CAIR-NY Condemns Hostile Environment at Columbia U Created by Suspension of SJP/JVP, Hosting of Anti-Muslim Speaker
(NEW YORK, NY, 3/21/2024) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the hostile environment at Columbia University resulting from the suspension of its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and the hosting an Islamophobic guest speaker on campus.
Columbia Business School’s Students Supporting Israel (“SSI”) and Israel Business Association (IBA) are hosting Mosab Hassan Yousef to speak on campus today, March 21.
Yousef has publicly spouted his Islamophobic and racist views for decades. In recent months, Yousef made increasingly inflammatory Islamophobic remarks on his public social media accounts, in an attempt to justify the ongoing genocide in Palestine, in which over 31,000 Palestinians have been murdered.
On December 15, 2023, Yousef posted to his X account, “Never trust anyone who identifies as a Muslim, they may appear as a harmless sheep when they are alone, but when they are in the pack they will begin to show their tusks. I have zero respect for any individual who identifies as a Muslim.”
On December 1, 2023, he posted, “If I were to judge Islam against the main religions on Earth, Islam would calibrate at the bottom rung. Yet Muslims are on a crusade quest to conquer other religions, to convert humanity to the 7th-century mentality.”
CAIR-NY sent a letter calling on Columbia’s administration to protect the safety of its Muslim students. Additionally, CAIR-NY IS continuing to monitor Columbia’s response to an increase of reported anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents on Columbia’s campus.
In a statement, CAIR-NY Legal Fellow Burhan Carroll said:
“This event is the latest example of the Islamophobic environment that Columbia University has allowed to flourish on its campus. Mosab Hassan Yousef has made a career out of slandering Islam and Muslims, and his rhetoric has only grown more heinous as the genocide in Gaza continues. By inviting Yousef, these pro-Israel groups have given up any pretense of basic decency.
“Meanwhile, by unjustly suspending its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace indefinitely, Columbia’s administration has silenced the very student voices that are needed more than ever to confront such hatred.
“So long as these groups remain suspended, Columbia cannot possibly claim to facilitate free and open discourse on its campus. We call on Columbia to reinstate SJP and JVP immediately and to take action to protect the safety of its Muslim students, especially during this holy month of Ramadan.”
In 2023, CAIR-NY recorded 555 requests for legal assistance in 2023, of which 239 were directly related to Palestinian solidarity representing 43% of its requests. These numbers continue to rise with CAIR-NY receiving 122+ requests for assistance thus far in 2024 reflecting a continued surge in anti-Muslim incidents in New York.
CAIR-NY's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR-NY es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT:
Burhan Carroll, Esq., CAIR-NY Legal Fellow, 347-433-6876,BCarroll@cair.com;
Afaf Nasher, Esq., CAIR-NY Executive Director, 917-669-4006, anasher@cair.com;
Rabea Ali, CAIR-NY Communications Coordinator, 347-651-0954, rali@cair.com;