Vandalism at NYU Islamic prayer room under investigation as hate crime
The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating an act of vandalism reported earlier this week at an Islamic prayer space at New York University.
A student who entered the space inside the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library on Thursday afternoon said they found "urine and obscene, lewd images defacing the walls," according to a statement from Faiyaz Jaffer, the associate chaplain of Global Spiritual Life at the university.
"This was not simply an act of vandalism; it was a malicious and deeply disrespectful attack driven by anti-Muslim hatred," Jaffer said in the statement.
The vandalism coincides with a string deportation attempts of multiple international students and scholars who were targeted by President Donald Trump's administration, some of whom are Muslim and have expressed support for Palestinian human rights, including Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.
Pictures posted to the Instagram account of NYU's Black Muslim Initiative show the vandalism, which appears to include a large drawing of a phallus. Another image shows what appears to be a wet stain near Islamic prayer mats.
A criminal mischief report was filed with police and their hate crime task force was alerted. According to police, the perpetrator "scratched and chalked an image" inside the room at 70 Washington Square South on Thursday at around 4:40 p.m.
"There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing," police said.
In a statement, NYU spokesperson John Beckman called the vandalism "vile, reprehensible, and utterly unacceptable."
"It contravenes every principle of our community, and we condemn this act of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate," Beckman said.
Beckman vowed to hold those responsible for the vandalism accountable.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on state and federal law enforcement to launch a hate crime investigation into the vandalism, which they say happened "despite ongoing concerns raised by the campus Muslim community over the past year about their safety and the university's inaction."
"We join students in demanding a full hate crime investigation and disciplinary action against the perpetrator," CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher said in a statement. "No student should fear for their safety or dignity while practicing their faith."
Jaffer said the vandalism's impact on the university's Muslim community was "immediate and severe," causing many students fear, anxiety and concerns for their well-being. He also emphasized that for Muslim international students — who already fear the Trump administration's recent policies cracking down on many who supported the pro-Palestinian movement — Thursday's vandalism has intensified their distress. The administration has already revoked over 300 student visas of foreign-born people.
"We have a serious problem with Islamophobia and it is now time that we confront it," Jaffer said. "The hatred that motivated this act of vandalism is not something that will just disappear if we ignore it. It's a systemic issue, a disease that threatens to erode the very fabric of our institutions and society as a whole."
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