Hawzah News Agency- CAIR-Houston Director Imran Ghani condemned the act as "an attack on the Muslim community and an affront to the values of respect, diversity, and inclusion'', while commending UH for filing an incident report.
The group emphasized the need for authorities to ensure students' safety and religious freedom, situating the attack within a broader pattern of rising Islamophobia in Texas and nationwide, including politically fueled anti-Muslim rhetoric surrounding projects like the Muslim-led EPIC City development.
Muslim students at the University of Houston are calling for action after an alleged Islamophobic attack during a campus event left the community shaken.
According to the UH Muslim Student Association (MSA), the incident occurred Thursday, October 30, at Lynn Eusan Park. An individual reportedly entered the group's reserved space, shouted anti-Islamic messages through a megaphone, and threw a copy of the Qur'an into a bonfire.
"Our members were in the middle of prayer—a moment of sacred stillness where we face one direction and cannot look around, speak, or react'', the MSA said in a social media post.
Quickly, however, UH MSA said, one of its members was able to recover the Islamic holy book from the flames.
In response, UH MSA says it's calling on the university to release a public statement affirming its commitment to protecting Muslim students, provide them with a safe, dedicated area to congregate, as well as enforce a campus restriction to prevent the individual from returning.
"This was a deliberate act of hate, part of a broader agenda to spread anti-Muslim sentiment'', UH MSA added in the post. "The Muslim community on campus will not be intimidated or silenced. We stand united in our faith and will continue to fight for our right to worship freely''.
Source: CHRON
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