What You Need to Know About Bullying of Muslim Students

October 6, 2023

Greetings of peace,

At ING, we are committed to peacebuilding through education and engagement across all our diversity. For the last 30 years we have brought you curriculum materials and educational presentations and panels of diverse ethnic and religious speakers on world religions, racism, and anti-racism to educators and community leaders.

In light of the tragic current violence in Israel and Palestine, if you are an educator, we ask that you keep the following in mind:

Read more here.

“I have had my hijab pulled off by a classmate for no reason.”

“People would make jokes about 9-11 towards me and make me feel like I was to blame for it.”

“Someone asked me if I was going to blow up the school and if I was reading a book on bombs.”

Bullying against Muslim students is happening all across this country. It is real, it is ugly, and it is happening way more often than you might think. According to a 2022 survey by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, 48% of Muslim families reported that their child had been bullied because of their faith. And 20% of Muslim students report that bullying happens nearly every day. If we learned anything in teacher college, it’s that students who don’t feel safe at school can’t learn. And we know from long experience the negative effects of bullying on mental health and overall well-being.

Read more here.

INGYouth Anti-Bullying Resources

Check out this page that links to our INGYouth website, and other bullying prevention resources such as:

• Teen Empowerment Training, consisting of four self-guided webinars on bullying prevention
• Teen PowerPoints for supplementing education about Islam, consisting of five slide shows that teens can use to supplement education about Islam and Muslims in social science classrooms
• Teen Answers to FAQs, consisting of answers to typical questions asked of Muslim teens
• Student Anti-Bullying Handout, consisting of student rights in schools
• Parent Anti-Bullying Handout, consisting of parental rights in schools
• Slideshow: Student Rights in Schools, consisting of student rights in schools
• Parent Webinar: Supporting Children in Schools, consisting of ways that parents can support their children in schools while countering bullying
• Partner Organizations in Anti-Bullying, consisting of organizations that work on anti-bullying efforts

Schedule Speakers

You can schedule an in-person or virtual presentation or panel for your school on Muslims, their faith and perspectives, world religions, or countering Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and other forms of bigotry, including on “Countering Bullying with Knowledge, Civility, and Respect” here. You can also schedule a diversity training seminar for educators in K-12 schools on countering Islamophobia in education, accommodating religious diversity in schools, or supporting an inclusive school environment here.