Asalaam Alaikum (peace be with you),
I submitted my Peace Corps application this morning and insha'Allah it all goes well. I would like to leave by August 2010 and I have requested Central Asia or the Middle East/North Africa. What is really interesting however is the email exchange I had with a Muslim friend who was rejected because she wanted to wear hijab.
This is her email and this is my response. I am serious. If the PC rejects me because I want to practice my faith then the State Dept. is violating my constitutional right. They even discuss this issue on their website and provide instructions for those who believe they have been discriminated against. And I will raise h*ll.
My friend's email:
"the bad news--
I was rejected from the PC after most of my application was approved because I called the recruitment office in DC inquiring about my location and whether it would be acceptable for me to wear hijab and to practice Islam safely in Eastern Europe. They took this as a rejection of their wishes to place me wherever they wanted. I would have been fine in Eastern Europe; I would have preferred a location where I would not have been singled out for wearing Hijab and practicing.
They told me point blank : "You will probably not be able to practice Islam as closely as you want to; therefore, we will not be able to accomodate you at this time." If you are vegan, we won't take that into consideration when placing you. If you are catholic, we will not take that into consideration. If you are African American..., etc. etc.
They even went so far as to tell me that if two identical ESL positions were available, one in a Catholic country, one in a Muslim country, and they had two identical candidates, one Catholic, one Muslim, they would not take into consideration the candidates religion when placing them.
So basically, be as polically bland as possible, do not emphasize your religion in your application, do not emphasize your religion in your interview. Basically, if you really want to serve, be agnositc, and be as politically neutral as possible, etc."
--------------
My response:
"SubhanAllah - He works in mysterious ways. I finished my application early this morning and DID mention religion, more than once. I even wrote in the section for "countries where you can't serve" that I was a devout Muslim and could only be placed in a country where I could freely practice my religion.
If I don't get accepted because of that then you and I are going public. The Peace Corps is a federal program run by the State Dept. As such it has to comply with the 1st Amendment's Free Exercise Clause which prohibits it from discriminating on the basis of religion.
it is ridiculous to think that such a program would discrminate on any basis when the work we would like to do insha'Allah is so selfless/
Shyam"
Listen, dont join peace corps if hijab is that important for you..
ReplyDeleteLeave America if you find laws heer are suppressive. MAy eb Saudi Arabia is better!
How did they discriminate? Did she have to state up front her religion? She asked if she would be safe given she had a special issue, and they said they could not accomidate her. Accomidate to me should be more like "confidently place her somehwere". Is it possible the state dept. knows more about the issue than you two? Just asking.
ReplyDeleteI think you should be prepared to get rejected. Its not that you're Muslim, its that you are a person who is quite religious and already has their tail in a knot. Too much trouble for them.
I am sure the State Dept. does look out for the safety of Americans stationed abroad. But to not accomodate a Peace Corps volunteer on the basis of religion is a constitution issue - what the courts would call a "federal question."
ReplyDeleteI can be accomodating to a degree. But when I have a 1st Amendment right to freely practice my religion ("Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or the free exercise there of") how can a federal agency openly discriminate against me?
I am an American citizen. I was born in this country. I teach American Government at a community college. But I am also Muslim. If the Peace Corps does not allow me to be Muslim overseas, whose tail is in a knot?
I find it alarming that you think they will not "allow you to be Muslim". Allowing you to pratice and too dangerous/risky to do so are not the same.
ReplyDeleteIs it worth exploring the idea that perhaps she was denied because her questioning and worry that late in the approval process was a red flag for them?
It hurts to read your blog anymore. :( Perhaps I will look away now.
How is praying "too dangerous/risky"? All I want to do is pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan - and other times of the year - and hopefully get Friday afternoon's off for about two hours for Jumuah. How is that "risky"?
ReplyDelete