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By Dina Rabie, IOL Staff
WASHINGTON – An American Muslim is suing the New York Police
Department for barring him from joining the force because of his
Arabic origin and Muslim faith, a case rights activists say
symbolizes a surge in job discrimination since the 9/11.
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Hajem passed the
entrance exams with high scores and received a
congratulatory letter from the Police Commissioner.
(NY Times photo) |
"There
is a lot of racism and a lot of paranoia about Arabs in the
police department," Mark Taylor, lawyer of Said Hajem, told
IslamOnline.net.
Hajem,
a 39-year-old naturalized US citizen originally from Morocco,
decided to pursue a career with the NYPD after knowing about the
need for Arabic speakers on the force.
He
passed the entrance exams with high scores and was cleared to
join the Police Academy. He even received a congratulatory
letter from the Police Commissioner.
But at
the interview with Ricardo Ramkissoon, who was in charge of
reviewing the application, the officer refused to take any
personal references with Middle Eastern names of Hajem’s friends
and neighbors.
"The
officer responded very negatively to that, claiming that he
could be a terrorist and they would say good things about him to
get him on the force," said Taylor.
"He
specifically said that he was against officers from other
countries to become members of the police department."
Ramkissoon later said in his review that there are several
reasons not to hire Hajem.
"That
was really shocking to us… it is just a clear case of bias,"
said Taylor, adding that his client decided to take his case to
the court.
Lawyers
for the city filed a motion asking that Hajem’s claim be
dismissed but the District Court in Manhattan turned it down.
"The
case is going to trial as the judge found that there are enough
evidences for discrimination here to justify a trial," said
Taylor, adding that the lawsuit will proceed next month.
The
NYPD had earlier said they just delayed Hajem’s hiring for
years, but he is still eligible for hiring indefinitely.
They
did not respond to IOL request for comment.
Surge
Civil
rights advocates believe Hajem’s case is not so uncommon in post
9/11 America.
"There
are too many cases without having something to support it,"
Khadija Athman, Civil Rights Manager at the Council on American
Islamic Relations (CAIR), told IOL.
She
noted many Muslims have faced job discrimination since 9/11 and
filed cases with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),
the government agency responsible for enforcing laws against
employment discrimination.
"After
September 11, there were so many of these cases the EEOC
received that they had to have a separate department to deal
with the cases affecting Muslims and people from Middle Eastern
origin."
Fahed
Al-Rawaf, a media and legal adviser at the American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), agrees that discrimination
at work place against Muslims and Arabs has soared.
"There
has been a surge in employment discrimination cases across the
country."
The
EEOC estimates confirm that Muslims and Arabs have faced the
sharpest increase in workplace discrimination in recent years.
But
unfortunately, laments Athman, most people just take it and do
not report the discrimination they were subject to or file
lawsuit.
"The
problem is that with employment, it is not easy to prove you
were not approved because of being Muslim or Arab."
Rawaf
believes there is a lack of awareness among the Muslim
community, estimated at between six to eight million, of what
their rights are.
"There
is a need to have more awareness about your rights at the work
force and what does constitute discrimination."
Source:
http://www.islamonline.net
Date: 2010/04/13
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