Policy Brief: Diversity and Inclusion of Minority Students



Policy Brief: Diversity and Inclusion of Arab and Muslim Students

Amira Soliman

Prof. Joseph Piro

Ed. D 1004

Fall 2012

Abstract

The goal of this policy brief is to modify the current Diversity and Inclusion Policy promoted by the New York City Department of Education. The adjustments to the current Diversity and Inclusion Policy, is to better fit the needs of Arab and Muslim minority students living in the United States. For youth, school is an important context in which they interact with other students and teachers as well as learn and discuss issues and events taking place in the environment. However, since the attacks on 9/11, Arab and Muslim students in New York City have reported experiencing increase in discrimination, bullying, and negative stereotyping about Islam in their schools. The design of the modified Diversity and Inclusion policy has implications for institutions, instructors/school administrators, and instruction. With the implementation of this policy, Arab and Muslim students will feel that they are accurately represented and recognized by the school community promoting equity and academic achievement.

Keywords: discrimination, diversity, inclusion, equity, Arabs, Muslims

Diversity and Inclusion of Arab and Muslim Students

Classrooms of the 21st century are comprised of students from all over the world, speaking different languages, having different traditions, practices, beliefs, and values. To enrich and create an equitable school and classroom environment, students’ diverse backgrounds must be accurately understood and promoted. This may be challenging, as teachers need to implement pedagogical approaches that meet the needs of all students. School curriculum needs to align with the diversity of students, making multiculturalism an essential aspect of the teaching and learning process. Multiculturalism is the principle that different cultures can coexist peacefully and equitably in a single country (). United States demographics is reshaped by globalization making it imperative that students have a thorough understanding of world history and cultures of various countries. This requires life-long learning to enable students to build relationships and business partnerships with people from all over the world. According to the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems pedagogy that promotes diversity and inclusion is essential in facilitating and supporting the achievement of all students. This may in turn decrease the possibility of stereotypes, discrimination, and bias against any group.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), between 1990 and 2010, white students enrolled in public schools decreased from 67% to 54%. This means that minority students occupy 46% of pubic schools increasing 13% from 1990. In the NCES, New York City is classified as one of the five largest districts in the United States with 15% of students white making them the minority. Other large public school districts included Los Angeles, City of Chicago, Dade County School (FL), and Broward County School District (FL) district where white students are the minority. Groups identified as minorities include Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska. In comparison, the NCES identified that 84% of teachers in the U.S identify as white.

Immigration to the U.S has affected its demographics. According to the Migration Information Source, there were 38.5 million foreign-born living in the U.S. in 2009 of which 48.9% reported their race as white; 8.2% black or African American; 23.9% Asian; and 19.2% other races. These statistics highlight the diversity of people living in the U.S. and the importance of representing each of the diverse backgrounds into the school and community environment. Multicultural learning can enrich student learning by providing them with valuable knowledge regarding the similarities and distinct and unique values of people in the community. This will in turn create an equitable school and classroom environment as well as prepare students for global relations. In the absence of educating diversity, stereotypes, discrimination, and biases about specific groups may become prevalent affecting a healthy psychological development of some students (Garcia Coll et al., 1996).

Arabs and Muslims in America

The word Arab refers to people whom Arabic is their first or familial language and who come from one of 22 Arab countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

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The Arab ethnicity has been excluded and unrecognized (“invisible”) in America as they are officially classified as white, which include people from Europe, Middle East, and North Africa (Abu El-Haj, 2002). Arabs have been immigrating to the U.S. since the late 1800’s (Suleiman, 2004); the majority of Arabs immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1960’s (McCarus, 1994). The estimates of Arab Americans vary: according to the Arab American Institute (AAI), the 2010 U.S Census, estimated 1.9 million Americans of Arab (Christian and Muslim) descent living in the United States, whereas the AAI provided a higher estimate of 3.7 million Arab Americans living the U.S. About 94% of Arab Americans live in 6 metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Muslims are people who follow the religion of Islam. Islam came to the United States through different means including immigration from Arab nations (identified above), from African, European, and Asian countries and from conversion to the religion. An article in The American Dream website titled, The Fastest Religion in America is Islam states that between the year 2000 and 2010 Islam in America increased 66.7% making it the fastest growing religion in America. A CNN article by El-Sayed and Padela (2012) titled, Health of Muslims, Arab Americans another Victim of 9/11 estimate that there are about 10 million Arab and Muslim Americans living in the U.S. It is likely that if Arabs and Muslims with visas and green cards were counted into the estimates, the population would be even higher. Although Muslims are diverse ethnically, their attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and values are largely mainstreamed.

