CAIR-Austin calls for APD to investigate alleged attack of Muslim UT student as hate crime

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on the Austin Police Department to investigate an alleged attack against a Muslim University of Texas student as a hate crime.

Austin police confirmed to the American-Statesman on Tuesday that it became aware of a bias-motivated incident near UT's campus through its online reporting system, and the Police Department said officers are investigating the reported incident and will forward any relevant information to the department's Hate Crime Committee.

"If a crime has been committed and the Hate Crime Committee determined that they believe the crime was committed due to bias or prejudice, then they will inform the FBI of the incident," the department said. "If charges are pressed or an arrest is made, the Hate Crime Committee also informs the prosecutor’s office."

The alleged attack happened Friday night when a student dressed in a kurta shalwar — traditional attire associated with the South Asian Muslim community — was approached by three men as the student walked back to campus from a local mosque, according to CAIR-Austin, the local branch of the largest national Muslim rights and advocacy organization.

CAIR-Austin in a news conference Tuesday said the men began yelling in mock Arabic and blocked the student and his friend's path. The aggression then escalated to violence, when the men allegedly punched the student, and one assailant told them he had a weapon.

"No human being should feel unsafe wearing their traditional clothes in public," said Shaimaa Zayan, the operations manager of CAIR-Austin. "And when this happens in Austin, a city that cherishes cultural diversity, it's even more traumatizing."

Zayan said the student suffered a busted lip and cuts on his jaw, but the emotional wounds to the student and the Muslim community are much deeper.

"The mental hurts will be bigger and longer term than the physical hurt of this incident," Zayan said. "Not only on the student, the victim student, but also for all the Muslims and Arabs and all the diverse students who go to Austin. It just creates an unsafe environment for everyone."

A spokesperson for Mayor Kirk Watson's office told the Statesman that the case will be discussed at the Hate Crimes Task Force's monthly meeting Thursday and potentially at its next one, too, as officials investigate the incident. The Police Department did not provide the police report to the Statesman by Tuesday afternoon.

CAIR-Austin representatives at the news conference said the Friday attack brought up memories of the February stabbing of Zacharia Doar, a 23-year-old Palestinian American coming back from a Sunday protest and evening prayer, which the Austin police Hate Crime Review Committee determined was a hate crime. The case is currently awaiting trial.

At UT, students were also harassed at a Palestine Solidarity Committee hearing in October by men claiming to be Israeli Defense Forces soldiers. Both Jewish and Muslim students have said they've felt unsafe showing their identity on campus because of tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war.

According to its 2024 civil rights report released April 2, CAIR in 2023 recorded the highest number of anti-Muslim complaints in its 30-year history. In 2023, the organization received more than 8,000 complaints, nearly half of which were reported in the last three months of the year.

The Austin for Palestine Coalition emailed city and university officials, including both Watson and UT President Jay Hartzell, on Monday demanding that they attend its news conference Tuesday to publicly condemn the violence against Muslim Americans.

Neither attended, but in a statement to the Statesman on Tuesday morning, UT said it is aware of the allegations and has contacted Muslim organizations and community members as well as the individuals involved to "offer support and any necessary services."

"We are aware from outside sources of an allegation of a hate-filled verbal conflict escalating to physical contact with two of our students. Austin Police Department is investigating whether a crime occurred," the university said in its statement. "UT remains committed to the safety and well-being of every member of our University community and has no tolerance for violence or other hateful actions against any of our community members, including those in our Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab communities."

Austin city spokesperson Alicia Dean said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the city has no tolerance for hate, and she pointed to an initiative the city launched in July called "We All Belong," a resource hub where people can find support and file nonemergency incident and police reports.

"Acts of hate are unacceptable in our City," Dean said. "We started the Citywide We All Belong anti-hate initiative as part of our commitment to keep Austin a safe and welcoming place."

Hanna Barakat, a speaker from the Austin for Palestine Coalition, said Senate Bill 17, a state law banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices at public universities and colleges, and Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order calling for colleges to fight antisemitism by revising free speech policies and enforcing them against pro-Palestinian groups and students, "fuel anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia putting these populations at risk while openly favoring other groups."

"Every student and every person in Texas deserves equal protection and safety, and it is the duty of local and state government to ensure it," Barakat said.

Abbott's office did not respond to a Statesman request for comment Tuesday.

Barakat said the alleged attack was particularly scary because it was during Ramadan, a holy month celebrated this year from March 10 to sundown Tuesday night. She added that she feels her "community's voice is ignored."

"I identify because I'm Lebanese American, and I'm proud of that. But it also puts me as a target, and I fear that position," she said.

"I'm angered that we are responding to yet another incident of violence and discrimination toward a member of the AAPI community," said Akeela Kongdara, a UT alum and the youth engagement and volunteer senior associate for Asian Texans for Justice, at the news conference, referring to the Asian American and Pacific islander community. "It is more evident than ever that our city and leaders are failing to ensure the safety of all individuals and are failing on their commitment to keep our students safe."

Jake Holtzman, founder of Austin's chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society and a 2023 UT alumnus, said he hopes the university engages with student leaders in discussion about steps UT can take to better ensure Muslim students' safety.

"The mental health toll is huge on all of these students, because the reality is that there are many students who maybe would have come out to this today, but they didn't feel safe doing so," Holtzman said. "People should have every right to walk around campus wearing what they would like to wear, saying what they truly want to say and not feel at risk of being harmed or attacked."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: CAIR-Austin calls for APD to investigate alleged attack as hate crime