SCC deeply apologizes to the student and to anyone in the broader community who was offended by the material. SCC Administration has addressed with the instructor the offensive nature of the quiz questions and their contradiction to the college’s values. The instructor will be apologizing to the student shortly, and the student will receive credit for the three questions. The questions will be permanently removed from any future tests.”

Chris Haines, Scottsdale Community College

By Melissa Rosequist
Twitter: @mrosequist_

Scottsdale Community College is publicly apologizing for discriminatory questions regarding the religion of Islam appearing on a college quiz.

A student brought the discriminatory quiz questions to the attention of school officials in late April.

In a May 1 statement posted to social media, SCC Interim President Chris Haines said the student expressed concern over the wording of three questions related to Islam on the quiz.

“SCC senior leadership has reviewed the quiz questions and agrees with the student that the content was inaccurate, inappropriate, and not reflective of the inclusive nature of our college,” Ms. Haines stated. “SCC deeply apologizes to the student and to anyone in the broader community who was offended by the material. SCC Administration has addressed with the instructor the offensive nature of the quiz questions and their contradiction to the college’s values. The instructor will be apologizing to the student shortly, and the student will receive credit for the three questions. The questions will be permanently removed from any future tests.”

The statement further details SCC’s policy to not discriminate “on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in our programs or activities.”

“We value inclusiveness because we all benefit by embracing a diversity of voices, viewpoints, and experiences. SCC cultivates success when individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds are respected and empowered to contribute,” Ms. Haines stated.

Screenshots of the supposed quiz questions have been posted online.

The three questions shown on social media are multiple-choice questions that were all marked incorrect.

The first is, “Terrorism is _____ in Islam.” The student chose “always forbidden” as their answer; other choices included “Justified within the context of jihad”; “justified under international law”; or “always justified.”

The second question asks where is terrorism encouraged in Islamic doctrine and law? The student chose the answer “terrorism is not encouraged in Islamic doctrine and law,” which was marked incorrect. Other answer choices were, “the Medina verses”; “the Muhammad verses”; and “the Mecca verses.”

The third question is, “Who do Islamic terrorists strive to emulate?” The student chose Ibn Tamiyyah as their answer. Other choices were the Prophet Muhammad; Saddam Hussein; or Osama bin Laden.

Scottsdale Community College’s statement did not disclose the course, but a Google search shows the quiz is a part of a World Politics course.

Since the public apology was posted online, the school’s social media pages have gained several unhappy comments.

On Facebook, user Abdelhay Ala’a states the issue is not simply about these three quiz questions.

“The quiz is based on a class that teaches Islamic Terrorism, which the slides for are available online,” Ms. Ala’a wrote.

“Removing three questions will do absolutely nothing as the class still propagates hateful information. To associate terrorism to Islam out of the exclusion of everything else, is to pose a threat to the Muslim community. Your students will grow to hate, fear and avoid us and may take a vengeful stance - all out of spreading misinformation. If you want to do your research well visit your local mosques, speak to different sheikhs, visit different communities, pick up the Quran, learn Arabic, do a thorough research.”

Other comments called for disciplinary action against the professor.

Questions from the Independent to SCC regarding any disciplinary action were not answered. Marketing and Public Relations Manager Eric Sells stated in an email, “The message and apology that Scottsdale Community College published on Friday is our statement on this matter.”