Are you a Muslim student between the ages of 11-18 in California? Take this 5-minute survey to help us address Islamophobia and Bullying in schools.

Illustration of two people wearing hijabs, with one carrying a bag and the other holding a tablet.
2023 Bullying Report cover featuring a young girl sitting at a desk with a serious expression, wearing a striped shirt and denim overalls. The logo of CAIR California is in the top left corner.

Major Takeaways From CAIR-CA’s 2023 Bullying Report

Key Findings

NEARLY HALF

of students reported feeling unsafe, unwelcome, or uncomfortable at school because of their Muslim identity.

Pie chart with a section representing 46% in orange and the remainder in light peach.

A QUARTER

of students reported that a teacher, administrator, or other adult at their school made offensive comments or acted in a way that was offensive to Islam or Muslims.

Pie chart with a 25% dark blue section and 75% light blue section.

NEARLY HALF

of students reported being bullied at school by another student because they were Muslim.

Illustration of sixteen stylized people symbols, evenly divided by eight in orange and eight in red, arranged in a grid.

A THIRD

of students reported that being bullied has negatively impacted their physical, mental, or emotional well-being.

Semicircular gauge showing 34% with two shades of blue indicating progress.
Donut chart showing 32% in red section

32%

Illustration of a blue hijab on a white background.

of students who wear a hijab reported their hijab was tugged, pulled, or offensively touched by another student.

Comments From Bullying Victims

  • "bomber" "terrorist" "Don't bomb me" "Allahu akbar" "go back to your country" "go KYS [kill yourself] you Muslim”

    13-year-old North African/Middle Eastern Female. Public School, Lawndale

  • This person was indirectly saying that I was going to bomb the school. Insinuating terrorism.

    14-year-old Middle Eastern Female. Public School, San Diego.

  • I am a hijabi and one time this boy repeatedly called my bald every single day. It got worse and worse, and he started saying things like "do you even have hair?" "take that dourag off" Then he tried to pull it off one day. He got lunch detention for a week but that's it.

    13-year-old South Asian Female. Public School, Folsom.

  • “Are you wearing that thing on your head because you're afraid the Taliban is gonna get you?”

    14-year-old South Asian Female. Public School, Fremont.

  • "I'm a threat" - my principal.

    14-year-old North African/Middle Eastern Male. Public School, Corona.

  • I was locked out of my classroom in middle school because one of my classmates did not want a "terrorist" in his classroom. I also had a girl tug on my hair in the girl's locker room to figure out if it was "real" as I wear a hijab. These made me feel less safe to attend that school.

    18-year-old South Asian Female. Public School, Fairfield.

  • "Insulting rhetoric against my faith happens so often at school that I accept it as the norm."

    10th Grade Female, Granada Hills 

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