{"id":379,"date":"2025-04-09T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/?p=379"},"modified":"2025-05-03T15:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T15:09:09","slug":"as-bobst-prayer-room-is-vandalized-muslim-students-gather-to-celebrate-eid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/09\/as-bobst-prayer-room-is-vandalized-muslim-students-gather-to-celebrate-eid\/","title":{"rendered":"As Bobst prayer room is vandalized, Muslim students gather to celebrate Eid"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NYU\u2019s second annual Eid Fest, the student-run celebration of Eid al-Fitr, drew hundreds of students to the Kimmel Center for University Life on Thursday. Hosted by Muslim student organization NYU Shuruq, along with 10 other clubs including the Black Muslim Initiative and the Pakistani Students Association, Eid Fest brought together Muslim community members across the university for communal celebration and prayer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As attendees gathered to celebrate the end of Ramadan, a student in a prayer room in Bobst Library\u2019s lower floors found mats soaked in urine and the walls <\/span>vandalized with vulgar graffiti<\/span><\/a> \u2014 deemed an Islamaphobic act of \u201canti-Muslim hatred\u201d by President Linda Mills. NYU has since launched an investigation into the incident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a hate crime on our space,\u201d said Fatoumata Touray, a Silver senior and president of the Black Muslim Initiative, in an impromptu announcement at Eid Fest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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(Mariana Arboleda for WSN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Touray also encouraged all attendees to \u201cflood\u201d the university\u2019s emails with their demands. Less than 24 hours after the incident was reported, Muslim student leaders <\/span>put together a petition<\/span><\/a> with over 1,000 signatures condemning Islamophobia on campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Muslim community, Muslim clubs and the ICNYU are the ones that kind of hold that bridge together for Muslims on campus,\u201d Stern junior Sumaira Irshad, the president of NYU Shuruq, said. \u201cThey are really the backbone and [make] sure that each Muslim has the necessities to thrive at NYU.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, Eid al-Fitr \u2014 which translates from Arabic to \u201c<\/span>festival of the breaking of the fast<\/span><\/a>\u201d \u2014 fell on March 30. The holiday marks the end of the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast daily between dawn and sunset. During Eid, Muslims celebrate the end of fasting and express their gratitude and faith toward Allah for the strength given throughout Ramadan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely important to have this event on campus because the Muslim population, especially in NYU, is so diverse,\u201d CAS sophomore Maryam Babar, who also manages the blog for Aftab, the Islamic Center and NYU\u2019s literary magazine, said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the ongoing vandalism and heightened concerns for the safety of Muslim students, Eid Fest still gave students the chance to celebrate Eid with other community members. The event prayer was followed by dinner, including halal dishes such as chicken kebab and falafel, and desserts such as Palestinian knafeh, a buttery cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many students at Eid Fest wore floor-length abayas in rich colors with intricate embroidery and beading. The event also offered a station for henna, bead making and tote painting, and hosted some attendees unaffiliated with NYU, who often pray at NYU\u2019s Islamic Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

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(Mariana Arboleda for WSN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEid Fest means that I\u2019m a part of a very collaborative and comforting community,\u201d graduate student and Muslim Graduate Student Group board member Adelina Sadiki said. \u201cI\u2019ve met so many people here, and I honestly consider them family. I feel like I have a place here where I don\u2019t have to question or feel uncomfortable at any point.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially for those who live far from home, the event allowed students to continue practicing their cultural and religious customs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from Pakistan. We have our annual Eid dinners, and it\u2019s like a whole-day event,\u201d graduate student Saad Zubari said. \u201cYou\u2019re on your feet doing all kinds of things, meeting all kinds of people, and over here, I feel like that\u2019s when I missed my family the most.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Such celebrations are all the more meaningful given the challenges many Muslim students face on campus. Being able to find community, particularly amid incidences of Islamophobia and NYU\u2019s crackdown on <\/span>pro-Palestinian student protesters<\/span><\/a>, is a testament to the resilience of its Muslim community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur voices matter,\u201d Touray said. \u201cThis is our time to show them that we matter in this campus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Mariana Arboleda <\/em>at culture@nyunews.com.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This story As Bobst prayer room is vandalized, Muslim students gather to celebrate Eid<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NYU\u2019s second annual Eid Fest, the student-run celebration of Eid al-Fitr, drew hundreds of students to the Kimmel Center for University Life on Thursday. Hosted by Muslim student organization NYU Shuruq, along with 10 other clubs including the Black Muslim Initiative and the Pakistani Students Association, Eid Fest brought together Muslim community members across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions\/388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}