6.   User Feedback and Volunteer Committee: Feedback from users will guide our future enhancements to the project. Additionally, a volunteer committee will be established to help identify new Islamic schools.

7.   Regular Updates: We plan to schedule regular database updates to ensure that it remains an invaluable resource for the Islamic school community.

The ongoing ISLA Database Project signifies a major step forward in understanding and leveraging the role of Islamic schools in the U.S. By equipping school leaders with robust, comprehensive data, the project aims to stimulate informed decision-making, efficient governance, and progressive growth. By balancing past insights with present needs, the project holds a promising future in shaping the Islamic educational landscape. For a more detailed overview of the project’s progress, visit the project blog post at theisla.org.

Samar al-Majaideh, Ed.D. is research project manager, ISLA..

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By Lisa Kahler

Nov/Dec 2023

Consider for a moment how you view individuals with disabilities. Are they a benefit, a burden, or a friend? How did our Prophet Mohammad (sallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) treat others? He taught us by differentiating his words and demeanor based on the individual’s needs. The Prophetic model provides us with an example of teaching and learning which can be implemented in every school and Muslim organization for the benefit of all Muslims.

Today we may see children of all abilities to have access to some form of education. However, it wasn’t always this way. With the advent of industrialization came the need for social conformity and mass schooling. During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s, educators realized that some students were different or “neurodivergent.” Differentiation became part of the special education classroom but didn’t enter mainstream classrooms in various forms until the latter part of the 20th century, and has since gained momentum.

Public and Private Schools

In the U.S, special education is considered a civil rights issue. All students with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). U.S. federal law requires public schools to provide such programs and the federal government to fund a significant portion of them. 

Islamic Horizons spoke with Omaira Alam at the 24th Annual ISNA Education Forum in May, 2023 where she gave a presentation on “Special Education: Praxis & Pedagogy for Islamic Schools.”

Currently, special education is moving toward inclusive classrooms. “According to a 2018 Education Next report, more than 60% of students with special needs are now included in general education classes for at least 80% of the day,” Alam said. “This reflects society’s acceptance of children with special needs. However, this does not mean that all schools treat them equitably. “Physically including students in the classroom is only the foundation.”

Private schools that receive any type of federal funding  must not just include such students, but accommodate students with disabilities as well, provided that only minor adjustments are needed. Schools in general can accommodate students with mild to moderate disabilities, or with invisible needs such as a learning disability. Private schools that receive no federal funding are not required to accept or accommodate students with disabilities.

The Kinds of Disabilities

Among visible and invisible disabilities are the following: autism, blindness or visual impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment and traumatic brain injury.

Alam is a strong advocate for changing how people think of a disability. She believes that we need action, but before that we must change our perspective to act effectively.  We need to acknowledge that people with disabilities and special needs have so much to offer as well. After all…

“The best charity a Muslim can practice is acquiring knowledge and teaching it to his/her brother/sister” (Sunan Ibn Majah).

Differentiation in Islamic Schools

Alam said that differentiation is the creation of multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interests, or learning needs experience equitably appropriate ways to absorb, use, develop and present concepts as a part of the daily learning process. It allows students to take greater responsibility and ownership for their own learning and provides opportunities for peer teaching and cooperative learning. By explicitly addressing each student’s needs, we can provide the best possible environment for everyone to learn and succeed and become successful Muslims. 

“Special education or inclusive education isn’t just about differentiation, but differentiation is a big component of it,” she added. “Islamic schools would do well to include proper training on differentiation to give teachers the tools to reach all students. Many of the disabilities like learning and emotional disabilities are also known as hidden disabilities. Teachers may not even be aware that they have students with mild to moderate levels of these disabilities. With proper training, differentiation is not expensive and can alleviate issues before they become unmanageable, and schools end up removing students. Even with all neurotypical students, differentiation should be used in any classroom.

MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs) is filling this void in the Muslim community. It has certified more than 20 weekend schools so that individuals with different disabilities, ages, and learning abilities can come together for the sake of Allah and sense of belonging in their community.

