On Oct. 17, a man approached a group of pro-Palestinian protesters, calling them terrorists outside of Coffman Union. The incident was caught on video, posted to the Students for Justice for Palestine’s Instagram page and reposted on Al Jazeera’s Instagram page. “All you f—ing Muslim terrorists,” the man in the video said.

On Oct. 22, one day after the Morrill Hall takeover, a man in a crowd of a pro-Palestinian protest in front of Coffman Union yelled calling speakers and them terrorists. “Every time a speaker stopped talking, the man yelled terrorists,” Abouhekel said. Abouhekel did not report the incident to University administration or the University of Minnesota Police Department.

University of Minnesota spokesperson Jake Ricker said the safety of students, faculty and staff is the University’s top priority. “Acts of harassment, intimidation or bias — including these two incidents — are entirely unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Ricker said. “We have and will respond promptly and fully to any reports of this behavior on campus.”

Fourth-year student Shahd Abouhekel took the Oct. 17 video. “I feared for my safety and feared this guy would like physically attack us,” Abouhekel said. “He kept saying, “You guys are terrorists, all of you are terrorists, effing Muslims.’” Abouhekel did not report the incident to the University of Minnesota Police Department but said she sent a direct email to Heather McGinnis, senior assistant to the vice president for Student Affairs, reporting the incident.

McGinnis responded to Abouhekel’s email and provided links for reporting bias concerns and additional resources for support.

“I told them the rundown of what happened, and they decided to turn a blind eye,” Abouhekel said.

Abouhekel said the University’s response raises concerns for the Muslim community.“ There has been a rise of Islamophobia in the past year, and especially the past few months,” Abouhekel said. “The University decided to just not bring it to light, and they don’t want to address it, and they’re just ignoring it.”

President of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) Ibraheem Fannoun said he wants to see more accountability from the University. “When they hear about these things, they don’t do anything about it,” Fannoun said. “The administration is making a big show of listening, but not taking action.”

Abouhekel said being called a terrorist is nothing new to her, and she has faced discrimination for wearing the hijab at the University this semester. “I was sitting with my friend and we were studying, and the student comes next to us and throws a crumpled piece of paper at me,” Abouhekel said. “We open it up and it says, ‘Your hijab is a disgrace to women.’”

Fourth-year student and President of the Undergraduate Student Government Rahma Ali said she does not feel safe on campus. “It’s not easy being a Muslim woman,” Ali said. “It’s not easy being a woman, and on top of that, a Black hijabi woman too.”

Ali said the issue goes beyond being called a terrorist. Islamophobia affects both the individual it is targeted towards and the community as a whole, negatively contributing to one’s mental health and identity, she added.

There have been issues with verbal harassment against Muslim women in the University community, especially since the Oct. 7 attacks, Fannoun said.

According to Fannoun, Islamophobia on campus has increased since the Oct. 7 attacks due to a misunderstanding of pro-Palestinian messaging.

“People see it as a show of hatred toward other groups,” Fannoun said. “It’s not accurate, and because of that, we see Islamophobia from other student organizations and even random individuals on campus.” Fannoun said his primary goal as MSA president is to prioritize his community and encourage people to do their research on Islam and Muslims.

“Look for somebody Muslim in your classes,” Fannoun said. “Ask them, and tell them to ask those who know, at the end of the day supporting Palestine is something we believe in and our religion is part of our beliefs.”

Source: The Minnesota Daily

The 28-year-old martial arts expert said she wanted to help women of color to learn how to deal with abuse and build connections and confidence after more than a week of unrest aimed at mosques, asylum seeker hotels and the police.

“It gives you a little bit more confidence,” she said. “You kind of know what to look for, how to be socially aware, how to spot things and how to get out of a really bad situation.”

Muslim and ethnic minority communities have expressed shock over the disorder which was sparked by false information online that the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, was an Islamist migrant.

Martial arts instructor Stewart McGill said he had seen more women signing up for classes since the unrest started. He told them how to defend themselves with tactics including kicks and impromptu weapons such as belts.

One attendee, Elza Annan, 24, said she felt more confident.

“I obviously don’t want to have to use these techniques but it is useful and beneficial to have them … especially because of recent events of far-right racists coming out and targeting people of color,” she said.

The riots have largely targeted migrants, Muslims, and Asian people, spreading fear through ethnic minority communities and casting a light on Britain’s record of integration.

Tell MAMA UK, a group that monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said hate directed at Muslims had been growing in Britain for some time, and especially since Oct. 7 last year, the start of the conflict in Gaza.

Since the riots began, it had received more than 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behavior across Britain.

Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, which focuses on migration and identity, said at its best, Britain is a “confident multi-ethnic democracy”.

But he said successive governments had lacked a strategy for integrating different communities. While those arriving recently from Ukraine and Hong Kong were given government support, that did not happen to all.

The asylum system faced particular pressures, with a huge backlog of applications and some Britons concerned about pressure on housing, healthcare and education.

“With asylum you’ve got a visible lack of control, and that can feed into fear,” he said.

The riots have largely stopped since thousands of anti-racism protesters turned out to protect potential targets such as immigration advice centers, mosques, and hotels housing asylum seekers.

Hassan, who wears a hijab and is a Swiss national of Somali origin, moved to Britain in 2008, partly because she felt it was more welcoming to ethnic minorities than many parts of Europe. She is considering organizing more classes.

A similar event was planned for Manchester, northern England, and a campaign group, The Three Hijabis, held a large online conference call with Muslim women this week to discuss the psychological impact of Islamophobic violence.

Shaista Aziz, the group’s director, said some women feared that the violence could unleash confrontations or abuse, prompting many to stay close to home.

“Today I advised a sister I dearly love to consider removing her hijab to stay safe as she travels through the Northeast …” she said on X during the riots. “Across the country British Muslims are having these same conversations.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has ordered extra protection for the Muslim community, described rioters as “far-right thugs” and almost 800 people have been arrested, with some fast-tracked through the courts and jailed.

The anti-racism protests are likely to continue.

For Maki Omori, 23, who identifies as non-binary, Saturday’s class would help prepare for counter protests.

“I found it really intimidating, thinking about how I would defend myself,” Omori said. “I want to make sure that if something happens, I feel ready.”

Source: Reuters