On This Past Week's Events At NYU
as'salaamu alaykum,
Earlier this week, NYPD was deployed on NYU's campus in response to protests and an encampment that was setup by NYU students from diverse backgrounds to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. The police showed up in riot gear and moved into the area as Jewish students had finished a seder and Muslim students began their Maghrib prayer. They utilized pepper spray and mace, carried batons, and were egregious in their force as they arrested 100 students and 20 faculty members before sweeping the area completely. I have reached out to the University's leadership to let them know that our Islamic Center unequivocally condemns the utilization of NYPD and the danger their presence puts our students in and also to better understand what directives were given that allowed for all of this to happen. I have yet to hear back on it.
Minority communities of all backgrounds have been unjustly and inequitably policed in the United States for centuries. Since Monday we've had students from across campus reach out with their worries citing that they don't know where else to turn and no one is really asking them how they are, many of whom aren't Muslim. Latino students who are not Muslim have told us how triggering it was for them seeing ICE agents present at the protest at Stern on Monday, Black students who are not Muslim have told us of the concerns of police brutality and how seeing a student firsthand be pepper-sprayed / maced by NYPD in addition to other hostile actions they witnessed reinforces for them worries around safety as they deal with being triggered in reliving their own experiences and those of friends/family members who have been victim to police brutality. International students who are not Muslim who have expressed sadness and anxiety around a campus environment that reminds them of strong, military presence in their own countries and persecution that have to endure in the face of state-sanctioned law enforcement. I share this to honor their experiences as well as to say we are here for anyone who right now feels scared, unsafe, and alone.
Black and brown people have been consistently targeted and profiled by law enforcement and our students are now left in a place where they rightfully fear for their safety and well-being on campus. How can being surrounded and overrun in a moment of prayer by armed police officers be anything other than traumatizing? This is unacceptable and should be something we all express our concern towards.
For our Muslim community at NYU, this isn't the first time we are going through this. Sadly, it is something we have experienced before. We were amongst many Muslim communities that were unwarrantly surveilled by the NYPD, were forced to deal with invasive tactics from federal law enforcement post 9/11 that lead to widespread deportations and continuous infringement of basic civil rights, and lived through the realities of friends and family members being harrassed, abused, and even killed domestically as politicians and media created a narrative around us that justified overreaching tactics by law enforcement locally while establishing a war on terror internationally that has taken the lives of so many people and has left large regions of the world destabilized.
For those of you who are on campus, we are here for you in whatever ways you need. Our staff at the Islamic Center is available at any time and we will continue to host events and programs to ensure there is space for you to come to replenish and not be alone. Please be aware of your surroundings and continue to show up for each other. We will get through together inshallah.
-Khalid
Imam Khalid Latif
University Chaplain | Global Spiritual Life at NYU
Executive Director | The Islamic Center at NYU
Senior Fellow & Co-Founder | Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership
Adjunct Assistant Professor | NYU Wagner
212.998.4712