Students with special needs are given individualized lesson plans that focus on their needs, but also provide them the opportunity to learn and achieve success in their Deen. MUHSEN believes that the Muslim community needs action, but before that we need to change our perspective to act effectively. We need to acknowledge that people with disabilities and special needs have so much to offer as well.

Differentiation in the Classroom

In addition to classroom observation, having access to each student’s individual education plan (IEP) is important. IEPs should be requested from all parents at the beginning of the school year in case they may not be as forthcoming about the support their child needs. 

There are five main areas of differentiation in school settings: instructional, engagement, environmental, classroom, and prevention strategies.  

Instructional Strategies

Some ways to differentiate include reducing reading level, peer tutoring, opportunities to discuss, shortened assignments, highlighted text, assignment notebook, and manipulatives. Some teachers also have success with preferential seating, extended time on assignments, positive reinforcements, reading supports, small group instruction, frequent and immediate feedback, and graphic organizers.

Engagement Strategies

Educators should learn students’ interests and fears and examine triggers for stress and disengagement. They should assess each student’s abilities, not for grading purposes, but to observe and create a chart. For example, Fatima may prefer visual aids along with verbal cues. She cannot sit still for long and enjoys participating in discussions, particularly debates. Meanwhile, Ahmed enjoys being the center of attention, has a keen understanding of nature and biology and is an audio learner.

Environmental (Campus) Strategies

Learning even occurs outside of the classroom in areas that students have access to, including restrooms, hallways, playground, musalla, etc.  Inclusive schools should have an accessible playground, green spaces, and perhaps even a school or community garden. 

Several studies have shown that nature provides a nurturing, healing environment for students which can increase overall concentration and focus.  Students that are hyperactive, have minimal attention spans, and/or have an inability to remember classroom routines, can all benefit from learning that incorporates nature. A study by the California Department of Education showed a 27% increase in science scores due to classes in outdoor education settings.  

Classroom Learning Strategies 

Observe the classroom’s arrangement. The teacher’s desk should be at the back to allow them to actively engage with the students instead of a place for sitting during class. Desks and learning centers should be arranged to allow for maximum movement, group work, and hands-on activities. Decor should be intentional and related to class learning without being overstimulating. The classroom should be neat, organized, and contain a dedicated mindfulness space that provides a respite for overstimulated students and an opportunity for the teacher to model prayer and reflection daily.

Prevention Strategies

Educators should prepare their daily classroom routine to incorporate elements of prevention, redirection, and intervention. The classroom routine should be consistent.  Post class schedules and transitions, and include visual cues and oral reminders. Students should be informed of changes. Use work blocks and timers to help chunk student learning. Verbal communications should be concise, clear, and literal to help students focus on the task at hand and not become distracted or confused. Sensory breaks and designated quiet spaces allow students space and time to withdraw from over-stimulation.  

It is important to remember that the teacher sets the tone for the classroom. “One strategy that can help all students would be for educators to clearly repeat instructions. They should include visual cues (handouts, whiteboard) and model the expected steps,” Alam concluded.

Lisa Kahler is a longtime educator with experience in private Islamic schools, nonprofits, and county offices of education. She currently sits on the Steering Committee of the Shura Council’s Annual SoCal Educator Retreat and is co-chair of ISLA’s Annual African & African American Muslim History Contest.

Omaira Alam, MA, George Washington University, is an educational consultant with 20+ years of school experience. She works with the U.S. Department of State, MUHSEN, Muslim Kids TV, and has founded an education consultancy: BlackBoard / WhiteChalk. (https://msomairaalam.wixsite.com/blackboardwhitechalk)

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The post Making Classrooms Truly Inclusive appeared first on Islamic Horizons.

Nov/Dec 2023

Travel in the United States as a Muslim has become a challenge for many . Muslims are often subjected to the discriminatory behavior because of the color of their skin and are disrespected on account of their faith.

