Quran Hate Crime Raises Questions, Gains Local Attention
Lisa Maria Basile
Issue date: 10/11/06 Section: News
An incident involving an act of vandalism, in which a copy of the Quran was put into the 2nd floor men's toilet occurred at the Birnbaum Library Sept. 20. The holy document was found by a student and reported immediately. President Caputo emailed the student body later that evening as a first step to address the situation.
Chris Cory, director of public information, said Caputo quickly responded to the situation by initiating an investigation within a matter of hours.
"We are investigating and will continue until we have exhausted every lead. We would appreciate help from anyone who knows anything," Richard Abbinanti, director of security, said in an email to Cory.
In his email, Caputo alerted the community about the issue and condemned the act, calling it "despicable," asking for tolerance and respect throughout the University. Caputo also said the Quran was "water damaged but not defaced in any other way," prompting shock throughout the student body, including the Muslim Students Association (MSA), who demanded a vigorous investigation and rejected the notion that the act only resulted in water damage.
Members of the MSA said Caputo's email was misleading, noting the act was indeed one of defacement and the letter "added insult to injury (...) and the act must be documented as a hate crime and penalized to the fullest extent."
Though Abbinanti and the University are searching for answers, the MSA stated various complaints at a town hall meeting which took place on Oct. 3 in the Schimmel Lobby. They said the administration intended to identify the culprit of the act by watching the videotapes in the library, based on their possessing a green-colored Quran. The MSA said videotapes are in inadequate, as they only tape in black and white.
Many members of the MSA stressed the importance of the act being recognized and documented as a hate crime. They said security did not file the incident with the New York Police Department (NYPD) as an act of vandalism, although security said it was filed the week the act occurred. As what seems like a result, on Oct. 4, a letter was sent out by Caputo stating that the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force was actively taking charge of the investigation, and that the act was reclassified as a hate crime.
Chris Cory, director of public information, said Caputo quickly responded to the situation by initiating an investigation within a matter of hours.
"We are investigating and will continue until we have exhausted every lead. We would appreciate help from anyone who knows anything," Richard Abbinanti, director of security, said in an email to Cory.
In his email, Caputo alerted the community about the issue and condemned the act, calling it "despicable," asking for tolerance and respect throughout the University. Caputo also said the Quran was "water damaged but not defaced in any other way," prompting shock throughout the student body, including the Muslim Students Association (MSA), who demanded a vigorous investigation and rejected the notion that the act only resulted in water damage.
Members of the MSA said Caputo's email was misleading, noting the act was indeed one of defacement and the letter "added insult to injury (...) and the act must be documented as a hate crime and penalized to the fullest extent."
Though Abbinanti and the University are searching for answers, the MSA stated various complaints at a town hall meeting which took place on Oct. 3 in the Schimmel Lobby. They said the administration intended to identify the culprit of the act by watching the videotapes in the library, based on their possessing a green-colored Quran. The MSA said videotapes are in inadequate, as they only tape in black and white.
Many members of the MSA stressed the importance of the act being recognized and documented as a hate crime. They said security did not file the incident with the New York Police Department (NYPD) as an act of vandalism, although security said it was filed the week the act occurred. As what seems like a result, on Oct. 4, a letter was sent out by Caputo stating that the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force was actively taking charge of the investigation, and that the act was reclassified as a hate crime.