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updated 2/16/2000 (rev.12/1/2000)
2/17/2000
Subject: CAIR-NET: "Book Stereotypes Muslims, Family Says" (Washington Post)
JUST SO OFFENSIVE': BOOK STEREOTYPES MUSLIMS, FAMILY SAYS
By: Manuel Perez-Rivas, The Washington Post, 2/17/2000, Page B01
Excerpts:
"The book was on a recommended reading list, selected with care by librarians as among the best contemporary fiction for middle- schoolers in Maryland.
"'The Terrorist,' written by veteran children's author Caroline B. Cooney, is about an American girl living in England whose 11-year- old brother is killed when a package bomb explodes in the London subway. The terrorist turns out to be a Muslim girl seeking to avoid an arranged marriage to a man in his fifties who has two other wives.
"But instead of being enthralled by the novel, Zainab Alkebsi, a seventh-grader at Earle B. Wood Middle School in Rockville, was appalled by what she saw as offensive stereotyping of Muslims.
"So was her father, Abdulwahab Alkebsi, who complained to the teacher and principal at Wood. Not satisfied with the response, he enlisted the help of the Council on American-Islamic Relations to recall the book, published by Scholastic Inc...
"...In an e-mail, Zainab wrote: 'It was hard for me to be reading those things being said about us Muslims. It hurt my feelings and I was upset and scared what people think after reading about these stereotypes.'
"Judy Corman, a senior vice president for Scholastic, defended the book and said that the publisher will not stop its distribution. She said the publisher received hundreds of messages yesterday after the Council on American - Islamic Relations, a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, publicized the issue on its e-mail distribution list.
"'We're upset that CAIR and these people feel this way. We believe in respect for all people. That's our credo,' Corman said. She emphasized that the book is a work of fiction and was not intended by Scholastic to serve as part of a school curriculum.
"But Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was disturbed that the book was assigned reading in Zainab's class.
"'The big problem here is that this book was assigned reading in a classroom,' Hooper said. 'When you have a captive audience of impressionable young people, whose minds are like sponges at this age, it's not really fair to present them with this kind of reading material and require them to read it...'"
To view the entire article, go to:
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61630-2000Feb16.html
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm, but POLITE.)
If you have not already done so, contact Scholastic to express your concerns, as a Muslim parent, about the negative
impact this type of offensive and stereotypical material has on your children and their classmates. Directions
below
Email exchange between CAIR, MHSNR and Scholastic
2/15/2000
CAIR Muslim Parent Alert Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Alert #234
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C., 20003
NEW Tel: 202-488-8787 Fax: 202-659-2254
E-Mail: cair1@ix.netcom.com
URL: www.cair-net.org
MIDDLE SCHOOL READER DEFAMES ISLAM
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/15/2000) - CAIR is warning Muslim parents about a middle school reading text that contains a number of inaccurate, offensive and stereotypical references to Muslims, Muslim women, Arabs, and Islam.
"The Terrorist," written by Caroline B. Cooney (ISBN 0-590-63913-7) and published by Scholastic Inc. (Nasdaq: SCHL), deals with an American student at a private school in London who seeks revenge for the death of her 11-year-old brother killed by a package bomb. Its back cover carries the statement: "This edition is only available for distribution through the school market."
The book was brought to CAIR's attention by a concerned Muslim parent whose daughter read it based on a list provided by her teacher.
A few examples of offensive content in "The Terrorist:" (There are many more examples available.)
Page 77 - "'What country are you from, Mohammed?' she asked. 'Palestine.' [said Mohammed] 'That's not a country...It's Israel. It's been Israel since before my father was born...Is Mohammed a Palestinian who would throw a bomb?"
Pages 107 and 108 - Muslim girl named Jehran speaking: "I will not yet be sixteen. The man chosen for me is a general in his fifties. I will be his third wife. His is a traditional household. I will be forced to wear a black robe like my servant, and have my face covered by a solid veil with eye slits. I will not be permitted to leave my house. I will not be allowed books to read or television to watch or a radio to listen to...It is living death...My money would be his, and I would never be permitted to touch it. I would obey my husband always, no matter how painful or cruel or wrong. I would have no purpose except to give birth to sons. If I had a daughter, he would punish me and quickly get me pregnant again."
