Over 100 Leaders, Academics and Activists Sign Letter Telling MCCCD: Get Hate Out of the Classroom

Recently, it was revealed that overtly Islamophobic course materials were being used in courses at Scottsdale Community College – to read more about this case and CAIR-AZ’s recently filed lawsuit, click here.

Tell Maricopa County Community College District: Get Hate Out of the Classroom

Those of us from marginalized communities know just how deeply hate and disinformation results in the violence our communities face. The violence that has reared its head in the Christchurch shooting, Pittsburgh shooting, Quebec City shooting, Charleston shooting, and countless others has all been tied together with one common thread: The rise in hate and misinformation being purveyed by hate groups in our society. Put plainly: Hate puts our communities in danger.

In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by hate groups to imbue their ideologies within the framework of the educational system. This effort is very deliberate and lucrativefor those organizations who aim to push their ideology into the mainstream. In this past year alone, CAIR-AZ has encountered a public school showing a film featuring hate group leader Steven Emerson(to teach the class about the 9/11 attacks), as well as grossly Islamophobic statements made during an active-shooter training to a school’s staff. Most recently, a viral social media post by a Scottsdale Community College student revealed deeply misleading, false information being taught about Islam and Muslims within the confines of a political science course. The materials and subsequent examinations indicated that Muslims are required to kill non-Muslims as part of their religious duty, that Islam condones terrorism and that there is no other contemporary form of terrorism other than what is termed “Islamic terrorism.”

Furthermore, the two assigned readings in this course are by individuals associated with hate groups – Raymond Ibrahimand Wallid Phares. The infusion of these hate-laden materials, presenting them as the only legitimate viewpoint on the subject of Islam and terrorism is not only reckless, but also infringes upon the rights of Muslim students. We support academic freedom unequivocally – however the issue at hand does not constitute academic freedom. Rather, this is an individual who is compensated with taxpayer dollars at a state institution openly disapproving of a religion in the classroom – a clear violation of the First Amendment. While there was an initial apologyby the college in response to the test questions going viral, there has been aneffective retraction by MCCCD,siding with the professor’s “academic freedom” rather than addressing the underlying hate that was being taught. The professor (Nicholas Damask) has gone onto appear on a hate-talk-showafter the incident, making the claim that he believes Islamophobia doesn’t exist – during a timeframe when hate-crimes targeting Muslim-Americans are reaching all-time highs.

We cannot sit by and allow the forces of hate to permeate our education system. As we highlighted earlier: Islamophobia kills. Anti-Semitism kills. Anti-Blackness kills. All forms of bigotry result in violence against marginalized communities.

Arizona is known nationally to be a battleground for those who aim to sow racism and bigotry within the education system. This incident within the Maricopa County Community College District is just the latest egregious example of the ideology of division and otherization permeating the confines of the classroom. Finally, permitting a public college to indoctrinate students with hostility is an abuse of our tax dollars. As people of conscience – we call upon MCCCD and all educational institutions to: Get Hate Out of the Classroom.

Sincerely,