The
workshop is part of a project, ‘Towards Understanding: Moving Beyond
Racism and Islamophobia’, that was developed by MENTORS to deal with
the backlash and hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities that
resulted from the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. and the war
on Iraq.
“Through
public education targeted at children and youth, we will be
proactively addressing the current widespread incidents of
discrimination, harassment, hate crimes and racial profiling directed
against Arab, South Asian, Afghani and Muslim Canadians as the result
of the September 11 tragedy, ” MENTORS website states.
After
the attacks in the United States, there was a spike in incidents of
racism and anti-Muslim sentiments in Canada. The incidents ranged from
verbal abuse to physical threat and abuse, and the destruction of
property. The Toronto Police Services reported that there was a 66
percent increase in hate crimes in 2001 in the city. The largest
increase was against Muslims.
In
local schools, parents and students reported numerous incidents of
racism, Islamophobia and harassment.
“Many
parents spoke of the harassment they faced when they came to the
school yard to pick up their children or that their children were told
that they should change their ‘Muslim sounding names’,” said
Zine.
“My
own son, whose name is Usama, was routinely referred to as ‘Bin
Laden’ by kids at school and was called a ‘terrorist’ and told
that his house should be blown up.
In
other incidents, school girls wearing hijab (headscarves) had stones
thrown at them as they walked to and from school,” Zine added.
MENTORS
project consultants developed multi-media resources including a
poster, two curriculum guides for elementary and secondary levels, a
guide of frequently asked questions about Islam and Muslims and an
original video entitled “At First Glance: Challenging
Islamophobia.”
'Opens
Up Minds'
These
resources are used in the workshop that engage students in learning
about Islamophobia and racism.
"Children
are often taught to say that race is not an issue," said Naheed
Mustafa, a MENTORS workshop facilitator.
"Kids
say it doesn't matter if the person sitting next to them in class is
from a different country. What we don't realize is that these things
are important to that person. It's important to ask questions: ‘what
do you like to do? What are you interested in?' so that even though I
see you every day, I don't ... just see you as `that Indian
guy'."
After
one of Mustafa’s workshops in a Toronto elementary school, one of
the students commented, “It opens up our minds and lets us think in
other people’s shoes.”
“It’s
good because you learn about other people and what kind of stereotypes
are out there,” said another grade 8 student.
'Stereotypes'
One
simulation activity in the workshop examines little known aspects of
Islamic history such the arrival of the West African Mandingos in
North America prior to Columbus or the political roles of Muslim women
leaders.
Students
work in groups to role-play these historical scenarios. Other
activities also promote alternative examples of Muslim women as social
and political activists rather than the stereotyped images of
oppressed victims.
The
video resources use humor and satire to address the stereotypes of
Muslims as terrorists and fanatics.
Another
provides a documentary style look at Muslims who played a role as fire
fighters and police officers during the attacks on the World Trade
Center, as well as focusing on some of the families of Muslim victims
who died in these attacks.
Zarqa
Nawaz, a Canadian Muslim filmmaker whose documentaries, “BBQ
Muslims” and “Death Threat”, are part of the resource kit for
the secondary school workshops, said, “The films were made to create
a better understanding of how damaging stereotypes can be to the
Muslim community.
“I
made them so that students would not be afraid to laugh at the larger
than life characters. My hope is that secondary school students will
find the videos both entertaining as well as informative,” she added.
Not
In Vain
|
|
The workshop is part of a project, ‘Towards Understanding: Moving Beyond Racism and Islamophobia’, that was developed by MENTORS |
MENTORS
is a not-for-profit Muslim organization that has, for a number of
years, been providing professional support to Muslim schools, teachers
and students and seeks accommodation for Muslim students within the
Toronto public school system.
The
project has recently been recognized in Canada by academics and won a
number of awards.
“We
are at a point in our collective history when we are witnessing a
deeply troubling resurgence of racism in variegated forms,” said Dr.
George Dei, Chair Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in
Education at the University of Toronto.
“We
all have a responsibility to do our utmost best to ensure that every
member of our community lives in dignity and respect for fundamental
freedoms and rights. It is my fervent hope that the hard work of the
many community folks, resource persons, writers, students and
educators from MENTORS that has made this collection of resources
possible, will not be in vain,” he added.
MENTORS
also recently won the J.S. Woodsworth Award, which is given annually
by the Ontario provincial New Democratic Party to commemorate the
United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination. The project’s curriculum resources also won the
Elementary Teachers Federation (ETF) Anti-Bias Curriculum Award.
