Bias threatens Muslim careers

By Momo Chang, STAFF WRITER
A Muslim engineer who works at a leading technologycompany is called a terrorist by his co-workers andtold that on Halloween he should dress as one.A teacher at a vocational college tells a Muslimstudent who wears a hijab, or head scarf, that she isnot allowed to wear it, and if she does no Americanwill hire her.A pilot tells a Muslim employee at an airline companyhe looks like a terrorist.These are all accounts of workplace harassmentdocumented by the Council on American-IslamicRelations in California. The report shows that 18percent of harassment incidents occur at theworkplace, second only to occurrences at governmentagencies at 19 percent, many of which are alsoemployment-related cases.According to the most recent U.S. Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission report, charges ofdiscrimination against Muslims — or those perceived tobe Muslim, such as South Asians — has doublednationwide from 1,100 to 2,168 since Sept. 11, 2001,given a similar time span.Jennifer, whose name has been changed because shefears retaliation at work, recalls her experience inthe months after 9/11."When my mom and I walked by our co-workers, theystarted chanting, 'terrorist, terrorist,'" she says.She was 18 at the time and working the graveyard shiftwith her mom at a Fremont-based computer company. Shehad been in the country two years, taking collegecourses and working part-time jobs.She said her co-workers also called her "bin Laden'sdaughter" and her mother "bin Laden's wife." When shehad henna painted on her hand — a symbol ofcelebration — during Eid, one co-worker asked, "Isthat bin Laden's blood?" She said even if herco-workers were joking, she asked them repeatedly tostop making comments, but they continued. She quit herjob soon after.The most common types of employment discriminationagainst Muslims include name-calling, job terminationand denial of religious wear or other accommodationsfor religious practices, said Shirin Sinnar, attorneyat San Francisco-based Lawyers' Committee for CivilRights.Jennifer also recalls another incident, months after9/11. She had interviewed at a bank in Fremont twiceover the phone, and was told to come in person to signher paperwork. She has a typical American-soundingname — and wears a hijab.When she arrived, she was asked several times by themanager, "Are you Jennifer? Are you the one I spoke toon the phone?"The manager then told her she would give her a call.Two weeks later, Jennifer received a letter in themail stating they had hired someone else. She is sureit's because of her head scarf, though it's difficultto prove.Some groups affected by 9/11 discrimination are notMuslim, but perceived to be "terrorists" because ofvisible difference in dress. Many Sikh men have faceddiscrimination because they wear turbans and have abeard, an image often linked to bin Laden."In our communities, historically, we have seen hugespikes in hate crimes after major events that havetranspired in the Middle East," said Kavneet Singh,western regional director of the national SikhAmerican Legal Defense and Education Fund.And certain communities continue to feel the backlashof 9/11, even now. A recent study shows that peoplewith Arab or South Asian-sounding names may not evenget their foot in the door. Among all ethnic groups,Arab Americans and South Asians fared the worst inemployment hiring in the Bay Area, according to theBerkeley-based Discrimination Research Center.Identical rsums were sent out in 2003 to temporaryemployment agencies, and while the fictitious "HeidiMcKenzie" received a 37 percent response rate,"Abdul-Aziz Mansour" received only 23 percent."One of the big implications of all this is thatmanifestations of anti-Muslim sentiments are also seenin hiring," said Siri Thanasombat, program manager atthe DRC. "Even at the first gateway to jobopportunities, these anti-Muslim sentiments are comingthrough, just because you have a name that isethnically identifiable or a name that isthreatening."Backlash from 9/11 hasn't cooled off because of theworld climate, such as the war in Iraq and the recentLondon transit bombings, all associated with Muslimsor those perceived to be Muslim, says Safaa Ibrahim ofCAIR-San Francisco Bay Area."The climate around the world impacts public opinionhere, creating backlash against certain ethnic andreligious groups," she said.Joan Ehrlich, district director of San Franciscoregion's EEOC, acknowledged that an increase inreports could be due to efforts by the EEOC to reachout to Muslims, South Asians and Middle Easterners,and an increase in awareness of rights as groups suchas the ACLU and CAIR educate communities hit by 9/11backlash.At the same time, Ehrlich says EEOC under counts thenumber of actual incidents, because employees fearbeing blacklisted from jobs or being seen as atroublemaker. Like sexual harassment, discriminationagainst religion or race is less likely to bereported, Ehrlich said. And communities under scrutinyby the government may be wary of any governmentagency."The numbers don't tell the whole story becauseobviously, people don't trust the government, so mostpeople only come forward in extreme circumstances,"she said.Contact Momo Chang at mchang@angnewspapers.com.