A resurgence in bias vs. Muslims, Arabs reported

LOS ANGELES -- The Muslim restaurant manager from Morocco, the Christian Armenian caterer from Syria, and the Yemeni sailor don't share a religion or a homeland. But all three say they experienced discrimination at work after Sept. 11, 2001, because of their national origin or perceptions that they were Muslim.

Now, the three are among those who have filed lawsuits through California's offices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a reflection of increasing discrimination, according to advocacy groups.

``I did not think this would happen when I came here," said Abdellatif Hadji, who moved from Morocco to the United States in 1989 and recently filed a lawsuit against a Mendocino County, Calif., restaurant where he was a manager. ``America is the land of opportunity."

Workplace discrimination reports against people perceived as Muslim or Arab soared after the Sept. 11 attacks and then declined, government statistics show. But some advocates say they've seen a resurgence in the past year that corresponds with global events.

``Anytime there's anything in the news . . . that is related to the Middle East, you see a spike in hate-motivated and employment-related incidents," said Kareem Shora, director of the legal department at the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee.

After Sept. 11, the EEOC introduced a category of employment discrimination against individuals who are or perceived to be Arab, Muslim, Middle-Eastern, South Asian, or Sikh. Nationwide statistics from the EEOC indicate that such complaints, so far exceeding 1,000, have decreased since 2002.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, however, says the number of civil rights and workplace discrimination complaints increased from 1,522 in 2004 to 1,972 in 2005. The discrepancy appears to indicate victims are afraid to report discrimination to the government.