No surprise! CAIR arrives in wake of St. Cloud Somali school protest
This is an update of our post from Sunday where we reported that Somali students claim they are being bullied because they are Somali Muslims.
One more reason your town should resist if a new refugee resettlement site is being planned!
You are watching the Hijra, the agitation phase of the Islamic migration, in real time! Learn from it!
CAIR Minnesota Director Jaylani Hussein. CAIR had settled a lawsuit with this same school district in 2011.
From the Saint Cloud Times:
Members of the St. Cloud Somali community have assembled a task force of around 15 people to meet with St. Cloud school district officials and seek a “peaceful resolution” after ethnic tensions flared at Technical High School last week. Members of the task force could meet with Superintendent Willie Jett as early as Wednesday.
Abdul Kulane, a Somali community leader and former City Council candidate, said at least 200 community members gathered Saturday at St. Cloud Public Library and chose people from different segments of the Somali population who intend to talk about what they see as a pattern of bullying and discrimination at the school. The task force includes parents of Tech students, community elders and other leaders, and two Tech students.
“We wanted the full community to be represented,” Kulane said. “We want people to put their heads together and have a meaningful dialogue. It’s not going to work if it’s just the students, or just the parents.”
Members of the task force met Monday to solidify an agenda before meeting with officials.
District spokeswoman Tami DeLand said Jett is planning to meet with members of the task force this week. DeLand said Jett met with Somali community elders Saturday.
“All of these meetings are intended to be problem-solving,” DeLand said. “The superintendent’s agenda is to make sure that our mission is carried out at Tech High School and all our schools, and that all students feel welcome.”
Separately, representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations met Monday evening with Tech students and community leaders after being contacted by them last week, said CAIR Executive Director Jaylani Hussein.
As a civil rights organization, Hussein said it is supporting community efforts and will work with all parties to settle any cases in the short term. Most of that happens through negotiations and conversations, he said.
“Dialogue is when real solutions happen,” he said. “Especially issues like this require dialogue. Right now, we support the community’s efforts … and are working hand in hand.”
They discussed specific issues the students had been reporting to the media. Hussein said they also discussed some of the steps the district was supposed to take as part of its lawsuit settlement with CAIR in 2011.
There is more, read it all.
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