Advocating for Muslim students: if not us, then who?

ABSTRACT

The acrimonious and hateful rhetoric dominating the public and political arenas and the tide of division and nationalism gaining support in many parts of the world (Arnova et al. 2013. Comparative education: the dialectic of global and local. Landahm, MD: Rowan & Littlefield) seem to be reflected in the US school system. As evidenced by a growing number of faith-based private schools, and charter and public schools being segregated along ethnic, religious, cultural and racial lines (Orfield and Gordon 2001. Schools more separate: consequences of a decade of resegregation. Cambridge, MA: Civil Rights Project, Harvard University). Being an educator and a Muslim, I find myself concerned with the phenomenon of an increasing number of Muslim students turning to private Islamic schools, instead of public schools for their education (Badawi 2005. Parental reasons for school choice: a case study of an Islamic school in the United States of America. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). Informed by the present status of Muslims in the US and the relevant literature on integration, assimilation, and multiculturalism, the purpose of this paper that was developed through an autoethnography is to start a critical conversation, about the rights of Muslim students to receive equitable public education opportunities that recognise their cultural rights as a minority in the US.

KEYWORDS:

• rights

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Dr. Maysaa Barakat is an Assistant Professor at the department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology, Florida Atlantic University. She received her Ph.D. in educational leadership from Auburn University, Alabama in 2014. For 15 years, she served as a school administrator in Egypt and the United States. Dr. Barakat's research interests and publications focus on issues of identity, social justice, cultural competence, educational leadership preparation and International Education.

Notes

1. EnshaAllah means God willing/permitting (Allah means God in Arabic).

2. Ramadan is the month when Muslims fast.

3. Al-Gomaa prayers are Friday prayers observed by Muslims.

4. Halal food is permissible food and drinks according to Islamic rules.

5. Eid al Fitr is the feast of breaking the fast, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

6. Eid al Adha is the Feast of the Sacrifice, it is the time when Muslims observe the Pilgrimage to Mecca.