Muslim Student’s Yearbook Photo Mislabeled ‘ISIS’
(Photo: ABC News)
A Muslim student at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California is upset because her photograph in her high school’s yearbook was labeled “Isis Phillips.” The student was wearing a hijab (head scarf) in the photo.
“I am extremely saddened, disgusted, hurt and embarrassed that the Los Osos High School yearbook was able to get away with this,” the girl was quoted as saying by ABC News affiliate KABC-TV.
She added that now she will be known as “Isis,” stating that the school said it was a typographical error. She does not believe this to be true, reports the Press Trust of India.
The girl’s name is Bayan Zehlif, reports The Islamic Monthly, a US magazine. A student, Trevor Santellan, who worked on the yearbook staff, said there was a student named Isis Phillips at the school who transferred earlier in the year.
The yearbook staff tweeted that they were sorry and that the mistake was unintentional. The high school’s principal, Susan Petrocelli, has also apologized and informed the public that the error was being investigated.
The Chaffey Joint Union High School District (CJUHSD) released a statement which advised that officials were investigating the matter and had been in touch with the family. They said they wanted to know how this happened and how it can be remedied, according to Adelle Nazarian of Breitbart.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Los Angeles Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said that no young person should have to face the humiliation of being labeled as a member of such a reprehensible group.
The high school is only about 20 miles away from San Bernardino, where in December two radical Islamic terrorists killed 14 people at a holiday party and injured 22. Conversely, a Fontana high school, minutes away from San Bernadino, voted for a devout Muslim young woman to be its prom queen this month.
John A. Moreno, Steve Kusj, and Eric Spillman report for KTLA-TV that Superintendent Mat Holton of CJUHSD told the Los Angeles Times:
“If they find that a student acted irresponsibly and intentionally, administration will take appropriate actions. The school will assure students, staff and the community that this regrettable incident in no way represents the values, or beliefs, of Los Osos High School.”
Zehlif and her family, along with officials from CAIR, were scheduled to meet with district leaders Monday morning.
The school has stopped distributing yearbooks, says Russia Today. CAIR-LA says Zehlif will not be returning to school until this incident is settled in an appropriate manner.
CAIR of California reported that 55% of students in California who are Muslims have been victims of at least one incident of bullying in school.
The Daily Beast’s Dean Obeidallah reports that ISIS is made up of people who say they are Muslims, but their victims are primarily Muslims. A Muslim himself, Obeidallah says it is a shame that Muslims in the US face backlash because of the actions of ISIS.
He adds that ISIS is in the business of “driving a wedge” between Muslims and their fellow Americans. Obeidallah says the fight is not between Islam and the West, but it is all of the US versus ISIS.
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