"Sorry, we're not hiring Muslims right now." - I was saddened and outraged to hear this was the reply a Muslim woman received from a number of companies where she applied for a job. This woman is a naturalized citizen and a Muslim. It is hard not to notice her accent and the traditional Islamic scarf that many Muslim women wear as part of their Islamic beliefs.
Try as we might, my Islamic History class and I could not convince this lady to take action. "I just want to go back home," she told me after class. "What can we do? It's not their problem. I'm a Muslim," she said.
"Being a Muslim is not a problem," I replied. "There was no reason for them to not give you a job because of your religion."
Sadly, this is not the first instance of discrimination against Muslim women I've heard about. My own sisters, who also wear the "hijab," or Islamic headscarf, have told me about the anti-Islamic rhetoric they face from professors in classes at the UB Dental School and the derogatory names such as "raghead" that they've been called behind their backs. Urge them as I might, they refuse to say anything out of fear and a simple feeling of helplessness.
I am hoping that this letter I am sending will reach Muslim women and help them understand that there are people out there who can and are willing to help them. Wars have been fought and people have been killed to give them the right to practice religion without fear of discrimination. If anyone knows of these instances, do not let it pass. We need to let these companies know that we, as freedom-loving Americans, will not stand for their Islamophobic and un-American actions.
Muslim women can contact the Buffalo Local Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at (716) 551-4441 or 1-800-669-4000. Their Web site, www.eeoc.gov gives a plethora of information on what your rights are and what steps to take to file a complaint. Even if this happened to you in the past, it is still important to let people know this is happening. Chances are, it won't be too late to punish these individuals.
