Massachusetts college librarians state that wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” or saying “God bless you” if they sneeze is an act of "Islamomisic microaggression".
Librarians at Simmons College in Boston have banded together to write what they have titled, the Anti-Opression Library Guide.
While controversial, the guide is intended as a resource to promote equality and limit religious oppression.
While the guide is not an official policy of Simmons College, some of its beliefs have already made their way to reports in mainstream media outlets like Fox News.
Librarians at the college argue that “Islamomisic Microaggressions are commonplace verbal or behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative slights in relation to the beliefs and religious practices of Muslims.”
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They claim that some terms “are structurally based and invoke oppressive systems of religious/Christian hierarchy.”
An example of an "Islamomisic Microaggression" is an utterance of wide-spread phrases like, “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Easter,” and “God bless you.”
Other examples involved “endorsing religious stereotypes” aimed at Muslims - such as suggesting that Muslims practice the “wrong” religion.
The anti-oppression resource states that “people who follow Christianity have institutionalized power,” or “Christian privilege" - such as presuming they will have time off work to celebrate their own religious holidays.
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The librarians state in their introduction that the guide is an "introductory resource intended to provide general information about anti-oppression, diversity, and inclusion."
“We are not immune from the limits and hidden biases of our own privileges and perspectives as allies," it adds.
To read the guide in full, see here.