The introduction to CAIR’s watchlist report states in part: “For more than twenty years, the FBI has detained, surveilled, harassed, and destroyed the lives of innocent Muslims. The public record amply documents how this abuse, inflicted via always-expanding FBI powers, led not to a reduction in terrorism, but painful, farcical, and often dangerous abuse of Muslims…It has long been clear to the Muslim community that the FBI’s list is nothing more than a list of innocent Muslims…Of the watchlist entries we’ve reviewed, we estimate that more than 1.47 million of those entries are aboutMuslims – more than 98 percent of the total…”   

It is important to know that as an airline passenger, you are entitled to courteous, respectful and non-stigmatizing treatment by airline and security personnel. It is illegal for law enforcement officials to perform any stops, searches, detentions, or removals based solely on your race, religion, national origin, sex, or ethnicity.

If you believe you have been treated in a discriminatory manner, you should:

• Ask for the names and ID number of all persons involved in the incident. Be sure to write down this information.
• Ask to speak to a supervisor.
• Politely ask if you have been singled out because of your name, looks, dress, race, ethnicity, faith, or national origin.
• Politely ask witnesses to give you their names and contact information.
• Write a statement of facts immediately after the incident. Be sure to include the flight number, date, and the name of the airline.
• Contact CAIR to file a report. If you are leaving the country, leave a detailed message with the information above at 202-488-8787 or at www.cair.com.

It is important to note the following:

• A customs agent has the right to stop, detain and search every person and item.
• Screeners have the authority to conduct a further search of you or your bags.
• A pilot has the right to refuse to fly a passenger if he or she believes the passenger is a threat to the safety of the flight. The pilot’s decision must be reasonable and based on observations, not stereotypes — a move initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union.

No-Fly List and Selectee List

Individuals experiencing difficulties during travel at airports, train stations, or U.S. borders may be on either the no-fly or selectee list. It is very difficult to determine if you are on one of these lists.

You may be on the selectee list if you are unable to check in online or at airport kiosks and have to line up at the ticketing counter instead. You should eventually be permitted to fly.

The no-fly list, on the other hand, prohibits individuals from flying at all. If you are able to board an airplane, regardless of the amount of questioning or screening, then you are not on the no-fly list.

If you are constantly subjected to advanced screening or are prevented from boarding your flight, you should file a complaint with DHS TRIP at www.dhs.gov/trip. Most people who file with DHS TRIP are not actually on a watch list and that service can resolve most problems.

If you are experiencing difficulties traveling, you should contact CAIR to file a report at 202-488-8787 or www.cair.com.

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By Emin Poljarevic

Nov/Dec 2023

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a Muslim-majority state in southeastern Europe that encapsulates the complexities of post-1992-1995-war politics and ethno-religious divisions. Its society is constituted primarily of three large ethnic groups divided along religious lines: Bosniaks (Muslims), Serbs (Orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholics) and other minorities. After Yugoslavia was dismembered during the 1990s, BiH was divided into two autonomous administrative entities with their own parliaments: the Republika Srpska RS (49%) and the Federation of BiH (51%), as dictated by the U.S-hosted Dayton Agreement peace plan. 

This peace agreement serves as the legal basis upon which this current state project is based. It outlines the country’s weak presidency, which is essentially a council of three representatives of the constitutive ethnic groups, that is in charge of the cross-entity security agencies, fiscal policies and border control. Other autonomous cantonal and municipal entities decide issues pertaining to healthcare, education and other policies. 

European Raj

The Dayton Agreement reserves the country’s most powerful political role for the European Union’s High Representative (EUHR). Briefly, this person is a modern-day European Raj, a guardian over the state’s political framework with exclusive wide-ranging powers that include the right to remove any publicly elected government officials and to appoint judges and justices.  

It is worthwhile remembering that the Dayton Accords of 1995, the precursor to the peace agreement, were hailed as a diplomatic triumph that ended the Croatian aggressions and Serbian forces’ three-year genocidal aggression against BiH, the newly — and now independent — former Yugoslav republic located in eastern BiH. At the same time, however, the peace agreement has also contributed to institutionalizing these ethnic and religious divisions.  

