• NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the vandalism of an Islamic prayer room at NYU.
• The incident has deeply impacted NYU’s Muslim community, heightening fear & anxiety—with calls for institutional action against rising Islamophobia.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force has launched an investigation into a recent vandalism incident at an Islamic prayer room located at New York University.
According to Faiyaz Jaffer, associate chaplain for Global Spiritual Life at NYU, a student discovered “urine and obscene, lewd images defacing the walls” upon entering the space in the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library on Thursday afternoon.
“This was not simply an act of vandalism; it was a malicious and deeply disrespectful attack driven by anti-Muslim hatred,” Jaffer said in the statement.
Images shared by the NYU Black Muslim Initiative on Instagram show the extent of the vandalism inside the university’s Islamic prayer space, including what appears to be a large phallic drawing. Another photo captures a wet stain near the Islamic prayer mats.
A report of criminal mischief was filed with authorities, and the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force was notified. According to police, the suspect “scratched and chalked an image” inside the room at 70 Washington Square South on Thursday at approximately 4:40 p.m.
“There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing,” police stated.
NYU spokesperson John Beckman condemned the act, calling it “vile, reprehensible, and utterly unacceptable.”
“It contravenes every principle of our community, and we condemn this act of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate,” Beckman said, adding that the university is committed to holding those responsible fully accountable.
In response, NYU’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) said they are advocating for increased protections of Muslim spaces on campus. A petition launched in the wake of the incident garnered more than 1,000 student signatures condemning the attack.
“This shows what we’ve always known: we have a voice, we have power when we come together, and we are not alone in this fight,” the MSA stated on Instagram. “The university administration needs to see that this isn’t just a ‘Muslim issue’ — this is about the kind of community NYU wants to be.”
The Black Muslim Initiative has called for swift action from NYU’s leadership, including expelling the individual responsible, if they are a student, and installing security cameras outside the prayer room to prevent future incidents.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has urged both state and federal law enforcement to open a hate crime investigation, noting that the vandalism occurred “despite ongoing concerns raised by the campus Muslim community over the past year about their safety and the university’s inaction.”
“We join students in demanding a full hate crime investigation and disciplinary action against the perpetrator,” said Afaf Nasher, Executive Director of CAIR-NY. “No student should fear for their safety or dignity while practicing their faith.”
Faiyaz Jaffer, associate chaplain for Global Spiritual Life at NYU, said the damage has had an “immediate and severe” emotional impact on the university’s Muslim community, sparking anxiety, fear, and heightened concern for their safety. He also emphasised that the act has had a particularly distressing effect on international Muslim students, many of whom are already on edge due to the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign nationals supporting the pro-Palestinian movement — which has already led to over 300 student visa revocations.
“We have a serious problem with Islamophobia and it is now time that we confront it,” Jaffer said. “The hatred that motivated this act of vandalism is not something that will just disappear if we ignore it. It’s a systemic issue, a disease that threatens to erode the very fabric of our institutions and society as a whole.”
The vandalism corresponds with the Trump administration’s efforts to deport international students and scholars, the majority of whom are Muslim and have expressed support for Palestinian human rights amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza including Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.
