A Fairfax student said she was the victim of a hate crime and was attacked which led to hundreds of students protesting on the streets in favor of her.
Muslim Student Was Attacked Leading to Hundreds of Students in USA Leading A Protest Walk
Hundreds of students walked out of Fairfax High school in Virginia in support of the Muslim girl who claimed she was the victim of a hate crime, had abuses hurled on her, was beaten and her hijab was pulled off.
Hundreds of students walk out of Fairfax High school in Virginia in support of a Muslim girl who had her hijab pulled off and was beaten after having Islamaphobic slurs hurled at her.pic.twitter.com/ZvfZL6mn4X
— muslim daily (@muslimdaily_) December 17, 2021
While the police now state that they found no evidence that she was abused, the student’s attorney ‘strongly disagrees’ with those findings.
The student’s attorney says:
The student’s attorney released a statement, expressing disapproval of the department’s decision.
“We strongly disagree with the decision by the City of Fairfax Police Department. Many witnesses have attested that the victim’s hijab was forcibly removed during the altercation. Witnesses also corroborated the victim’s statement that students in the classroom engaged in racist and Islamophobic drawings, and that the perpetrator made racist comments prior to the attack. This was shared multiple times with law enforcement,” according to Abed Ayoub, Legal and Policy Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Ayoub confirmed he is representing the student.
“We are confident that as the investigation continues and witnesses continue to be interviewed the evidence will show that this violent act was motivated by hate.”
On Thursday, police responded to the school after a medic call was made for breathing complications. They said that no one at the time told the SRO any kind of assault had occurred. The spokesperson said the department’s criminal division was actively investigating what happened.
Principal Maureen Keck said:
In a letter sent Thursday to Fairfax High School families, Fairfax High School Acting Principal Maureen Keck said an investigation was also being conducted by the district.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and humanity in our schools as well as foster an open, respectful, and inclusive learning environment for all students. We have much work to do and will continue to strive to promote a school community where all students feel respected, safe, and included,” Keck said in the letter.
Students Support Muslim Girl:
Several hundred Fairfax High School students walked out of class Thursday in protest to show support for the student who claimed to be maligned. In one day, more than 6,000 people signed a change.org petition that urged the school district to take action for what they perceived to be an injustice against the student.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has also pushed for the incident to be investigated as a hate crime and called for the alleged assailant to be suspended during the investigation.
US House passes bill to combat Islamophobia:
Due to the rising communal, racial intolerance in the USA, a group of over 30 American lawmakers led by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had introduced a bill in the House of Representatives in October this year to create a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
Speaking ahead of the voting on the legislation, Ilhan Omar said: “We are in the midst of a staggering rise of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination around the world. Islamophobia is global in scope and we must lead the global effort to address it.”
What Will the Bill Do?
• The ‘Combating International Islamophobia Act’ authorizes the Department of State to select an office to watch and fight Islamophobia.
• The legislation also seeks to designate the position of Special Envoy for monitoring and combating Islamophobia, who shall head the office.
• The bill also requires specific existing annual reports to Congress about human rights and religious freedom in foreign countries to include information about Islamophobia, such as information of physical violence or harassment of Muslim people, instances of propaganda in government and non-government media that attempt to justify or promote hatred or incite violence against Muslim people, and actions taken by a country’s government to respond to such acts. The office shall coordinate and assist in preparing these portions of the reports.