December 11, 2015 | by Maureen Chowdhury

Muslim Community Members Speak About Discrimination Concerns at County Meeting (PHOTOS)

COHV_MCCDozens of Muslim community members attended a special meeting, held by the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights Committee on Hate and Violence, at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring  on Thursday.

The meeting provided an opportunity for local Muslim-Americans to speak out about the discrimination the community is facing to County officials and police in light of recent terrorist attacks .

Discrimination in schools was the hot topic of the night.

“Our public schools, they don’t have the support that our kids need, probably they have support for other ethnic groups, but specifically for Muslim children, they don’t have the support. And I believe that because I have four children and the trust is not there. The resources are not there for Muslim children. This has to change. MCPS has to take more responsibility,” said Samira Hussein.

Distrust between community members and law enforcement, as well as misrepresentation in media were also big topics of discussion.

COHV_MCC1“I don’t have that relationship of complete dependence and trust with the police,” Hiba Akhtar said. “I think the police need to step up…and really let us know that we are taken care of, we are kind of a special entity right now, special community right now,” she said.

“I think it’s a key concern not only in Montgomery County, but everywhere nationwide is how we’re being portrayed,” Shahnaz Baten said.  “The media plays…24 hours certain images, certain perspectives. Donald Trump got so many minutes on the air for foolish comments that he made, yet it was covered fully,” she said.  “The media has a certain perspective and we need to change it,” Baten said.

According to a news release, The Human Rights Committee convened the meeting, “because of recent hostile backlash and importance of a united response against prejudice and paranoia.”  The committee addressed four topics:

  • The key concerns impacting the Muslim community.
  • How COHV can best support the Muslim community and their initiatives.
  • How the community is utilizing its resources to respond to the negative environment.
  • The impact on youth, and whether children are being bullied at school.

Committee members will review the concerns discussed at the meeting and there are plans to convene another public meeting to share possible solutions in a few weeks.


Related Posts:

Local Muslim-Americans Raise Concerns About Discrimination at County Meeting (VIDEO)

COHV_MCC2

The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights Committee on Hate and Violence held a special meeting at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring on Dec. 10th. Local Muslim-Americans voiced their concerns about issues impacting the community in light of recent terrorist attacks. MyMCMedia’s Maureen Chowdhury reports. Related Posts: 

Read more

Muslim Community Members Speak About Discrimination Concerns at County Meeting (PHOTOS)

COHV_MCC

Dozens of Muslim community members attended a special meeting, held by the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights Committee on Hate and Violence, at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring  on Thursday. The meeting provided an opportunity for local Muslim-Americans to speak out about the discrimination the community is facing to County officials and police […]

Read more
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Maureen Chowdhury

About Maureen Chowdhury

Maureen Chowdhury is a multimedia journalist with Montgomery Community Media. She can be reached at mchowdhury@mymcmedia.org and on Twitter at @MediaMaureen. Maureen authors the blog Sound Check on MyMCMedia.
View all posts by Maureen Chowdhury

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