A policy to protect Muslim students from bullying in the San Diego Unified School District was the subject of intense debate Thursday, with opponents who are suing the district arguing that the issue is overblown while supporters said it was overdue.
Daniel Piedra, executive director of the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, said the numbers of reported cases of Muslim students who are bullied is skewed because the data includes students who said they were “rarely” or “sometimes” bullied.
“If you look at the results, only 7 percent said they were bullied often or very often,” he said at a news conference in Mission Valley, citing a study by the Council on American-Islamic Relations that claimed 55 percent of Muslim students were bullied.
In Clairemont an hour later, the head of the local the local chapter of CAIR defended the study at a news conference, and said Muslim students have been bullied for many years.
“I am shocked, ashamed, of the level of hate, the level of bigotry that’s out there in the community,” said Hanif Mohebi, executive director of CAIR’s San Diego office. “But it exemplifies what we’ve been saying for so many years. We need to thank and honor the school district for trying to create a safe environment, a safe place for all students to learn.”
San Diego Unified approved a policy to protect Muslim students from bullying in April. While details of the policy still are being rolled out, district staff members have talked about adding additional lessons about Islam to social study classes to create a better understanding about the religion.
The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund filed a lawsuit to stop the policy on Monday. The legal firm represents six parents, Citizens for Quality Education San Diego and the San Diego Asian Americans for Equality Foundation.
Mary Baker, president of Citizens for Quality Education, called the policy discriminatory and unfair at the earlier news conference and said she questioned why the district had made a separate anti-bullying program for Muslim students.
“The district itself may be being bullied to take this action,” she said.
Both side agreed that all students should be protected, but disagreed on the district’s approach and whether Muslim students were being disproportionately bullied.
“Students of all faiths face daily bullying, but instead of protecting all religious students, the school district has selected Muslim students to receive special protection and resources,” said Frank Xu, president of San Diego Asian Americans for Equality, “Therefore, as a minority group, we’re deeply disappointed.”
Mohebi and others at the CAIR news conference said the district’s anti-bullying policy would not give special protection to Muslim students, but rather treat them equally.
“We’re not asking for privilege just for this community,” Mohebi said. “We’re asking that they should include the Muslim-American community in this process so we can learn about each other and have dignity for each other.”
Mohebi said he agreed that no group should be given special treatment.
“We are a civil rights and liberty organization,” he said. “We at our core would disagree with giving better treatment to one community versus another.”
Joining Mohebi on Thursday was a broad group of supporters that included Jeanne Brown, president of the League of Women Voters of San Diego.
“The League has a position that supports violence-prevention programs in all communities and action to support those programs,” she said. “We also believe that education’s purpose is to oppose ignorance. Ignorance of history, science, math and other cultures.”
Ernie McCray, a retired principal from San Diego Unified, also defended the idea that greater understanding of different religions and cultures could deter bullying.
“If someone is being bullied and you think that maybe there needs to be an understanding about that group of people, and you as a school district can do something about that, you’re not dealing with special treatment,” he said. “You’re dealing with the kind of treatment that all people should be given. It means you’re willing to give everyone the dignity they deserve.”
Piedra and Charles LiMandri, president and chief counsel of the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, also criticized the district for its association with CAIR, which they said was an extremist group. LiMandri referred to CAIR as a militant, political organization with long-standing ties to terrorism.
The two agreed there was nothing wrong with the secular teaching of world religion, but also said CAIR should not be involved with the curriculum. Piedra referred specifically to a concern of plaintiff and parent Jose Velazquez.
“He’s deeply disturbed by the fact that his students are possibly going to be indoctrinated with materials provided by a radical Islamist organization,” Piedra said.
San Diego Unified spokesman Andrew Sharp said Thursday that the district’s partnership with CAIR has been limited to outreach to the Muslim community to learn about their concerns, and the organization has not contributed to the curriculum or the anti-bullying program.
Mohebi gave a heated defense of the organization and said there had been a smear campaign against it.
“It’s disturbing to say the least that people have come out and labeled, in this day an age, an organization that has for over two decades served the American community, the American Muslim community, and the larger community as a civil rights and liberties organization,” he said, adding that the NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union also had been called terrorists by some people.