Reviewed literature shows the education of Muslim students has been highlighted by numerous research after 9/11. (Haddad, Senzai, & Smith, 2009; Hodge 2002; Jackson, 2011; Merry, 2005; Sabry & Bruna, 2007; Sirin, Ryce, & Mir, 2009; Zine, 2001; Zine 2009). Reviewed literature shows that there are two main issues in education of Muslim students in the U.S. which are American Muslim identity construction, and challenges of public schooling.
2.3.1 American Muslim identity construction. Muslim parents are more
concerned with developing Muslim identity and how the U.S. public school environment influences it (Hodge, 2002). Identity generally is described as a sense of individuality regarding oneself, group affinity, and social status and individual identity can change across time due to personal experiences and social dynamics (Peek, 2005). Frable (1997) and Howard (2000) emphasize the social bases of identity, particularly gender, racial,
ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Although religion is not as central to the field of identity students as race, class and gender (Peek, 2005), Haddad and Lummis (1987) investigated the role of religion in maintaining group identity and solidarity among Muslim immigrants. Muslim parents in the U.S. seek to encourage the development of Muslim identity through their children’s spiritual growth and character development. Niyozov and Pluim (2009) and Sanjakdar (2011) discuss that Muslim parents strengthen their children’s religious identities by showing Islamic practices and good examples at home. The reviewed literature indicates that the secular environment of public schools in the U.S. represents an example for Muslim students contrary to their family values (Al- Romi, 2000; Abu El-Hajj, 2002; Bayaoumi, 2008). Besides religious concerns, Muslim parents also want to conserve ethnic values. Yahiya Emerick (1999) describes parents’ concerns:
The children are rejecting the ethnic culture of their parents and adopting the American culture they experience every day. The mother and father want their child to be like them; eating kabobs, wearing a shalwar or
jilbab, speaking Urdu or Arabic and identifying with the customs and
ways of the old country with respect to marriage, family structure and social interaction.
Sanjakdar (2011) states that the tension between Western and Muslim identity causes fear among Muslims so that they prefer to stay within the community. Sabry and Bruna (2007) found that Muslim parents’ fears, which are based on the political atmosphere and hostility against Muslims after 9/11, cause a lack of involvement in their children’s
school lives. Salili and Hoosain (2014) state that construction of identity will be more difficult for the Muslim youths who came from ultra religious families than the ones from liberal minded families. For example, conservative Muslim immigrant families in the U.S. may send their children back to their home country or divide their families during teenage years to embrace their Muslim and national identity (King, Nuseibeh, & Nuseibeh, 2014). Reviewed literature shows that both Muslim parents (especially immigrants) and their children experience anxiety and frustration to adapt their religious and ethnic valued to American culture. Salili and Hoosain (2014) explain this situation as:
Muslim parents feel a religious obligation to protect their children and families from cultural values different from their own. Therefore, their children often experience having to “betray” their parents while they try to assimilate into the majority culture. (p. 42)
All these problems and issues also impact the academic success of Muslim children in their schools. Especially, the students in public schooling may have more difficulty as public schools provide ineffective interventions to adjust Muslim students to the school environment due to the lack of knowledge about the culture of Muslims in the U.S. (Carter, 1999).
2.3.2. Muslim students in public schools. The literature shows that the lack of
basic knowledge about Islamic culture causes misunderstanding and negative stereotypes of Muslims students in public schools. For example, the case study conducted by Ahmad and Szpara (2003) illustrates that the achievements of Muslim students in New York City
metro area public schools have been affected negatively by the limited knowledge of public school teachers and their classmates. In another study, Sabry and Bruna (2007) focused on the biased curriculum used by ignorant and uncooperative teachers for the Muslims students in a suburban Midwestern city in the U.S. According to Mirza and Bakali (2009), Muslim students can feel discomfort when the school administrator and teachers are unaware of the practices of the basic principles of Islam.
The literature also suggests that the injustices and discrimination towards Muslim students became more visible after 9/11: “While Islamophobia was present before 9/11, Muslim students have long been subjected to racialized treatment; these experiences have become more acute after 9/11” (Bonett, 2011, p. 49). The research studies provide
specific examples of how the U.S. public school system shows hostility towards Muslim students and parents. Abu el-Hajj (2007) reports that Muslim female students who wear
hijab, a veil that covers the hair and neck, not only experience harassment in public
schools but are also subject to negative profiling from public school teachers. In a similar way, Bayoumi (2008) discusses the identity negotiations of young Arab-Americans in a hostile environment in Brooklyn. Zine ‘s (2001) study highlights the specific findings concerning the representation of Muslim identity and how it caused negative racial profiling, verbal harassment for religious dress, ignorance of academic success, and low academic expectations for Muslim high schools students in public schools in Canada.
Today, the majority of Muslim students as well as 80-90% of Muslims students in North America enroll in the public schools to pursue their education (Elbih, 2012). Although the environment of public schools may not be welcoming for Muslim students
in terms of curriculum and school practice, Muslim parents choose public schooling because of the lack of Islamic schools in the region, distrust towards Islamic schools regarding academic success, and discontent towards strict regulations of Islamic schools (Al-Romi, 2000). Moreover, some Muslim parents prefer public schools, as they believe the public schools in the U.S. help Muslim students to adjust to the U.S. society by providing them with a multicultural environment (Merry, 2007).
Although most of Muslim students are in public schools, Islamic schools are the first choice of Muslim parents to provide Islamic environment, religious education, and to preserve Muslim identity (Badawi, 2006). Recently, due to the increasing number of Islamic schools, some attention has been directed to Islamic schools from the media, public, and academia.