Discrimination of Arabs and Muslims

Since the tragedy of the September 11, 2001 attacks, racial profiling and civil liberties affected the lives of many Arabs and Muslims living in the U.S. Laws were passed that targeted both Arab American and American Muslim communities making them subjects of surveillance, detention, and deportation. For example the Patriot Act, which was passed in 2001 and renewed for the second time in 2011, enabled the government to place citizens under surveillance or in detention with little suspicion of criminal activity. In addition, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) of 2001, allowed unreasonable search and seizure and passenger profiling according to religion or ethnicity. Arab and Muslim Americans’ civil rights were breached as a result of racial profiling by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), with the excuse of securing the nation from terror. Furthermore, the media has negatively portrayed Arabs and Muslims living in the United States causing Americans to feel wariness and hostility towards them (Merskin, 2004). Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. have been stereotyped as “enemies of America” because of criminal actions committed by individuals (Wray-Lake, Syversten, & Flanagan 2008). Experiences of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. has caused them to feel both civically and socially marginalized. “Marginalization is perhaps the most dangerous form of oppression. A whole category of people is expelled from useful participation in social life” (Young, 1990, p. 53).

Reza (2011) discusses and provides evidence of the misrepresentation of Islam and Muslims in the media (television, radio news, print news, and internet), by the motion picture industry, educational institutions and government institutions in both the United States and the United Kingdom. This becomes a major problem as masses of people rely on media sources for information and current events. In addition, the motion picture industry is a major influential medium that affects attitudes and opinions of the public. Reza mentions that Islam and Muslims are misrepresented by media other sources, as associated with “underdevelopment, illiteracy, homelessness and failed state…a threat to liberal and secular states…alien to the west” (p. 234). Merskin (2004) analyzed the speeches of President Bush from September 11, 2001 to January 2002 and proves that his language portrayed Arabs as “evil, bloodthirsty, animalistic terrorists” (p. 1). As a result of intense stereotyping and dehumanization, Arabs and Muslims have experienced discrimination, violence, oppression and misrecognition/nonrecognition (Abu El-Haj, 2006). Ghazal (2008), conducted a study titled Muslims in America and found:

Seven years after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil catapulted Muslims into the American spotlight, concerns and fears over their presence and assimilation remain at an all-time high. Recent national polls find that four in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, five in 10 believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and six in 10 believe Islam is very different from their own religion. All this despite the fact that seven in 10 admit they know very little about Islam. And yet Americans rank Muslims second only to atheists as a group that doesn’t share their vision of American society (p. 39).

In addition, an average of 61% of Muslims experienced discrimination in the past year and an average of 81% felt the media portrayed an unfair image of Muslims (Ghazal, 2008).

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Charles Taylor (1992) explains the importance of acknowledging problems of “misrecognition” and “nonrecognition”, he writes:

The thesis is that our identity is partly shaped by recognition or its absence, often by the misrecognition of others, and so a person or group of people can suffer real damage, real distortion, if the people or society around them mirror back to them a confining or demeaning or contemptible picture of themselves. Nonrecognition or misrecognition can inflict harm, can be a form of oppression, imprisoning someone in a false, distorted, and reduced mode of being (p. 25).

Awareness of the effects of discrimination on Arab and Muslim youth

For youth, school is an important context in which they interact with other students and teachers as well as learn and discuss issues and events taking place in the environment. However, knowledge about the Arab culture and the Muslim religion has been absent, stereotypical, or misinformed causing this group to feel alienated and misrecognized in schools and classrooms (Suleiman, 2004). These experiences are jeopardizing the process of identity integration and may put some of these Arab and Muslim youth at risk of psychiatric problems (Berry, 1997) and can be detrimental to their academic achievement (Rayle & Myers, 2004). In order to accurately and effectively create a safe, and equitable school environment for students including Arabs and Muslims, educators must acknowledge that students may be affected by national policies and may be going through psychological distress as a result of discrimination, oppression, acculturation stressors, or violence and can be detrimental to their education. Upon becoming aware of such issues, teachers, school administrators, and educational institutions need to implement pedagogical approaches that address social and cultural differences and that are responsive to students’ needs. It is vital that an educational policy for Arab and Muslim students be conceptualized ensuring an equitable and inclusive school environment for all students.