Almost three decades after the agreement was signed, the metamorphosed extremist Serbian and Croatian nationalist forces are calling for BiH’s disintegration. The EUHR is mostly sitting and observing what’s going on, taking no significant action to stop this process, and thereby enabling the Serbian and Croatian nationalists’ destructive campaign to continue. Such passivity also contradicts its institutionalized role — to support BiH’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

Added to this, the combination of the current political structure, endemic corruption and economic hardship, persistent Islamophobia and the Bosniaks’ internal political disunity has produced an unsustainable sociopolitical and volatile environment in the country.  

Milorad Dodik, the polarizing extremist nationalist Serb leader and president of Republika Srpska, currently under the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions, embodies the separatist ambitions threatening Bosnia’s territorial integrity. His controversial stances, ranging from secessionist policies to explicit denials of the Bosniak genocide, have made him not a cause, but rather a catalyst for instability. His recent political maneuvers, such as refusing to obey the Constitutional Court’s legislative decisions have both destabilized RS and had a ripple effect on the entire country. 

This situation further strains inter-ethnic relations and complicates the functioning of other legislative and diplomatic efforts. In the light of these factors and the geopolitical situation, the fragility of the country’s state institutions is not merely a local issue, but has broader implications for regional stability and international peace. If left unaddressed, these layers of complexity can cascade into instability across the Balkans, thereby leading to another bloody conflict that will inevitably lead to a range of humanitarian crises.  

What can be done? 

There are no easy answers to this question. What we do know is that any realistic answers depend on the ambition and awareness of those competent and informed individuals who can provide them. For example, the EU and its allies, primarily the U.S., would need to assert their commitment and resources to guarantee BiH’s territorial integrity. This will only happen if the EU member states and its political elite muster enough political will to do something constructive. Mustering such will in political environments dominated by increased levels of ethno-fascism and Islamophobia is even more difficult.  

We might also wonder why domestic political parties aren’t proposing any substantial improvements. The fact is that no major political party — especially those dominated by the Bosniaks — offers a coherent political vision in which a unified and stable BiH would be possible and where all citizens, regardless of their religious or ethnic belonging, could be safe and integrated.  

But regardless of any visions and concrete propositions coming from designated foreign or domestic political actors, any change requires a plan that reforms the entire constitutional framework and institutional structure. In a world dominated by hardwired nation-states, constitutions are operating systems. The desire to construct a constitution anchored in a widely accepted and publicly agreed upon document by the citizens, one that offers clearly defined institutional functions and balance of powers among the various branches and levels of government, is a distant dream in deeply divided BiH. 

As of now, incentives for radical and constructive change and for integrating the disunited BiH are few and far between. The existing political elites seem to be chronically paralyzed and unable to generate any new ideas and initiatives to resolve this deadlock. Both the EU and the U.S. seem to be uninterested and unable to aid and sustain any constructive solution(s). 

What Options Remain? 

If the goal is to generate a sustainable coexistence, spark political creativity and produce coherent visions, then this ambition must come from the people themselves. Consider the following: A significant number of Bosnian youth are largely disillusioned, highly educated, and cosmopolitan in their outlook on life. As such, they can be said to have the potential to generate, spark, and produce needed solutions. 

I would argue that they can be a constructive force in terms of creating a fertile ground for future reforms and conflict resolution so that BiH can survive as the Bosniak’s only homeland. I further believe that this potential, in combination with the domestic tradition of tolerance and coexistence in BiH, is an important part of the solution to a list of endemic internal problems. 

This domestic tradition of tolerance and coexistence is, anthropologically speaking, a deep-seated part of Bosniak culture that is rarely separated or distinct from everyday life. It is worthwhile to reflect on the slow and organic Islamization of the Bosnian vilajet, which became an Ottoman province during the 15th century. This historically analyzable process of toleration and coexistence developed in several of its urban centers, especially from the early 16th century onward. 

