Opinion |

Compassion and understanding still lacking in classroom lessons about 9/11

Muslim students are grateful that this 21^st anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks falls on a Sunday, when there’s no school.

It’s because we still teach about the events of that day in a way that makes these students feel unsafe, unwelcome or uncomfortable in their classrooms. It’s a heavy price to pay, considering they weren’t even born when the attacks occurred.

Lallia Allali believes our school systems must do better. Allali is a Ph.D. student in the department of leadership studies at the University of San Diego. She also serves as chair of the District English Learners Advisory Committee in the San Diego Unified School District.

Allali, a Muslim woman, arrived in the U.S. with her oldest daughter, Selma, 21 years ago — right when the terror attacks occurred. The fear she experienced — moving halfway around the world to an unfamiliar country — was compounded in the attacks’ aftermath.

But on Selma’s first day of preschool, Allali’s fear turned into a passion for academic excellence. She immersed herself in the American educational system, learning about school policies and practices and advocating for parental involvement.

At school sites, Allali — who wears a hijab — was often approached by Muslim students. She heard a consistent theme in their 9/11 stories: that classroom discussions made them feel cornered, attacked and sometimes drawn to tears.

The frank and heart-wrenching conversations inspired Allali’s research project at the University of San Diego, exploring the experiences of Muslim students, grades 8-12, in three San Diego area school districts.

The students reported that teachers placed heavy reliance on stereotypes and generalizations to describe the 9/11 attacks: Since the perpetrators were Muslim, the entire faith must be suspect (a sentiment that was only reinforced by teachers’ use of the term “Islamic terrorists”).

The students also spoke about inadequacies in textbooks and classroom conversations. There was no mention of the Muslims who worked in the World Trade Center, acted as first responders, or died on the ill-fated planes.

Nor was there discussion about related but controversial topics, like the subsequent treatment of Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. The students’ own views and perspectives were not solicited.

In her analysis and interpretation of the focus group transcripts, Allali noted a direct linkage between the classroom experience and the bullying of Muslim students. Sadly, it’s more than a once-a-year occurrence.

The California Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) conducts a biannual study that evaluates the school climate for Muslim students ages 11-18. The most recent study (2021) showed that more than half of respondents felt harassed or marginalized because of their identity — feelings that have grown since the first study in 2013. One-third of students experienced or witnessed cyberbullying or negative social media posts about Islam or Muslims; one-fourth reported that a teacher, administrator, or other adult at their school made offensive comments.

One way to address the continuing discrimination and bullying of Muslim students is to modify school curricula — beginning with the way we teach about 9/11 in our classrooms. Allali has started this work, collaborating with the San Diego County Office of Education to create the “Educators Guide to Teach 9/11 with Compassion.”

Among the guide’s recommendations is that teachers use accurate and unbiased resources focusing on the event and its historical context; avoid inflammatory terminology, especially implying a linkage between Islam and extremism; and provide examples making clear that perpetrators of terrorism aren’t just one race or religion.

While it was created specifically for educators, the guide is useful for us all. According to research conducted by the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the University of California, Berkeley, 80 percent of Muslims worry about the safety of their families here. They feel unsure about their place in American society — an uncertainty that’s been exacerbated in recent election cycles by politicians (still) using Islamophobia as a political tool.

The worry is not misplaced. In March 2019, John Earnest set fire to the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido. A month later, he opened fire at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, killing a worshipper. In court, Earnest pleaded guilty to 113 hate crimes in all, saying he wanted to kill Muslims and Jews.

The endurance of anti-Muslim and antisemitic feelings — and their connection — will be explored at a Sept. 22 event hosted by the National Conflict Resolution Center. I will be moderating a conversation with panelists Imam Abdullah Antepli of the Duke Divinity School and New York Times opinion writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Bret Stephens. For information or to register, visit NCRConline.com. I hope you will join us.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com