America’s largest Muslim advocacy group has attacked CUNY, the City University of New York, for turning against its own student.
During her graduation speech in May, CUNY law graduate Fatima Mohammed called the NYPD ‘fascist’ and accused Israelis of ‘settler colonialism’ – which brought the university to the fore. later accuse of “hate speech”.
Today, New York’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR-NY, accused the university of being ‘dishonest, cowardly and dangerous’ in its decision to convict Muhammad.
He also undermined the university by saying it had pre-approved the speech and only turned on Mohammed after two weeks of scathing backlash from ‘far-right media’ and the government. “Mayor Eric Adams”.
Mohammed also said in his controversial speech that black and brown prisoners are being murdered daily in US prisons and denounced his own university for “cooperating with global violence”.
CAIR-NY executive director Afaf Nasher (pictured in 2017) said calling Mohammed’s speech “hate speech” was “dishonest, cowardly and dangerous”.
Fatima Mohammed is pictured during a speech in which she called the NYPD ‘fascist’ and accused the Israelis of ‘settler colonialism’
Shortly after his speech, New York Mayor Eric Adams condemned Mohammed for being “negative and divisive”.
Within two weeks of the graduation ceremony on May 30, the chancellor and CUNY board issued a statement condemning Mohammed’s speech as “hate speech” and said his comments “were a public expression of hatred towards people and communities based on their religion, race or political affiliation”.
CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher wrote in a statement that the group “strongly condemns the City University of New York (CUNY) for joining in dishonest, cowardly and dangerous attacks on their own student leader, Fatima Mohammed, who has been relentlessly harassed by far-right media, Mayor Eric Adams and several members of Congress and City Council.
“As an institution of higher education, CUNY has a responsibility to protect its students, even in times of disagreement or discomfort, and its failure to do so is unacceptable.”
“Fatima’s speech has been submitted, reviewed and pre-approved by CUNY in written form and a verbal recording. Additionally, the speech was celebrated by the audience,” Nasher said.
“CUNY student leaders, including the Jewish Law Students Association, have spoken out in his defense. Additionally, CUNY’s mischaracterization of Fatima’s speech as “hate speech” is false and defamatory.
Mohammed’s speech was the second time in two years that the CUNY, which receives more than half of its funding from the government, allowed pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel remarks at the graduation ceremony.
The 2022 speaker was activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who made equally enthusiastic comments.
Afaf Nasher (centre) said that since his speech at the graduation ceremony, Mohammed had been bullied by elected officials
Within two weeks of the graduation ceremony on May 30, the chancellor and CUNY board issued a statement condemning Mohammed’s speech as “hate speech”. Pictured is the Faculty of Law
The 2022 speaker was activist Nerdeen Kiswani (pictured), who made equally enthusiastic comments
Mohammed, who was born in Yemen and raised in Queens, began her speech by saying that she chose CUNY because it was one of “the few legal institutions…to recognize that the law is a manifestation of the white supremacy that continues to oppress and suppress people in this nation and around the world.
“I want to celebrate CUNY Law as one of the few, if not the only, law schools to issue a public statement defending its students’ right to organize and speak out against Israeli colonialism,” she said.
She then celebrated the pro-Palestine causes championed by the school.
Mohammed continued: “It was the law school that adopted and endorsed BDS. [a Palestinian-led movement] at the level of students and faculty, recognizing that without a critical-imperialism-colonialism lens, our work and the school’s mission statement are worthless.
‘While Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshipers, murdering old and young, even attacking funerals and cemeteries, encourage lynchings to target homes and businesses Palestinians, imprisoning his children, continuing his project of settler colonialism, evicting Palestinians from their homes, carrying the ongoing Nakba that our silence – that our silence is no longer acceptable.
William Thompson (pictured) was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2016 as Chairman of the CUNY Board of Directors
Felix V. Matos Rodríguez (pictured) is CUNY’s eighth Chancellor since May 2019
Mohammed (pictured) was born in Yemen and grew up in Queens
But she continued to attack CUNY as a whole and called the NYPD fascist.
“We did all of this despite racism, despite selective activism, the selfish interests of CUNY Central, an institution that continues to fail us, that continues to train and cooperate with the fascist NYPD, the military, that continues to train IDF soldiers to commit the same violence around the world,” she said.
CAIR-NY also noted that Mohammed had been the victim of cyberbullying and harassment from elected officials.
‘Because of [the elected officials’] targeting her online, as well as far-right media, Fatima received death threats and a torrent of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-immigrant threats,” the statement read.