Bosnian Muslims from that era, as well as today, experienced Islam as a global phenomenon that cut across political, cultural and social divides. The existence of Orthodox Christian or Sephardic Jewish congregations (millets), Catholic institutions and cultural communities existed side by side with their Muslim neighbors under the auspices of Ottoman sultans, appointed viziers, pashas and other officials. The Sephardic community was composed primarily of refugees from the Catholic conquests of Iberia’s Emirate of Granada during the late 15th century.  

Despite short periods of intercommunal tension, the religious diversity allowed for a thriving coexistence in which toleration was the norm. This was also true when the Bosnian polity and its diverse populations came under the rule of the Habsburg Empire in the second half of the 19th century, even though the Bosniaks suddenly lost any privileges they might have enjoyed under the Ottomans. Despite difficulties, the historical records and subsequent analyses show that Bosnian Muslims were resilient and committed enough to maintain their intellectual and religious connections with the Muslim East, while at the same time being flexible enough to adapt to Western ideas and realities of the nation-state. 

Out of these collective experiences and subsequent traumas, this relatively small Muslim community developed the Bosniaks’ ethic of merhamet — goodness and compassion. This ethic was both praised and criticized internally during the 1992-95 aggression on BiH. A number of Bosnian intellectuals criticized it as too pacifist or rather naïve, especially during the period preceding the war. Others praised it because it discouraged the Bosniaks from taking revenge or destroying Orthodox and Catholic symbols and places of worship.  

This centuries-old resilience, based on the Bosnian Muslims’ collective experiences, shared ethic and heightened sense of toleration, represent important cultural resources that are sorely needed for generating coexistence, creativity, and visions of a brighter future. One can only hope that youth of other ethnic minorities will be able to overcome their respective ethno-chauvinistic political agendas. 

One potential answer to “What can be done?” is to construct positive ways through which today’s generation of hyperconnected and cosmopolitan Bosniak youth can engage with these cultural resources in order to at least start addressing the currently unsustainable and endemic problems of disunity, corruption, hatred and separatism. The first step in this engagement process must be education. After all, the first word of the Quranic revelation was iqra’ — Read! 

Emin Poljarevic is an associate professor of Islamic studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. 

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By Justice For All and Its Burma Task Force Staff

Nov/Dec 2023

For decades, Myanmar’s government, military and some of its Buddhist monks and laity have persecuted the Muslim-minority Rohingya of Rakhine State on the grounds that they are “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” (BBC, Jan. 23, 2020). 

On August 25, 2017, the military launched its genocidal “Area Cleansing” operation, claiming to avenge attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a self-styled armed group, on local police posts after weeks of a military enforced lockdown that created hunger in the state’s villages. The infamous and brutal battalions arbitrarily killed, burned and bulldozed hundreds of dwellings, looted properties and destroyed all signs of the Rohingya’s existence. Since then, Cox’s Bazar has hosted 1 million Rohingya refugees in its Kutupalong refugee camp. 

Six years later …

ARSA members and other gangs now control the camp and are recruiting young and uneducated Rohingya males. Ruling as a government in exile, it gained greater influence around 2019, and, according to many Rohingya, seemed to be colluding with the Bangladesh Armed Police Battalion (ABPN). For example, ABPN supported ARSA’s destruction of the Munna gang in 2020.

Drug smuggling, extortion, kidnapping, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, and other crimes have increased. ABPN couldn’t secure the rule of law due to large-scale internal corruption and accepting bribes from drug smugglers. ARSA extorts money and sometimes tortures drug smugglers if they don’t pay the full bribe. As these smugglers recruit young Rohingya boys for their security and give them weapons, weapons and gangs have increased. These gangs, grown strong due to ABPN’s weakness, have become a threat. 

When prominent leader Mohib Ullah (of the Arakan Rohingya Society) was assassinated in 2020, he was working to unite Arakan’s villages. The authorities and ARSA, feeling threatened that ordinary Rohingyas were following his instructions, sought to maintain their control by killing him. Since then, the ensuing instability has led to more of the following: gangs, arbitrary arrests, human trafficking, destruction of sources of livelihood and a higher level of insecurity for everyone.

