Muslim prayer room at New York University library vandalized
New York University is investigating after someone vandalized a Muslim prayer room inside a campus library Thursday afternoon.
School officials say someone wrote and drew a lewd image on the wall, and there was urine on prayer mats on the floor.
"This desecration of a religious space is vile, reprehensible, and utterly unacceptable. It contravenes every principle of our community, and we condemn it," an NYU spokesperson said in a statement. "Anyone found responsible for this vandalism will be subject to the most serious sanctions available through our disciplinary process. NYU leadership has reached out to members of NYU's Muslim community to offer resources and support."
Police say the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force was notified. There are no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone on campus with an NYU ID card can access the room.
"You wonder, are you going to be the next target?"
The incident has shaken members of NYU's Muslim community.
"It brought tears to my eyes," NYU senior Safiatu Diagana said. "You're supposed to feel safe here and you're supposed to be unapologetically yourself, but when instances like this happen, you wonder, like, are you going to be the next target?"
"With a Muslim community the size of what it is here at NYU and a thriving center like ours in the way that it is the most robust perhaps in the entire country, for someone to still feel the same level of comfort to desecrating a sacred space shows, like, the worst level of humanity," said Faiyaz Jaffer, associate chaplain of the NYU Islamic Center.
"Just don't attack us. If there's something you feel personally, like, please don't put it on us because they are people who are just practicing a religion, same as other people," Diagana said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
