Diversity in Education :Addressing Islamophobia in the Classroom A. Kuechenberg

The Issue: Current Negative Attitudes Towards Muslims in the Media “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL…” – Gen. Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor (Gibbons-Neff) With the current unrest in the Middle East and the constant rhetoric of discrimination towards Muslims in the news and politics, students in America will quickly become Islamophobic if not presented with another option. Image from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-alnatour/10-reasons-why-you-should-not-fear-muslims_b_9035746.html

The Power of Propaganda: Fear that Led to Hate in WWII Fear was the main tactic used by Nazi propagandists to justify horrible inhumane acts towards the Jews. This same fear-turned- to hate attitude towards Muslims through misinformation about Muslims could have powerful and detrimental effects on American society. “An anti-Semitic poster published in Poland in March 1941. The caption reads, ‘Jews are lice; They cause typhus.’ This German-published poster was intended to instill fear of Jews among Christian Poles.” Image and caption from: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10007822&MediaId=7408

Students Must Understand: Fear Leads to Hate As educators, it is imperative that we break cycles of prejudice and equip our students with truth. This can be accomplished through: Opening up class discussions about prejudice and the power of the media Studying the facts about Islam Learning about Muslims, especially studying autobiographical material.

Hate Crime Awareness The U.S. Department of Education prepared a manual for schools to address the issue of hate crimes. This guide for teachers and administers can be accessed at the following link https://www.justice.gov/archive/crs/pubs/prevyouhatecrim.pdf

Images and Discussion This image sparked a considerable amount of controversy from people on all sides. Presenting such controversial images to students may be a way to open up classroom discussion about Islamophobia. Image from: https://www.artslant.com/ew/articles/show/47290-muslim-women-respond-to-shepard-faireys-american-flag-hijab-poster

Resources for Addressing Islamophobia The website www.tolerance.org offers a practical lesson plan and resource guide for teaching about Islamophobia. Check out the “Toolkit for ‘Expelling Islamophobia’” https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2017/toolkit-for- expelling-islamophobia

Resources for Addressing Islamophobia This article from the Institute for Humane Education lists 6 activities that can help teachers begin conversations with students about prejudice. While not specific to Islamophobia, this resource can still be helpful when addressing the topic. https://humaneeducation.org/blog/2014/6-activities-exploring- prejudice-discrimination/

Resources for Addressing Islamophobia Literature is a powerful tool to build empathy for others and conquer prejudice. Follow this link to a useful list of YA novels with Muslim main characters. https://www.dclibrary.org/node /51932

We Can Make a Difference in the Fight Against Islamophobia

Works Cited Gibbons-Neff, Thomas. “What Trump’s new national security adviser has said online.” The Washington Post. 18 Nov 2017 (online)