EDUCATION
Islam, the American Dream and a Boy with a Clock Are Islamophobes struggling with the Founding Fathers’ objective to realize an American Dream in which all people are free to participate in society? BY LIZ JACKSON with African and Native origins were major targets; however, Irish Catholics, Jews and Asians also faced trials. Research shows how their trials often increased in times of national insecurity and war — notoriously for the Japanese Americans, for example, who were interned during the Second World War. Education can — and often has — played an ameliorative role here. By educating youth from diverse backgrounds [as it went then, minus slaves and certain other Americans] in common schools, the Founding Fathers hoped to realize the American Dream, one in which all people could freely participate in society, in an equal context regardless of religious belief or country of origin. They believed that this free participation was paramount to their new experiment in democracy. They dreamed of a form of government ruled by diverse people who could dialogue their way to solutions. This country’s form of government and its public education system have been exemplars for the world. And yet we know that these systems have been and still are imperfect and that we can do better. Today, our society faces a crisis related to public knowledge about Muslims and Islam. Despite President George W. Bush’s call after 9/11 to not confuse “our Muslim brothers and sisters” with the horrors of organiza-
DESPITE MANY MUSLIM AMERICANS’ RELATIVE EASE WITHIN THIS CULTURALLY CONSERVATIVE STATE, TEXAN EDUCATORS HAVE PLAYED A LEADING ROLE IN SHAPING EDUCATION ACROSS THE NATION IN A WAY THAT HARMS MUSLIMS. 38
PHOTO BY BRANDON WADE/AP
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any people around the world expressed shock and horror over the case of Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-yearold Texas schoolboy who was arrested for making a clock that some educators mistook for a bomb. In such a multicultural and multiracial society as the U.S., the idea that one could be held suspect for simply “learning while Muslim” is rightly viewed with outrage. From an educational perspective, such stories are particularly sad because they suggest a hostile climate for youngsters in America who happen to have “exotic” names or darker skin. As President Obama tweeted soon after learning about the incident, innovative and creative youth should be celebrated in our schools regardless of their family background. Their education should not be interrupted due to personal characteristics. Yet sadly, this state of affairs is not far from being par for the course. Just as the U.S. has long been a beacon of scientific innovation and hope for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” from “ancient lands” (as in Emma Lazarus’s famed American sonnet), it also has a history of xenophobia toward social and cultural groups deemed too different or suspicious to be welcomed and included in the society. In the past, those
tions like al-Qaeda and today’s terrifying ISIS, many Americans remain ignorant and prejudiced against the Muslim Americans in their communities and schools. Educators are in a very tricky situation here, for ever since 9/11 Muslims have faced competing pressures. Students want to know what is happening in the world around them. Yet some parents and educational administrators have forgotten that America is not simply a Christian nation,
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016