Half of Muslim college students in CA facing harassment, discrimination: CAIR report

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Nearly half of Muslim students surveyed at California colleges and universities have faced harassment or discrimination on campus this year.

It's just one troubling statistic from the latest Council on American-Islamic Relations Campus Climate report.

A school should be a place where students can learn and live in peace.

But many Muslim students experience a very different reality on California campuses, including Stanford University student Iman Deriche.

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"I remember the first day after October 7, receiving a phone call from my father telling me to stay inside, lock my doors and be careful when I'm walking around campus," Deriche said. "I didn't understand at first, but just after one week, his suggestions became a necessary part of my daily routine. The fear and anxiety I experience every time I leave my dorm has been overwhelming since last year."

It's the same Islamophobia that a majority of 720 students surveyed from 87 California colleges and universities feel, according to the 2024 Council on American-Islamic Relations Campus Climate report.

"Unfortunately, the numbers paint a troubling picture," CAIR-SFBA senior civil rights attorney Jeffrey Wang said.

"Islamophobia has become persistent, pervasive and normalized in colleges across the nation and our Muslim students are paying the price," CAIR-SFBA policy coordinator Musa Tariq said.

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Nearly half of these students reported harassment or discrimination on campus, with almost all of them saying it came after October 7, 2023.

Many worry nothing is being done to protect them, as 65% reported their school did not address the issues impacting the Muslim community.

UC Berkeley student Zaid Yousef worries normalization and fears for safety have led to under-reporting.

"Especially post 9/11, we've lived in a world where Islamophobia is so normalized, that even Muslims sometimes feel that Islamophobia is normal - that the casual life of a Muslim entails Islamophobia at almost every level," Yousef said. "So, we ask the larger community to acknowledge this reality and work on undoing this normalization of Islamophobia."

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These students worry how Islamophobia may only increase under a new presidency.

But they hope by raising awareness with this report, change can come and the community can protect those at risk.

"There's definitely uncertainty about what the future will bring and justifiably so," Yousef said. "But at the same time, we have hope in our allies, we have hope in our community, our institutions, in organizations, like CAIR, who are doing amazing work to protect our rights. And we hope to keep fighting the good fight."

The fight for a safe and inclusive society for all.