Muslim Student Called 'Terrorist' By School Counselor, Complaint Alleges

IQNA – A Muslim student at a Michigan middle school was allegedly called a "terrorist" by a school counselor, according to a complaint filed by an advocacy group.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) filed the complaint with the Office of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Education, accusing Ann Arbor Public Schools of discrimination and bias.

The complaint claims that on Nov. 14, an eighth-grade student at Tappan Middle School asked a sixth-grade counselor if he could get a drink of water while waiting to see his own counselor. The counselor denied his request and said, "I don't negotiate with terrorists," the complaint alleges.

The student, who is of Palestinian descent, was deeply hurt and offended by the remark and reported it to his counselor and his parents, the complaint says. However, the counselor did not apologize and instead involved other counselors who agreed with her and said they often use that phrase with other students, the complaint adds.

The complaint also says that the student has been traumatized by the incident and has avoided going to school or meeting with the counselors.

CAIR-MI, which is representing the student and his family, is asking the DOE to investigate the matter and take action against the school district.

"The school district has an obligation to ensure that those employed to interact and guide our young children do so in a manner that is free from bias and discrimination," CAIR-MI executive director Dawud Walid said in a statement. "The words of the guidance counselor referring to an 8th-grade student as a 'terrorist' were not only discriminatory but also deeply painful to the student."

CAIR-MI staff attorney Amy V. Doukoure said the student deserves to learn in a safe and respectful environment.

"Students in the public school system are entitled to learn in an environment that is safe from discrimination and bias," Doukoure said in a statement. "The Ann Arbor Public School District has failed to protect the mental well-being of its Muslim and Palestinian students by not acting following the apparently discriminatory comments by the sixth-grade counselor at Tappan Middle School and those who sided with her in front of a student who was harmed by the hurtful comments."

Ann Arbor Public Schools declined to comment on the complaint, saying it does not comment on personal matters and pending legal complaints, according to CBS News Detroit.

There has been a significant rise in anti-Muslim hate and discrimination in many western countries, including the US, since the start of the war between Hamas resistance movement and the Israeli regime on October 7.

Source: Agencies