During their first year in the camp, the refugees tried to recover from their communal trauma. However, the hardships experienced now exceed what they faced in Arakan (Rakhine) state. Within six years, 1,000 Rohingya died in camps and thousands more languished inside prisons across Asia. The Rohingya crisis has gone international. 

One camp-based activist mentioned, “We are going through dark days in the camp … as it seems this unstable situation is … created intentionally so that we would never return to our country and will end our lives as displaced people.”

According to an on the ground analysis, crime rates have doubled over the past three years. Gangs kill at least one or two people every day, and several smaller ones fight each night. Each gang has its own territory; however, given that ARSA has tried to dominate them, all gangs are trying to destroy it. 

Beyond this, almost 95% of them are jobless because Dhaka has blocked all income sources and local politicians don’t want them taking jobs from locals. And then there is the fear, according to one Rohingya youth, of going to another camp “because any gang there may torture me if they don’t know me personally. … Just a few days ago, a religious scholar was stabbed to death in front of others at around 10 am and no one spoke up because they would also be killed if they did.”

Understandably, some Rohingya have begun searching for a secure life elsewhere either by sea or by land to Malaysia via human traffickers. In the last two years, nearly 5,000 refugees have left the camp – only half reached Malaysia. Others were arrested in Myanmar and charged with traveling illegally or died due to capsized boats or starvation in the jungle. 

A Rohingya humanitarian worker who entrusted his son to a broker stated, “The broker brought them to Rathidaung, Arakan state. As soon as my son reached Sharmila, a village in Rathidaung, the broker beat him and forced me to pay. I paid, but my son couldn’t go to Malaysia. They sent him back to the camp.” 

As one camp resident explained, many Rohingya women are sent to Malaysia to be married. Rohingya men leave to make a better life. Sometimes women and girls are sold to brokers and are gang raped on the way. Currently, hundreds of girls are in prisons. Her own daughter and others, taking the sea route, were continually harassed by the brokers and abandoned when they reached the Thai jungle. Saved by the Thai Navy, they are now languishing in a Thai refugee camp.

Bill Frelick writes that the UN World Food Program’s reduction of monthly food rations from $12 to $10 to $8 a head, which made hunger a serious problem (June 2, 2023), has caused more refugees than ever to leave the camp despite the above-mentioned dangers. 

But it seems that whether they stay or go, they always encounter abuse. Half of the Rohingya who’ve made it to India have been sent to detention centers. When they demanded to be released in early August 2023, the Indian security force fired tear gas at them, injuring many and killing a baby. They live in fear of sudden deportation to Myanmar, as India has used that option before. 

A Rohingya mother asked, “Why can’t India, a large country and the biggest democratic nation in the world help her very small minority of people, the most persecuted minority in the world?” 

How much longer?

This persecuted minority has faced decades of violence and discrimination in Myanmar. Those refugees living in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia seek what all refugees seek: safety, a better life, and an end to their stateless condition. However, they face similar negative realities wherever they find themselves. The international community and organizations, especially Islamic ones, need to start seriously advocating for their rights as refugees. They need to recognize that since the 2021 coup, the extremist Myanmar junta has little incentive to restore their rights and homes.

• Bangladesh. This country’s estimated 1 million Rohingya, living in an area of just over 115 square miles face severe overcrowding, which leads to lack of privacy, poor sanitation and the spread of disease. Many live in makeshift shelters of bamboo and tarpaulins, which are not durable and offer little protection from the elements. Their limited access to food and water leads to malnutrition and dehydration, especially among children. The inadequate number of health care facilities means that many refugees have no access to essential medicines and thus have to contend with outbreaks of cholera, malaria, diphtheria, and other diseases. And as if all of that isn’t enough, they also have to contend with their children’s limited access to education as well as the ongoing violence (e.g., kidnappings and assassinations) and exploitation. Women and children between 12-18 years are particularly vulnerable.

