CAIR says investigation request is unusual

CAIR says investigation request is unusual
By Dave Aeikens • daeikens@stcloudtimes.com • March 25, 2010

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Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A Next Page1| 2| 3Previous PageThe request from the Minnesota chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations that the federal government investigate discrimination against students is the chapter’s first complaint of that sort.




CAIR’s Minnesota chapter, which is based in St. Paul and started three years ago, prefers to work through allegations of discrimination using mediation and education rather than lawsuits and bias complaints to federal agencies.
“We don’t like it when we have to take it this far and get outside people involved,” said Lori Saroya, who is founder and president of the Minnesota chapter of CAIR. “We have been working on this issue since June of 2009. There really haven’t been any changes. Those kids are still going through it.”
On Wednesday, CAIR Minnesota announced it had asked the U.S. Department of Education to look into allegations that Muslims confront a hostile learning environment at Technical and Apollo high dchools. It also asked for an investigation at Owatonna High School.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s office of civil rights, CAIR said there were several incidents at Tech and Apollo that show discrimination against Muslim students.
A department spokesman said Thursday that the decision about whether to start an investigation could take up to 30 days. The department’s office of civil rights has to determine whether the complaint alleges violations of laws the agency is charged with enforcing, and whether the complaint was filed within six months of the alleged acts of discrimination.
Surprised district
Superintendent Steve Jordahl said Thursday he was surprised that CAIR filed the complaint. He said the group has never asked the district for information about how it deals with some of the issues. St. Cloud school district has been working with Minnesota CAIR and local Somali groups to create harmony in the schools between Muslim students, who began arriving about 2000, and the rest of the student body.
“One of the things I would like to ask them, what is the motive?” Jordahl said.

Jordahl said he wants to continue to work with CAIR to deal with cultural relations within the schools.


The federal complaint is the first since Saroya started CAIR Minnesota in 2007. That year, the group handled five claims of discrimination. In 2009, it handled 120. Many involved employers who don’t understand the rituals and customs of Islam. Most of the issues are settled with a letter from one of CAIR’s lawyers, Saroya said.
St. Cloud school district has about 9,700 students. It has 710 students who speak Somali, and there are students from other countries who are Muslim. The district estimates about 9 percent of the student body is Muslim.
Jordahl said the district was unaware of all but one of the allegations raised in CAIR’s letter. The incident the district acknowledges took place in February. Two boys who are white approached a group of Muslim girls and asked if they would like pork bacon. When the girls said that their religion prohibited it, the students made disparaging remarks. The boys were suspended. Several days later, CAIR officials came to talk to the girls involved, Saroya said. She said the district was worried the girls might retaliate.
“We try to tell (the girls) you are just going to get into trouble too. There is a better process you don’t need to take it into your own hands,” Saroya said.
Jordahl said the district plans to investigate the remaining accusations in the complaint. Among them are allegations that two students brought pork bacon to school and shoved it into the faces of Muslim students, that a bus driver purposely left Somali Muslim students at a bus stop and that some teachers misunderstand Islam and make disparaging remarks about Somalia. Another claim is that a teacher gave a student air freshener and instructed students to spray around the class while the teacher and class laughed.
Jordahl said he has asked the principals and assistant principals to look into each claim and determine whether it happened and if so, how it was handled
Jordahl said he wants to continue to work with CAIR to deal with cultural relations within the schools.


The federal complaint is the first since Saroya started CAIR Minnesota in 2007. That year, the group handled five claims of discrimination. In 2009, it handled 120. Many involved employers who don’t understand the rituals and customs of Islam. Most of the issues are settled with a letter from one of CAIR’s lawyers, Saroya said.
St. Cloud school district has about 9,700 students. It has 710 students who speak Somali, and there are students from other countries who are Muslim. The district estimates about 9 percent of the student body is Muslim.
Jordahl said the district was unaware of all but one of the allegations raised in CAIR’s letter. The incident the district acknowledges took place in February. Two boys who are white approached a group of Muslim girls and asked if they would like pork bacon. When the girls said that their religion prohibited it, the students made disparaging remarks. The boys were suspended. Several days later, CAIR officials came to talk to the girls involved, Saroya said. She said the district was worried the girls might retaliate.
“We try to tell (the girls) you are just going to get into trouble too. There is a better process you don’t need to take it into your own hands,” Saroya said.
Jordahl said the district plans to investigate the remaining accusations in the complaint. Among them are allegations that two students brought pork bacon to school and shoved it into the faces of Muslim students, that a bus driver purposely left Somali Muslim students at a bus stop and that some teachers misunderstand Islam and make disparaging remarks about Somalia. Another claim is that a teacher gave a student air freshener and instructed students to spray around the class while the teacher and class laughed.
Jordahl said he has asked the principals and assistant principals to look into each claim and determine whether it happened and if so, how it was handled.