The Race to the Top Fund (RTTT) is a competitive grant program encouraging to reward states that implement school reforms by enhancing standards and assessments; improving the collection and use of data to improve instruction; increasing teacher effectiveness; and turning around struggling schools (). Its primary focus seems to rely on grades, numbers, and scores on Math, Science, and English Language Arts assessments, when social issues such as national policies, discrimination, bullying, cultural identity, cultural pluralism are likely to impact school performance. Therefore Social Studies is as important as other content areas and must be part of the daily school curriculum to create an equitable and inclusive school environment that promotes positive academic outcomes for all students.

Overview of current laws and policies

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also known as title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, and ethnicity by any institution receiving federal assistance. Schools, colleges, and Universities must ensure students and employees of diverse backgrounds a safe and equal access to education and employment, in a discrimination free environment. The Civil Rights Acts reads:

No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. (U.S. Department of Education)

The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has a Diversity and Inclusion policy that supports all students, parents and families of diverse backgrounds. Their goal is to create a diverse and inclusive environment that supports the experiences, views, and beliefs, of all employees, applicants, students, and families. The policy identifies the importance to respect the diversity of all backgrounds in order to achieve academic excellence. In order to promote an inclusive environment, the DOE states the importance of understanding individual differences, as well as respecting and recognizing each group. In addition, this policy promotes the recruitment of and retention for a diverse workforce, with different ideas and perspectives that can harmonize with the diverse background of students and families. The goals of the Diversity and Inclusion policy is to enable the fostering of all students, families and parents at the city and community districts as well as the school level. The Diversity and Inclusion policy is also reinforced by policies such as the Non-Discrimination Policy that ensures educational and employment opportunities regardless of various aspects including but not limited to, race, color, religion, ethnicity and national origin.

A modified Diversity and Inclusion Policy

The Diversity and Inclusion Policy has a good basis for promoting equity in educational institutions and communities however, it does not seem to apply to the Arab and Muslim population. Like many other minority groups, Arabs and Muslims want to be positively recognized in a country that is so diverse, however they are faced with many challenges such as racism, discrimination, negative stereotyping, and misrepresentation about their culture and/or religion. Current policies seem to focus more on the desegregation of schools in respects to black and Hispanic students and providing them equal access to education. However, current policies did not seem to have on impact on school officials who took little action when Arab and Muslim students were being harassed, and attacked by schoolmates after the 9/11 attacks. Many Arab Muslim students in New York City have reported that they have experienced increase in discrimination and negative stereotyping about Islam in their schools (Ahmad & Szapara, 2003). Students also claim to feel left out and secluded by their school peers and overall school environment mainly because of misconceptions and discrimination regarding their culture (Ayish, 2003). Muslim girls who wear the hijab (head veil), felt the most vulnerable after the September 11 attacks due to incidents of the hijab being snatched off of the heads of Muslim females (Ibish, 2003). In addition to feeling alienated, some school curricula contain biases in how the Muslim religion (Islam) is being taught and at times unrecognized (Douglas & Dunn, 2003). Therefore, the Diversity and Inclusion policy needs modifications to ensure proper representation, respect, and inclusion of Arab and Muslim students into the overall school environment which can in turn decrease discrimination.

A brief by the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST), emphasizes that to create a culturally responsive and inclusive pedagogical environment there must be a focus on three dimensions: (a) institutional, (b) personal, and (C) instructional. The institutional dimension provides the physical and political structure for schools. The personal dimension is the necessity that teachers and school administrators self-reflect on their attitudes and beliefs toward certain groups, and try to confront biases they may have. The Instructional dimension involves the curriculum, books, teaching methods and activities used in the class to promote diversity and inclusion. Using some of these recommendations, a modified Diversity and Inclusion policy will set guidelines for institutions, instructors and instruction across states and school districts to ensure an equitable school environment; recognizing and including all students regardless of race, culture, religion ethnicity etc. Although this policy is designed specifically for the Arab and Muslim population, it’s structure and implications can be used to ensure diversity and inclusion across diverse backgrounds. Policy stakeholders will include Arab and Muslim students and their families, imams (Mosque leaders), Arab priests, Arab and Muslim advocacy groups, organizations and leaders, and teachers and school administrators.

