Teacher Pulls Hijab Off Muslim Student's Head

[AKA2D '91]

Jeff teacher reassigned in veil-pulling case

Muslim family cites officials' fast action


Wednesday February 04, 2004


By Rob Nelson


Sitting in Wes Mix's 10th-grade world history class at West Jefferson High School in Harvey, Maryam Motar said she had become used to the "jokes."

First, there were the times when she said her teacher thought she was of Indian descent and called her "Little Curry One."



Then came jabs about how Motar, an Iraqi, hailed from a Third World country, she said. Thursday's tease, the 17-year-old sophomore said, was about how she would "bomb us" if she ever went back to her country.

Motar said the final straw came Friday as Mix was passing out tests. After pulling back her religiously mandated head scarf, or hijab, Motar said Mix told her, "I hope God punishes you. No, I'm sorry, I hope Allah punishes you." double, tripple

Motar said the teacher later told her, "I didn't know you had hair under there."

West Jefferson Principal Lale Geer confirmed Tuesday that Mix was removed from the school on Monday, and school system officials said he was transferred to another teaching position in an unnamed school after Motar and her family complained and sought support from the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C.

Superintendent Diane Roussel said the incident is under investigation.

"We have to get our facts together," she said. "I have to listen to both sides of the story. I do realize it's very offensive to the Islamic community. The concerns they expressed are sincere ones."

Reached at home Tuesday night, Mix called the incident a "nonissue" and a "bunch of craziness."

He said he was enjoying a dinner of red beans and rice and a beer. "I'm not worried at all," he said, adding that "all of this has been resolved."

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the national council, applauded Mix's transfer and said the council became involved after outraged Muslims in the area contacted the agency.

"They view (the transfer) as a good step, but they want to know what happens to this teacher and future students," Hooper said, calling the school district's reaction to the case "unusually swift."

Though she was able to brush off Mix's earlier remarks, the yanking of her head scarf went too far, Motar said.

"There's no joke about it," she said. "It was disrespect. I don't think he's fit to teach."

"We would never accept something like that," said Motar's mother, Haifa Gareb.

The hijab is commonly worn in public by Muslim women, along with long-sleeved shirts and pants, to preserve their beauty for their family and husbands, said Irene Salahuddin, a Muslim who lives in Gretna. It's a religious and cultural statement, she said.

Hooper said the scarves had become a magnet for anti-Arab behavior, especially in the midst of the war in Iraq. Motar said she never reported Mix's earlier remarks because making it through the school year was more important to her.

"I just thought it was stupidity," she said. "I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to let it go."

Motar's uncle, Casey Kasim, who met with Geer on Monday, said he was shocked by such behavior from a teacher.

"That's why I'm so disappointed," Kasim said. "I never expected anything like that from a teacher."

Still, Kasim applauded West Jefferson's response. Geer "was very sympathetic, and his reaction to the problem was very good," he said.

Others in Motar's family said they are still waiting for an apology from the school district.

Family members said they have endured rounds of taunting since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq.

From angry shouts of "Go home" while sitting in traffic and references to Osama bin Laden, they have suffered hostility for months, they said.

Still, their goal was not to cost Mix his job, Motar's aunt, Samir Kasim, said. "We want him to understand to appreciate our religion."

Geer said he was shocked by the incident and said it was uncharacteristic for West Jefferson.

"This school is filled with a lot of different ethnic and religious groups, and we embrace it," he said. "We have kids from all over the world, and I'm just sorry this happened."

Transfer? If the teacher were one of "us" he would have been fired!