Page 111 - "Islam. You thought that religion was a pact between you and God, but it wasn't...Men who hated women. Men who wanted women literally locked in their clothes and their homes."
To top off this offensive and stereotypical material, the author reveals that "The Terrorist" was in fact the girl who is trying to escape the "living death" of a Muslim marriage. The girl killed the heroine's brother just to obtain his passport. So even the "good" Muslims are bad.
In a letter to Scholastic President Richard Robinson, CAIR asked that the book be recalled because it is "targeted at a captive audience of impressionable middle school students" who, unlike adult readers, do not have a choice in what they read and absorb.
In response to CAIR's request, Scholastic's Senior Vice President of Corporate Communication Judy Corman wrote in part: "Taking the book as a whole, as a novel is intended to be considered, we believe the book represents a contribution to the dialogue about commonly held attitudes and preconceived notions." Scholastic is a $1.2 billion global children's publishing and media company.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm, but POLITE.)
1. Contact Scholastic to express your concerns, as a Muslim parent, about the negative impact this type of offensive and stereotypical material has on your children and their classmates.
Contact:
Mr. Richard Robinson
President/CEO
Scholastic Inc.
555 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
TEL: 212-343-6100
FAX: 212-343-6930
E-MAIL: JCorman@Scholastic.com
COPY TO: cair1@ix.netcom.com
URL: http://scholastic.com/
2. Find out if "The Terrorist" is on the reading list used in your child's school. If it is, bring the stereotypical content to the attention of school administrators. Muslim children should also express their views about the impact this book could have on their lives. Suggest alternate titles such "American Islam: Growing Up Muslim in America" (ISBN 0802783430) or "Kiss the Dust" (ISBN 0140368558).
3. Obtain copies of CAIR's 16-page booklet, "An Educator's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," for distribution to teachers and school administrators. ($3+S/H)
TALKING POINTS:
1. Offensive material in a book used as assigned reading for students is not the same as similar content in a book that would be freely, and voluntarily, accessed by adults.
2. The material concerning Islam's alleged treatment of women is inaccurate as well as offensive.
Wed, 16 Feb 2000 11:23:38 -0500 (EST)
EXAMPLES OF OFFENSIVE MATERIAL IN "THE TERRORIST" NOT INCLUDED IN CAIR'S ORIGINAL ALERT
Page 76 - "Oh, you Arabs," said Laura, "you just want to push people around."
Pages 89 and 90 - "Shiites are very, very strict. The ruler they have now is called an ayatollah, a sort of Moslem (sic) priest. Iran hates America."
Page 110 - "In marriage, Jehran would dress like a vampire. A black shroud with eye slits...Nobody except her husband would ever see her skin. The husband who was forty years older. Who already had wives...Laura [Jehran's friend] did not like to think of the logistics of their bedrooms."
Pages 118 and 119 - "'If a girl from an observant Moslem family were to fall in love with a Christian,' said Mr. Hollober, 'or flirt, or expose her face or limbs or hair in front of men except her father and brothers, she would taint her family's honor. She would be punished because honor of the family matters more than she does...Mr. Hollober insisted he was telling the truth. 'Girls who tempt men are criminals. Girls who disobey their fathers and brothers are criminals. And criminals in Islamic countries pay with their lives.' So if Jehran disobeyed her brother, he would not yell at her. He would execute her."
Page 151 - "Laura was pretty sure Allah would expect Jehran to obey her brother. That's what Moslem women did: they obeyed the men in their family."
2. Find out if "The Terrorist" is on the reading list used in your child's school. If it is, bring the stereotypical content to the attention of school administrators.
3. Obtain copies of CAIR's 16-page booklet, "An Educator's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," for distribution to teachers and school administrators. ($3+S/H)
Wed, 16 Feb 2000 11:06:21 -0500 (EST)
AMERICAN MUSLIM MEDIA WATCH - 2/16/2000
ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) ARTICLE ON "THE TERRORIST"
By: ANJETTA McQUEEN, Associated Press Newswires, 2/16/2000
Excerpts:
"WASHINGTON (AP) - Abdul Wahab Alkebsi was taken aback when his 12- year-old daughter brought home a novel entitled 'The Terrorist.'
"When he read the book written for middle schoolers that describes an American student's attempt to avenge her young brother's murder at the hands of a Muslim girl, he became angry. Now an Islamic advocacy group has demanded Scholastic Inc., stop distributing the book, maintaining that it contains inaccurate, offensive and stereotypical references to Muslims.