Institutional Guidelines

Educational institutions must add a “Middle Eastern” classification in their applications in order to properly identify “Arab” as an ethnic minority group. Racial and ethnic classifications in school applications are: American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White (IES). Arab students are classified as “white” making it difficult to determine the Arab population in schools. In addition families feel they are unrecognized and excluded, as they are unable to accurately identify themselves.

Educational institutions must include school staff (teachers, administrators, counselors) that represents the diversity of people in the community in order to have a better understanding, appreciation, and be able to develop positive attitudes toward any group. In addition, staff members of diverse backgrounds can support students and families who need language or cultural support. An article by Janic Neumann (2009), in the Chicago Tribune titled, Oak Lawn: School helping Arab students make transition to America explains that the Oak Lawn school was able to lesson culture shock in 134 ELL Arab students as a result of having 5 teachers and an aide who speak Arabic. If students did not have access to teachers who can speak their native language and understand their cultural and religious backgrounds they would feel secluded and unfit with the environment. Arab students and families are likely to feel their needs are supported and recognized by the school community if schools employ school staff that can represent them.

School calendars need to identify Muslim holidays. Schools close for Christian and Jewish holidays while Muslim holidays are not included in the school calendar. The month of Ramadan (fasting from sunrise to sunset), and two Muslim holy days (Eid Al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) need to be added to the school calendar so that Arab and Muslim students and families feel they are acknowledged and recognized by the school. Tests should not be scheduled on the two Muslim holy days nor should students be considered “absent” on those days. In 2006, New York State scheduled a 4th grade statewide English exam on one of the Muslim holidays (Standora, 2006). Although make-up exams were scheduled, many parents were upset and felt that this is inequity.

Educational institutions need to organize the physical space of schools to accommodate all students. Muslims perform 5 daily prayers in which the afternoon prayer is during school hours. There should be a room or area in the school that can be used by all students for multiple purposes, including performing prayers. During the month of Ramadan, students sit in the cafeteria with their classmates who are eating because there is nowhere else for them to go. On such occasions, schools need to designate an area for students to stay during lunchtime, such as the library or computer room. Schools must also recognize the special diets of some students. Like Jewish students, Muslim students do not eat pork, therefore foods from pig should be properly labeled. Dress code policy needs to be flexible, acknowledging some Muslim females wear the hijab (head cover for Muslim women) and must be covered. The dress code for gym class may require shorts and t-shirt to be worn. This may be problematic for some Muslim females who are covered making them unable to participate in gym activities. Institutions must recognized dress code issues for Muslim females and accommodate them accordingly without making students feel excluded.

Instructor and School Staff Guidelines

The modified Diversity and Inclusion policy needs to have guidelines for instructors and school administrators in order to understand the values and beliefs of all group and be able to accommodate each group accordingly. Staff/professional development training must be mandated in order for teachers and administrators to have an accurate understanding of the Arab culture and the Muslim religion. School staff may be affected by the many stereotypes and, harmful images portrayed by the media in regards to Arabs and Muslims. Biases can influence a teacher’s value system (Villegas & Lucas, 2002) and in turn impact the relationship they have with their students and their families. An example comes from Ibish (2002), when a17-year-old Palestinian-American high school student from Brooklyn reported her health teacher allegedly telling her class that “Palestinian children all want to become terrorists”. Staff development training, will enable teachers and administrators rid their biases by having accurate knowledge of the beliefs and values of students and their families and in turn provide Arab students with culturally responsive classrooms (Suleiman, 2004). In addition, school staff will become aware of other issues that may impact adolescents’ mental well being as well as school performance. Centers at educational institutions as well as Middle East organizations provide training to educators at no cost (see resources). The Islamic Network Groups and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (see resources for additional organizations) are web sites that provide information about Arabs and Muslims and provide materials and lessons for teachers to use in the classroom free of charge. Many Middle East scholars would volunteer to speak and provide staff development training, teaching true knowledge of Arabs and Muslims in hope to decrease discrimination. Acquiring a better understanding of the religious and ethic backgrounds of this population may enable educators to ease psychological distress experienced by Arab and Muslim students and make them feel they are valued members of the society. This requires an ongoing relationship between educational institutions and Arab and Muslim community leaders for the continuous support of Arab and Muslim students.

