Arrest Made in Quran Investigation
Michael Bruno
Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: News
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On Jul. 27, the NYPD made an arrest in the ongoing investigation surrounding the defamation of the Qur'an on two occasions on Pace University property. Stanislav Shmulevich, 23, was arrested outside the University's meditation center after police identified him through campus security surveillance.
Following the arrest, police say Shmulevich made "admitting statements" connecting him to the Oct. 13 and Nov. 21 incidents, in which copies of the Quran were found submerged in a second-floor University toilet. He is currently being charged for each incident on counts of criminal mischief and felony-exaggerated harassment.
In a statement released to the NY Daily News, Shmulevich's roommate, 24-year-old Ola Petrovich said the charges stunned her. "He was defending the Quran," she said. According to police reports, in his statement, Shmulevich said he was angry with a group of Muslim students.
The suspect works at a European banking firm and was only a few credits shy of graduating with a degree in international business before taking time off from classes.
According to the NY Daily News, Shmulevich resides in both a Brooklyn apartment as well as his parents' house on Staten Island. His father, 55-year-old Edward Shmulevich, said he too was surprised by the charges against his son. "He's a hard worker and he's about to graduate from college. He works full time at night and then he goes to school. I'm surprised, utterly surprised. I don't know what happened."
In light of Shmulevich's arrest, widespread opinions have been voiced, eliciting mass media coverage. On Jul. 31, CNN's Paula Zahn Now covered the arrest as part of the telecast's opening segment.
During the discussion, Zahn spoke with Ibrahim Hooper, the National Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Christopher Hitchens, contributing editor of Vanity Fair and author of the book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
At the forefront of the discussion was not only the act itself, but also the University's decision to label both incidents as hate crimes. Hooper argued the incidents were acts of intimidation towards the University's Muslim community.
Following the arrest, police say Shmulevich made "admitting statements" connecting him to the Oct. 13 and Nov. 21 incidents, in which copies of the Quran were found submerged in a second-floor University toilet. He is currently being charged for each incident on counts of criminal mischief and felony-exaggerated harassment.
In a statement released to the NY Daily News, Shmulevich's roommate, 24-year-old Ola Petrovich said the charges stunned her. "He was defending the Quran," she said. According to police reports, in his statement, Shmulevich said he was angry with a group of Muslim students.
The suspect works at a European banking firm and was only a few credits shy of graduating with a degree in international business before taking time off from classes.
According to the NY Daily News, Shmulevich resides in both a Brooklyn apartment as well as his parents' house on Staten Island. His father, 55-year-old Edward Shmulevich, said he too was surprised by the charges against his son. "He's a hard worker and he's about to graduate from college. He works full time at night and then he goes to school. I'm surprised, utterly surprised. I don't know what happened."
In light of Shmulevich's arrest, widespread opinions have been voiced, eliciting mass media coverage. On Jul. 31, CNN's Paula Zahn Now covered the arrest as part of the telecast's opening segment.
During the discussion, Zahn spoke with Ibrahim Hooper, the National Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Christopher Hitchens, contributing editor of Vanity Fair and author of the book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
At the forefront of the discussion was not only the act itself, but also the University's decision to label both incidents as hate crimes. Hooper argued the incidents were acts of intimidation towards the University's Muslim community.
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