A new report from Inside Edition uncovered an alleged attack on a Muslim sixth-grade student.
The outlet reported yesterday (December 7) that a hijab-wearing student was attacked at the Bronx’s P.S. 89. Citing an anonymous source at the school, the report said that the girl was playing at recess when three boys from her grade put her in a headlock and tried to remove her hijab. The report also says that one of the boys called her "ISIS" during the attack.
Further, the report cites an anonymous police source who said that police responded to a 911 call, but did not take down an incident report.
The alleged attack occured on November 19—just days after the Paris attacks, attributed to ISIS, left more than 100 people dead. School officials did not respond to Inside Edition’s request for comment, but the source indicated that the attackers’ disciplinary hearing has been "postponed in order to allow the boys’ families to hire legal representation."
Corey Saylor, a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said that this report represents a common occurance for Muslim students:
“Unfortunately, young Muslims have been experiencing this for quite some time,” Corey Saylor, spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told IE.
“Since August of last year…we’ve seen a cycle of Islamophobia that’s had a much more violent tinge to it than we’ve seen in many, many years.”
Saylor also said that media coverage of attacks like those in Paris and San Bernardino has contributed to the demonizing of Muslims:
“There is no burning bush solution… but for us, the problem that we’re trying to solve is that most Americans were introduced to Islam on 9/11 watching airplanes fly into buildings,” Saylor continued, noting that media coverage of Islam in recent years has been, arguably, overwhelmingly negative.
“If you’re subject to this steady diet of negative, and you’re getting it at home, we as a community have to figure out a way to overcome that,” he said. “I would argue that the school could make this is an opportunity for inclusiveness, making sure all the students are treated as Americans.”
(H/t Inside Edition)