Instructional Guidelines

Learning about the different backgrounds existing in the community helps students as well as teachers recognize similarities and differences among different groups of people. Therefore, institutions must ensure that curriculum, textbooks and materials are unbiased and provide accurate information about a specific group. In the past, Middle East scholars reviewed 80 high schools Geography and World History textbooks and an abundance of errors were discovered (Barlow, 1994). Islam in school curricula has been characterized by perpetuating many stereotypes, omissions, and textbook inaccuracies (Douglas & Dunn, 2003). Students attend school knowing that content learned in school is true and factual. Biases and stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in the curricula and by teachers are being instilled and reinforced on the basis that they are factual. This depiction portrays negative images of the Arab and Muslim population and becomes a major problem as Arab students who don’t know much about their own cultures and religious backgrounds begin to have negative perceptions of themselves. In Ibish (2002) a mother reported that a volunteer speaker came to her 13-year-old daughter’s 8th grade class and made comments such as “Muslims think we are the devil. They hate us. They want to die and go to their Mohammad. That’s why we will keep on killing them”. The mother said that during the presentation the girl was embarrassed and hid her face. The mother reported, “Now she doesn’t believe anything I say about Arabs and Muslims. She doesn’t believe anyone now.” The mother says that the volunteer later apologized privately to her daughter and offered no explanation about his comments. It is important that educators evaluate the content of instructional materials and discard misrepresentations and biases. They can then work with school districts and the state to stop the use of those books and ensure that new books provide accurate information. The replacement of textbooks may be the only factor in this policy having cost, while the other aspects of the policy have minimal to no cost. Although there will be some cost in the acquisition of textbooks and materials that adequately portray Arabs and Muslims (and other backgrounds), it is a cost effective investment in that students will grow to have a true understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of people in their communities, creating an environment of acceptance and fairness for all. The American Forum for Global Education helps facilitate this process by producing an extensive bibliography of materials on Arab history that can be used by curriculum developers. Major Arab American Organizations such as the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Arab World and Islamic Resources (AWAIR) provide free resources and educational materials about Arabs and Muslims for classroom and instructional use. Middle East and Muslim scholars, leaders, and advocacy groups need to be invited to classrooms and schools and speak to students, educators and administrators about the true characteristics and values of the Arab and Muslim population. The inclusion of the Arab and Muslim population in school curricula, informs about the language, traditions, beliefs, and values of Arabs and Muslims, highlighting major contributions and positive images about the history and culture of this population. Including this population as well as other minority populations into school and classroom instruction can beneficial in two ways; first it may be an important vehicle to decreasing prejudice and misconceptions students and educators have; second students will learn about their background allowing them to feel equity in the school environment and decrease risk of psychological distress.

Implications and Recommendations

To Promote diversity and inclusion in the classroom teachers should communicate with students’ families and visit their communities to build a positive relationship and understanding of the values and beliefs of Arab and Muslims. Family members should be invited to the classroom to talk to students about their cultural backgrounds sharing various foods, music, traditional clothing and holiday celebrations. As students learn about diverse cultures, they can grow an appreciation and respect for difference and realize that the world would be dull if everyone was alike.

Educating about the Middle East and Islam can be accomplished through curriculum integration. Students can learn about Arab and Muslim contributions to the development of math; the number zero was invented my a Muslim by the name of Muhammad Bin Ahmed; and learning the way numbers are organized from right to left originated from Arabs. Students can also read literature by famous Arab authors such as Khalil Gibran, Naomi Shihab and Nageeb Mahfouz. Politics relating to the Middle East and Islam, and famous Arab politicians such as Ralph Nader can initiate classroom discussions in social studies. In science, students can be introduced to Ibn Sina (Avicenna) a famous Persian Muslim known to be one of the fathers of medicine and wrote the famous book “The Canon of Medicine”, also Jabir Ibn Hayyan, an Arab Muslim who was founder of Chemistry. Contributions of Arabs and Muslims should be recognized throughout the curriculum to portray a positive image and grow an appreciation for them.

