The state of Georgia, which just last year infamously jailed a woman for wearing a hijab in a courtroom, is now under controversy again: this time Georgia State University is discriminating against a former student and visiting instructor.
The start of the bullying began when Dr. Mary Stuckey, a senior faculty member in the communications department asked Slma Shelbayah, a GSU alum and former Arabic instructor, if she was carrying any bombs under her headscarf. This account breaks down the chain of events well, as described by Shelbayah and Dr. Dona Stewart, the head of GSU’s Middle East Institute.
Shelbayah was harassed with this question repeatedly before she filed a formal complaint with the Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, with the help of Dr. Stewart, the director of the Middle East Institute. Dr. Stewart claims she suffered immediate mistreatment that “impaired her ability to fulfill federal grant commitments and harmed her career.” That and the racist remarks against Shelbayah prompted her to resign, after investing 13 years at GSU.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution briefly covers the story here, running a summary of the complaint filed by Ms. Shelbayah and Dr. Stewart, along with a standard university spokesperson quote.
In this AP story Dr. Stewart describes Dr. Stuckey’s insults this way:
“What started as a series of unbelievable comments in public over a period of eight days back in August — basically calling her a terrorist — developed into attempts to remove her.”
I understand no one has been convicted, but I believe this story misses the point: regardless of who is at fault, the university did not respond to Shelbayah’s complaint with the attention it deserves in a post 9/11 Islamophobic America. Instead, as stated in the plaintiffs’ press release, the university retaliated when Dr. Stewart refused to participate in its anti-Muslim game:
“The dean’s office demanded that Dr. Stewart remove Ms. Shelbayah from her visiting instructor position, cancelled Ms. Shelbayah’s registration for her doctoral courses, and declared Ms. Shelbayah ineligible to lead a study abroad program to Egypt previously approved by the president of the university. Dr. Stewart refused to meet the dean’s demands, believing they violated Ms. Shelbayah’s constitutional rights and lacked due process. Dr. Stewart was subjected to numerous hostile comments and retaliatory actions.”
GSU’s discriminatory harassment policy defines discriminatory harassment as speech or conduct that:
- is addressed directly to the individual or individuals whom it insults or stigmatizes and,
- the speaker knows or reasonably should know would constitute “fighting words.” “Fighting words” are words, pictures, or other symbols that, by virtue of their form, are commonly understood to convey direct and visceral hatred or contempt for other human beings and would naturally tend to provoke acts of violence or imminent harm.
According to the EEOC, Dr. Stuckey insulted Shelbayah directly on more than one occasion by making references to her carrying bombs. There is no adult, let alone one educated in ideas of tolerance and diversity, who does not understand the weight of this insult.
It should be noted that Shelbayah’s initial response was to be passive. When the comments became unbearable, she took action. Even after she filed the complaint, she took the extra step to email to try to set things straight:
She wrote in a September 7 e-mail to the communications department chair, which was included in Stewart’s EEOC complaint, that “I want you to know that this incident has touched me personally on several levels, but in the end of it all, I feel that it has left me with more positive than negative! I feel that I’ve grown and developed through it all! I also want to say that Dr. Stuckey and I both feel that it has only brought us to a better understanding of each other and has also strengthened our relationship and connection with one another.”
Apparently Dr. Stuckey and university officials didn’t feel the same. According to the Inside Higher Ed article,
“A day later the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences informed Shelbayah that she could not remain a visiting instructor while also being a graduate student in the department of communications. Though she had been admitted into the Ph.D. program with the university’s full endorsement that she would also be a visiting instructor — and her previous office-mate had done both as well — she was told that unwritten policies disallowed such a practice, Shelbayah said.”
Universities should be the example of fair treatment for all people, regardless of sex, race or religion. Discrimination should never be tolerated, by its professors or its students. Universities should be the example of fair treatment for all people, regardless of sex, race or religion. The university must examine the way it deals with issues of race and religion especially since this is not the first lawsuit filed by a professor alleging discrimination. Georgia State University owes Ms. Shelbayah and Dr. Stewart an apology.
In the Inside Higher Ed article, Dr. Stewart reflects the wisdom and maturity that tenured professors should have:
“As professors, we are in powerful positions,” said Stewart, who has been tenured since 2002 and worked at Georgia State since 1996. “We have an obligation not to abuse power, and in this case the professor clearly did that. I am simply not willing to sit by and watch this happen, and I’m shocked that our institution is willing to do so.”
So are we.
If you’d like to express your concern over this situation, you can contact President of Georgia State University Mark Becker at (404) 413-1300 or mbecker@gsu.edu, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Lauren Adamson (ladamson@gsu.edu).
Tweet
Tags: Dona Stewart, Georgia State University, hijab, Islamophobia, Mary Stuckey
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
You know, I saw this story on the local news station and it truly saddens me. It has made me think hard, as I had intended on attaining my Master’s at GSU next year, Insha’Allah. I am also grappling with decision to become a full time Niqabi. They might’nt even let me in the doors! Shame shame. Thank you for posting both the telephone number and email address so that I can voice my concers directly to both the President and the Dean of the CAS….
Is there any way to contact Sis. Slma or the professor who quit to show support?
Please check out my piece I wrote for the Huffington Post and pass this article around to your entire network.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yvonne-r-davis/georgia-state-university_b_225951.html
This is discrimination plain and simple and I hope the University is brought to account for it. Why are they siding with someone who made clearly racist remarks?? I commend both Ms. Shelbayah and Dr. Stewart for trying to bring justice to this matter. Sometimes as a member of a minority group it’s easier to simply “grin and bear” the attacks even though it hurts alot afterward.
One other thing, Islam is a religion it is not a race! Making fun of Islam is not racism! It may not be very nice. But it is not racism. Adherents of Islam come from every race and ethnicity, including caucasian. Quit claiming racism when someone disparages Islam, or muslims, unless they clearly state that the race of the person is the reason they are being unkind.
@ DismasUSA
Even though it’s true that Islam is not a race but a religion Muslims (depending on their ethnicity) can face both racism and Islamophobia at the same time. Prejudice and hatred towards Muslims towards their religion alone (and not towards their race) is called Islamophobia which is as real as prejudice and hatred towards Jews, which is called Anti-Semitism.
As someone who knows Ms. Shelbayah personally, I am shocked that this has happened. Many of my friends + family members are affiliated with Georgia State and I haven’t heard of any anti-Muslim incidents there before. This incident is simply inexcusable, and I really do urge people to contact the university to show your disapproval, as this has not gotten nearly enough media coverage outside of Georgia. Thanks for covering it!
Great article! Please write to Mark Becker, president of Georgia State University, to express your outrage at this incident. Letters should be polite and concise.
I went to Georgia State University and know Dr. Stewart and Ms. Shelbayah. I am shocked at what they experienced. Please write to them to show your support. You can contact Dr. Stewart at djstewart@gsu.edu. You can send Ms. Shelbayah a message through Facebook.
[Editor's Note: Ms. Stewart has consented to have her email republished here through email.]
Thank you for writing such a thoughtful and informative article regarding this issue. I have been researching graduate schools in the Atlanta area and GSU was my number one choice, that is, until I heard about this. I had wanted to pursue an MA in Public Administration, but having heard this story, I would like to see how the administration of GSU handles this situation before I apply. Atlanta is the home of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero of that era, Andrew Young has the School of Policy Studies housed at GSU. It seems that the adminstration of GSU could stand to spend some time in the classroom. . .perhaps Mr. Young could point them in the right direction. I will think long and hard before I submit my application to GSU. I am hopeful this will have a happy ending, but as of right now, this is one person that will not attend GSU until this injustice is corrected.
@ Karla
I commend you for standing by your just principles. I too hope GSU can resolve this matter in a just and honest way very soon.
Now just to show how Islamophobia can lead to violence and intimidation of others based on their “otherness” the same way racism can, I’m linking an article about a tragic incident involving a Muslim woman in Germany being stabbed to death by her neighbor after he made bigoted Islamophobic remarks towards her:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/07/muslim-woman-shot-germany-court
Hello,
Please write to Georgia State University president, Mark Becker, to express your outrage over this incident of blatant religious and racial discrimination. His email address is mbecker@gsu.edu. His mailing address is P.O. Box 3999, Atlanta, GA 30302-3999. His telephone number is 404-413-1300. This information is available on Georgia State’s website at http://www.gsu.edu/president/31031.html and http://campusdirectory.gsu.edu/person.cfm?id=mbecker.
Thank you!
@DismasUSA: You’re right: Islam is a religion and not a race. But in the U.S., Islam has been racialized into a racial category. I don’t want to derail the thread, so read this if you’re interested in the connections.
You are right in your statement that adherents of Islam do come in every race. But I also wonder if such statements would be directed to a hijabi Muslimah of Caucasian origins, or of African American origins. Is it possible that the race of Ms. Shelbaya was a factor that made her the target?