"In the book, Laura, an American student at a private school in London seeks to avenge her 11-year-old brother's murder by 15-year- old Jehran, a Muslim girl who is trying to escape from a forced marriage to a 54-year-old man with three other wives. She had sought the American boy's U.S. passport as a means of escape...
"...Alkebsi of Potomac, Md., said the book was extremely stressful for his seventh-grade daughter, Zainab.
"'It hurt my feelings and I was upset and scared what people will think after reading about these stereotypes,' said the seventh- grader, who read the book based on a reading list provided by her teacher at the Earle B. Wood Middle School, in suburban Rockville, Md...
"...Her father sent a copy of the book to the Council on American- Islamic Relations, which argues that the novel gives children an unfair picture of Muslim culture, particularly marriage customs. And the group said it contains inaccurate, offensive and stereotypical references to Muslims...
"...Judy Corman, senior vice president of the New York-based publishing company, defended the novel as an award-winning 'work of fiction' and said the publisher would not stop distribution to schools around the country...
"...Corman said objections have been raised about a variety of children's books from them and other publishers, ranging from the popular 'Harry Potter' series about a boy who is learning to become a wizard to the science fiction book 'The Adventures of Captain Underpants.'
"The Council on American-Islamic Relations on Tuesday issued a statement urging Muslim parents to monitor their children's reading lists and suggest alternative titles.
"Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the American-Islamic council said the group was concerned because the book is intended as a teaching aid. "What we have here is a situation where impressionable students are assigned this book," he said, adding that the group is not asking book stores to remove the novel from shelves..."
A Child's History of the World; From Then Till Now
Fourth Grade History Text
V. M. Hillyer, Calvert School
copyright 1951, revised 1978
(companion history workbook copyright 1993)
A sampling of a few passages:
Well, we have now reached the seventh century -- the six hundreds-- and we are to hear of a man who was to make a change in the whole world. He was neither a Roman nor a Greek nor a Frank nor a Goth nor a Briton. He was neither a king nor a general, but only a --
What do you suppose?
A CAMEL DRIVER!
and he lived in a little town called Mecca in far-off Arabia. His name was Mohammed. Mohammed went on an errand for a wealthy Arabian lady, and the lady fell in love with him. Although he was a poor camel driver and only a servant and she was rich, the were married. They lived happily together, and nothing remarkable happened until Mohammed was forty years old. (231)Many people liked this new religion. Those who believed in Islam were known as Moslems, and before long there were many Moslems. At first the Moslems tried to persuade others to join simply by talking to them and telling them how fine their religion was, and how much better than what they had already had. Very soon they began to force others to become Moslems whether they wanted to or not. Like the highway robber who says, "Money or your life, " they gave everyone a choice. "Money or your life, or be a Moslem!" This may seem a strange way for people to make others believe their religion, but the Moslems said that Allah wanted all people to be Mohammedans, and didn't want any one who was not.. (236)
The Arabs, or Saracens, as they were also called, kept on northward toward Europe and conquered and converted everyone to Islam as they went along. Those they could not convert they put to death. At last they reached the City of Constantine, Constantinople. . . (236)
. . . Then they turned north and took boats, and crossed over the Strait of Gibraltar and marched on up into Spain. Farther and farther on they went up into France. It seemed as if they would soon conquer all of Europe and make the whole civilized world Mohammedan. (237)
The Moslems had ideas about women that are different from ours. They thought it was immodest for a woman to show her face to men, and so every woman had to wear a thick veil which hid her face -- all except her eyes -- whenever she went out where there were men. With such a veil she could see but not be seen. (245)
Here are two other of their ideas that are different from ours; they believed that women should be slaves to the men, and they thought that a man might have as many wives as he wished, all at one time! (245)
We may wonder, then, what Europe would have been like if the Moslems had conquered all the rest of the world at that time -- if they had left no country Christian. (245)
Many of the explorers were really pirates, even worse pirates than the Norseman who raided England and France, because they murdered people who were without equal weapons to fight back. The excuse they often gave for doing so was that they wanted to make the natives Christians. No wonder that the natives did not think much of the Christian religion if it taught murder of people who could not defend themselves. The Mohammedans made converts with the sword, but the Christians made converts with shot and shell. (342)