Many youth yearn for the opportunity to educate the American public about their culture and the true meaning of Islam. Therefore it is important for Arab and Muslim students to be able to express their experiences by having dialogue with their peers and teachers about their cultural traditions, religious practices, as well as share their political perspectives and experiences. Students need to be encouraged to deliberate, question, and take political action to revive democratic public life and give an alternative perspective on issues that are affecting them. This may create a less hostile school and classroom environment.

Teachers can promote critical thinking by asking students to analyze news reports on Arabs and Muslims and compare how two stories discussing similar issues were relayed. Students can also critique books, movies, and media and have students identify stereotypes and biases against Arabs and Muslims. Furthermore, they can find solutions on how these issues can be reversed.

Other recommendations hold suggestions for the media, and other networks for negatively disseminating the image of Arabs and Muslims to masses of people. Media agencies need to include more ethnic minority journalist. Having a diverse team that includes Arab and Muslim journalists may reduce and solve problems of misrepresentation. Journalists, editors and media outlets should be better trained and educated about Arabs and Muslims so that they relay accurate messages and discourage discriminatory behaviors. Motion pictures can achieve diplomacy by humanizing Muslims rather than demonizing them.

Arabs and Muslims need to enter into public service positions such as firefighters, police, and government jobs so that these communities feel represented and feel trust and connection toward their government.

Conclusion

Arabs and Muslims have experienced discrimination, anxiety, fear and oppression as a result of the misrepresentation and negative discourse in the media, movies, educational institutions and government institutions. The negative portrayals of Arabs and Muslims can be detrimental to both their psychological developmental as well as their academic performance. The current Diversity and Inclusion policy by the NYCDOE has a good basis for promoting equity in educational institutions and communities yet it did not seem to apply to the Arab and Muslim population. Current policies took little action when Arab and Muslim students were being excluded and unrecognized in school as a result of discrimination and misrepresentation in regards to their religious and ethnic backgrounds. The modified Diversity and Inclusion policy sets guidelines for educational institutions throughout the country for the accurate representation and inclusion of Arab and Muslim students creating an equitable school environment.

The goal is to teach students and the public that we are all citizens of the world, and although people have individual differences, we need to make all people part of the community. Promoting diversity and inclusion into all aspects of our life can create mutual understanding and respect for all.

Resources

1) The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has a program of “Reaching the Teachers’’ and can provide lesson plans, background articles, classroom exercises, handouts and other resources to educators. Local chapters can provide speakers .

2) The Arab American Institute has excellent resources on Arab Americans and is the best source of demographic information.

3) Arab World and Islamic Resources (AWAIR) has a great catalogue of resource materials for teachers at all grade levels. They also offer powerful half-day to two-day teacher staff development programs at no cost to local schools.

4) AMIDEAST also has an excellent array of materials .

5) Al-Jadid, a magazine of Arab culture, literature, and the arts, often has articles on Arab American topics

6) Mizna is a journal of Arab-American literature and promotes Arab culture.

7) Cafe Arabica offers commentary and discussion of cultural, social, and political issues



8) The Council on American/Islamic Relations (cair-) and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee () are good sources of information on Muslim civil rights issues.

9) The Council on Islamic Education offers a teacher’s guide to Islam and to teaching about Islam in the public school and other resources .

The Dar al Islam Teachers Institute in New Mexico offers national, regional, and local workshops and holds an annual two-week summer institute, primarily for secondary school teachers. .

10) Interlink Publishing offers many books on the Middle East, including children’s literature

11) The Middle East study centers at several dozen universities have developed their own resources and training workshops for K-12 teachers. The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, for example, offers educational modules, a speakers’ bureau, a lending library, consultation, day-long work- shops each semester, and a five-day summer workshop (). The Middle East Institute has online materials ().

Retrieved from:

Wingfield, M. (2006). Arab Americans: Into the Multicultural Mainstream. Equity and Excellence in Education, 39: 253-266.

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Figure 1: Map of the Arab world

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Figure 2

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This is from a study by Jen’nan Ghazal (2008). Muslims in America.

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