Clips
Muslim students cope with prejudice
September 26,, 2001
Page 1
by Loretta Chao
Contributing Writer
While the residents of New York City struggled to get back to their daily routines following the attack on the World Trade Center, Mmuslim students at NYU said they are having a harder time readjusting.
"It's hard enough after what happened," Islamic Center President Haroon Moghul said. "But on top of everything Muslim students have to worry about their safety."
Nargis Nusraty, a Muslim American graduate student who normally wears a veil, said she now wears a scarf that look more "hip-hop" than Muslim. After hearing that a young teenage boy was hit over the head and knocked out with a bike chain in the New York area, her family was concerned for her safety.
"I'vfe basically stayed home for that Tuesday until the Monday following," Nusraty said. Despite her precautions, a CVS pharmacy near her home on Long Island while she was with her cousin.
"I was just wearing my veil like normal," she said. "After she went to the register he stood really close to her, pointed to the veil, and asked her why she didn't take it off. He also pointed out that she was in America and called her a fanatic.
"I was scared already even with my cousin," Nusraty said. "I was lucky I wasn't alone."
In response, she told the man she was proud to be an American but that she was also proud to be a Muslim-American.
Part of the University's efforts to address this problem have been through the Office for African-American, Lation, Asian-American Student Services (OASIS). Director Allen McFarlane said, "I know that from my point of view and the point of view of the office, that whether [harassment] happened on or off campus it is an issue."
OASIS held a forum last week to give students an opportunity to talk about how the recent events have affected them. The purpose was to "express the varying levels of everythign from fear, anger, frustration or concerns about the future."
"We want to show our support that we're all in this together and that no ethnic group should be singled out globally as the root ant the cause of this tragic event," McFarlane said.
Moghul said about seven or eight students told him personally that they've gotten stared down, yelled or cursed at. Of those students, one was a girl who reported being followed around campus for a long time. Otherwise, he said he is pretty sure that many students were victims of minor forms of harassment.
"I've gotten soem dirty looks," he said. "When I sit down in the subway people sit somewhere else."
Of these incidents, only one has been officially reported to the administration, University Spokesman John Beckman said.
"The only thing that we're aware of is sometie late last week a young woman of Middle Eastern descent reported that the day before someone in the park had harassed her in Spanish." It appeared that the person was not an NYU student, and the girl did not wish to report it to the police, he said.
Although the incient was reported to Protection Services, no record of the incident exists in the log book kept by the officers.
"There is a hypersensitivity among Arab and Muslim students here," Beckman said. "We stand by them and stand ready to help them."
With support from around the University, many students still hold back from reporting harassment.
"I think people kind of expect it so a lot of them brush it off and ignore it," Moghul said. "Some are scared; maybe they don't feel as comfortable or embarrassed about what happened," he said, adding that people also might not want to make a big deal out of an incident. Still, Moghul said, "[Harassment] can be psychologically draining."
To help, the Islamic Center held a social night with the Arab Club where students could sit down, make comments and voice grievances. The center also has a "safe walk" system where people who are uncomfortable walking home can get in contact with other members who arrange for students to travel in a group, Moghul said.
Other programs included a safety workshop with the Office of Student Activities and mass e-mails that included advice to help make people aware of how to face harassment and how to report it.
However, at the Office for International Students and Scholars, which helps foreign students adjust to life at NYU, a person who wished to remain nameless would not comment on whether they had received any reports of harassment, or what was being done to aid Muslim students.
The center has been in contact with Protection Services to distinguish between hate crimes and regular crimes, Moghul said.
He added, "Muslims have been touched by how warm and welcoming people have been throughout the NYU community. [The administration] has gone out of its way to call us and make us stop by to see how everything is. I'm really appreciative of that."
In a message sent to every student via e-mail, the Islamic Center denounced the events of Tuesday, Sept. 11, and said, "Hate spares no one--but neither should love."
The e-mail went further and stated that "everyone stands together in this time of trial."
Students can seek help at several locations around campus, including Protection Services and the Office of Student Life.