I left out one souce for the last post: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1170877836397&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

Canadian Muslims Face on Campus Racism

By IOL Staff

CAIRO — Canadian Universities are failing to accommodate the needs of Muslim students or tackle the chilly climate of discrimination they face, according to a new report by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS).

"It's clear that every day Muslim students face both overt and subtle forms of Islamophobic discrimination on Ontario campuses," Jesse Greener, CFS Ontario Chairperson, said in a press release accompanying the report.

The 29-page report asserted Muslim students are the target of incidents of hatred and discrimination on campus.

Some Muslim students were called a terrorist and accused of being associated with Taliban and of carrying a bomb, it said.

The CFS, which is comprised of more than 500,000 students across Canada, said that hijab-clad students were more often targeted with incidents of hatred.

One Muslim student said her veiled friend was pushed into a busy street and called a "stupid Paki."

In another incident one University of Toronto Muslim student had a flyer for a rally in support of Denmark in the cartoon controversy shoved at her in a washroom.

When she threw the flyer out, she was then told to "Go back to [your] f---ing country and bomb it."

In another incident, a Pakistani students association at George Brown College was asked in an e-mail whether funds raised for earthquake relief were really for terrorist training.

Other Muslim students reported being called "witches," "ninjas" and "nuns."

The CFS report said that many Muslim students continue to feel "under the microscope" since the 9/11 attacks.

Insensitive

The report also said that Canadian universities continue to fail to meet the religious needs of Muslim students.

"A general 'failure to accommodate' was the most frequently identified problem by Muslim students in many facets of campus life," said Ausma Malik, Task Force member and student at the University of Toronto.

"From a lack of appropriate foods on campus and inadequate prayer space to inflexible academic policies that are often at odds with religious obligations, Ontario's Muslim students often face a fundamentally different learning environment than other students."

The CFS report said that Canadian universities failed to recognize Muslim holidays, provide halal foods or suitable prayer rooms.

It pointed out that prayer rooms in many institutions are too small, overcrowded or located in inconvenient spots.

Muslim students complain that they were forced to perform ablutions in public washrooms because their university didn't provide washing facilities by the prayer rooms.

"In the absence of prayer space, Muslim students who pray in stairwells or library carrels fear harassment and even assault."

The report said that female students complain of not being able to use pool or gym facilities because there were no women-only hours or because windows made the classes visible to the public.

Muslim students also reported feeling "alienated" at orientations and social events that are often fuelled by alcohol...."

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1173695229366&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout