[Peace-discussion] Resolution on the Hijab and Solidarity with Muslims

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HURON VALLEY GREENS
a local chapter of the Green Party of Michigan
548 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
http://www.hvgreens.org ph. (734) 663-3555

Resolution on the Hijab and Solidarity with Muslims

Adopted by consensus at the regular business meeting of the Huron Valley =

Greens on September 24, 2007, and amended on October 3, 2007, by=20
direction of the local Coordinating Committee.

WHEREAS on September 8, 2007, a person identifying her/himself as Ann=20
Arbor City Council member Joan Lowenstein posted comments on a popular=20
local blog, Arborupdate. This person characterized the hijab--the=20
traditional Muslim headscarf--worn in solidarity with Muslims by a=20
non-Muslim "as a Halloween costume since she is not a Muslim" and later=20
declared "If I were a Muslim woman who wore the hijab out of respect for =

the religion and a sense of spritituality [sic], I would be offended by=20
a non-Muslim who used it as a daily costume for purely political=20
reasons"; and,

WHEREAS in 1993, after windows in Jewish homes displaying menorahs were=20
broken, thousands of Christian residents of Billings, Montana, placed=20
paper menorahs in the windows of their homes in solidarity with Jews and =

those menorahs were not Halloween decorations; and,

WHEREAS in October 2001=96in the wake of 9/11 and after the US government=
=20
summarily rounded up thousands of Muslims and Arabs and many Arabs and=20
Muslims were the targets of hate crimes=96students, including at Wayne=20
State University and the University of Michigan, and others donned the=20
hijab as part of a worldwide "Scarves for Solidarity" event; and,

WHEREAS, in 2004, after the French government banned the wearing of=20
hijabs and other religious articles in public schools, which law Human=20
Rights Watch criticized as falling "disproportionately on Muslim girls,=20
and thus violat[ing] antidiscrimination provisions of international=20
human rights law," the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab proclaimed=20
September 5th as International Hijab Solidarity Day; and,

WHEREAS, in November 2006, scores of people in Fremont, California wore=20
hijabs and turbans in solidarity with Muslim women and Sikh men about=20
three weeks after a stranger walked up to Alia Ansari and shot her in=20
the head, while she was walking with her three-year-old daughter in=20
Fremont, for no apparent reason other than the fact that she was wearing =

hijab; and,

WHEREAS, in 2006, the Council on American-Islamic Relations received 143 =

complaints of civil rights violations against Muslims and triggered by=20
the wearing of hijab; and,

WHEREAS, according to a 2007 Pew Research Center poll, just over half of =

all American Muslims are very or somewhat worried that Muslim women who=20
wear the hijab will be treated poorly because it identifies them as=20
Muslim; and,

WHEREAS, the offensive comments attributed to Council member Lowenstein=20
demeaned and trivialized an act of solidarity in the context of a racist =

climate of fear against Arabs and Muslims created as part of President=20
Bush's "War on Terror"; and,

WHEREAS, whether it is worn as an expression of cultural=20
self-determination, political solidarity, or religious devotion the=20
hijab is never a "Halloween costume"; and,

WHEREAS, characterizing the hijab as a "Halloween costume" is evidence=20
of, at worst, bigotry and intolerance and, at best, insensitivity and=20
ignorance.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Huron Valley Greens call upon Ann=20
Arbor City Council member Lowenstein to state publicly whether she was=20
the author of the remarks attributed to her on Arborupdate; and,

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Huron Valley Greens urge other concerned =

individuals and organizations to join us in this call and to consider=20
filing a formal complaint with the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission,=20
whose duties include: "Investigate, study, hold hearings and make=20
recommendations to city council regarding complaints from any class or=20
group protected under the human rights ordinance."

Drafted and submitted by Michelle J. Kinnucan.