Teaching Tolerance

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2001, (AP)--At a school in Connecticut, a second-grader threatens a turban-wearing Sikh classmate, telling him, ``You better watch out - you're going to get beat up.'' She later explains to the principal, ``He looks just like the guys they said did it on TV.''

A note found at a California high school says the World Trade Center attacks will be avenged in a massacre of Muslims, with the names of five students listed beneath. They are sent home for their safety.

In the days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Arab-American and Islamic groups have reported hundreds of cases of harassment, intimidation and violence, including a few at schools. While no violence against Arab and Muslim students has been reported, schools across the country are struggling to assure parents they'll protect children while teaching classmates about tolerance.

The incidents have prompted Education Secretary Rod Paige to send a rare ``dear colleague'' letter to educators, urging that classroom discussions and assemblies honoring victims not inadvertently ``foster the targeting of Arab-American students for harassment or blame.''

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, which claimed more than 5,000 lives, reports of hate crimes and harassment against Arab-Americans have flooded advocates' offices. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee this week said it had compiled a list of more than 200 incidents. The Council of American-Islamic Relations reported more than 400, including yelling, spitting, extensive vandalism and assaults.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee spokesman Hussein Ibish said fear of reprisal has scared many parents into temporarily keeping their children home from both public and private schools.

Muslim private schools across the country canceled classes for a few days last week. In other schools, such as the Muslim Educational Trust School in Portland, Ore., parents were asked to walk the grounds during school hours, keeping an eye out for retaliation.

``It's a tough time for the whole community at large,'' said Wajdi Said, the trust's executive director. ``We've really felt a sadness and a sorrow.''

Continued on page 2: »