 • India. The 40,000 Rohingya in India face detention in camps/prisons, are often denied access to legal representation and subjected to poor conditions. They also face discrimination from the locals and are often denied jobs, housing and education. Perhaps worst of all, New Delhi refuses to grant them asylum, which leaves them in legal limbo with no clear path to citizenship or permanent residency.

• Malaysia. Many of Malaysia’s 180,000 Rohingya have to contend with their “undocumented” status and thus are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. In addition to having limited access to basic services such as education, healthcare, and housing, they risk being deported back to Myanmar.

• Saudi Arabia. The 558,000 Rohingya in Saudi Arabia face deportation to Bangladesh, given that Riyadh has forcibly returned thousands of them in recent years. Not only are they refused asylum, but they are also exploited by employers and often denied basic rights.

Prepared by Justice For All and its Burma Task Force staff on the occasion of the Sixth Anniversary of the Genocide against the Rohingya people (https://www.justiceforall.org/burma-task-force/; August 2023). Copyedited with permission.

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By Monia Mazigh 

Nov/Dec 2023

At the end of August, a few days before the schools opened, the newly appointed French education minister Gabriel Attal announced in a memorandum that wearing the abaya, a large and long traditional dress worn by women on top of other attire, will be prohibited in public schools. The ban extended also to the qamis, a long tunic usually worn by men in several Muslim countries. 

The minister justified the ban as an urgent act to defend and preserve the principle of laïcité (secularism) in the French school system. “L’abaya has no place in our schools,” emphasized Attal in a press conference. He insisted that this ban is a response to school principals who requested clear instructions about this type of attire.

What’s really strange here is that this “pick and choose” much anticipated dress code only applied to the abaya, despite the fact that the minister never clearly defined what it looks like. Thus, school principals can interpret and apply the ban as they wish. 

The same memorandum made a dangerous and misleading association between the assassination of high school teacher Samuel Paty in 2020 by a Chechen refugee with the increase of religious attire worn by students — understood here as Muslim students. (Reported by B.F. with AFP, www.bfmtv.com, Aug. 28, 2003).

Drawing dangerous parallels

But how did such an association come to be normalized and accepted as a justification of the ban? What does the wearing of this traditional garment have to do with killing and violence? In an interview with a French journalist, President Macron mentioned Paty’s killing in his reply to a question about the abaya ban. Cornered by the journalist Hugo Travers, Macron denied “making any parallel” between the two events (BMFTV). Nevertheless, the impression Macron left was his subtle attempt to “weaponize” abayas worn by a minority of young Muslimas and make it sound like a dangerous item that is “testing the principles of the French Republic.” 

Banning the abaya is neither surprising nor unexpected. Ever since this obsession with Muslima’s bodies began in 1989, the debate on religious symbols in French schools hasn’t stopped. It started with “the scarf affair,” when three middle school Muslima students were suspended for refusing to remove their headscarves. At that time, the French minister of education issued a statement that gave the school principals the latitude to judge on a case-by-case basis whether to remove or keep the headscarves. 

Thirty years later, things remain pretty much the same, for this latest additional ban makes the school principals the sole interpreter of the memorandum. Instead of stopping, the debate continued and became even more controversial. In 2003, President Jacques Chirac appointed a commission to examine the “interaction between secularism and religious symbols in schools.” That same commission released a report that recommended the banning of ostentatious religious signs in school. 

Bandanas, burkinis, and beyond

In 2004, the first official law banning the “conspicuous” religious sign was born, and the hijab became its first target. Muslimas who wanted to wear it as a sign of religious observance or modesty had to remove it before entering the school. The principals would stand in front of the main entrance to check and prevent them from entering if they refused to do so. Many Muslimas tried to get around the new law by wearing bandanas, a square colourful kerchief mostly painted in paisley. 

But even that was banned, depending on who was wearing it. Elaine Sciolino, writing for the New York Times Jan. 20, 2004, explained that, in effect, a Muslima wearing a bandana wouldn’t be allowed to enter the school, but a non-Muslima wearing it as a fashion statement could. This opened the door to racial profiling and arbitrariness. 

In 2010, another law was passed to ban the niqab, a full-face full body covering. France became the first European country to introduce such legislation; other European countries have since followed. Niqabis in public space would be fined 150 euros (US $160). The law, challenged in the European Court of Human Rights, was upheld after the court accepted the argument advanced by Paris of a “certain idea of living together.”

In 2016, another public controversy arose over the burkini (the full-body swimsuit). The picture of a Muslima napping on the beach in Nice, southern France, surrounded by four police officers who asked her to remove her burkini, considered a symbol of Islamic extremism, went viral. Once again, a Muslimas’ presence in the public space was uncomfortable to some, and their choice of covering their bodies was portrayed as proselytism or an association with extremist misogynistic ideologies. Interestingly, this ban was never the object of any legislation, but the personal initiatives of some city mayors. It was later overturned by the Conseil d’État, Frances’ highest administrative and constitutional court (similar to the Supreme Court). 

Joan Wallach Scott, an American historian and prominent professor of gender studies, argued in her “Politics of the Veil” (2007) that the 2004 French law banning the headscarf in schools is clear evidence of France’s failure to fully integrate the citizens from its former colonies. The fact that modesty or a religious choice by visibly embracing Islam came to be understood through the lenses of sexual openness and the “unavailability” of some Muslim French women to the gaze of French men, literally or figuratively, bother many French. 

Continuing colonization

The ban is a continuation of French colonization — no longer over Muslim lands, but over Muslima’s bodies. For those who support such bans, the government, extreme-right parties and some of the population, these women refuse to accept French society’s “norms” and thus refuse to integrate. The ban would be a punishment, namely, removing them from the “public space.”

Wallach Scott’s analysis is correct. During a recent interview on French media, two male French journalists kept asking a teenaged Muslima, who was wearing a long tunic and large pants and had been banned from entering her high school, whether this “large” tunic and “large” pants aren’t religious and thus create confusion with the abaya. One of them asked, “Why do you wear this kind of ‘large’ clothing? Is it because it hides your shapes?” “No, I chose it because I like it,” she responded. But the journalist, in an attempt to associate the ample tunic and pants with Islam, continued his inquisition and asked, “You also wear the headscarf, right?” (BFM TV) 

That was the core issue: racial and religious profiling. If you’re a Muslima who wears modest attire, then your allegiance to the République’s sacred values are called into question and you can never be considered a full French citizen. If you are non-Muslima and chose to wear the same attire, then you are considered just another fashionable teenager — as if for Muslimas, wearing 

nice comfortable and brand clothing can’t be an innocent choice. There is always a hidden sinister reason, like radicalization or religious extremism. 

Amid this fabricated controversy, the French education minister was able to make many citizens forget that the public education system is failing, with many teachers leaving because of the difficult teaching conditions and the challenges of finding replacements. As a result, many students won’t have teachers and won’t receive a proper education. These topics are rather “covered” by the length and the ampleness of those few Muslimas who want to dress modestly and, at the same time, be Muslim and French (Alain Gabon, www.middleeasteye.net, Sept. 5, 2023).

Despite some anti-racism organizations and French personalities, including Annie Ernaux, a French Nobel Prize winner in literature, signing a statement denouncing the anti-racist and Islamophobic nature of this ban (Collectif, https://www.politis.fr, Sept. 13, 2023), France continues, with its pitiful populists and mainly opportunistic machinations, to “use” Muslim French women to gain votes from both the left and the right. 

Monia Mazigh, PhD, an academic, author, and human rights activist, is an adjunct professor at Carleton University (Ontario). She has published “Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar” (2008) and three novels, “Mirrors and Mirages” (2015), “Hope Has Two Daughters” (2017) and “Farida” (2020), which won the 2021 Ottawa Book Award prize for French-language fiction. She has recently published an essay/memoir “Gendered Islamophobia: My Journey with a Scar(f).”

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