New Jersey officials are investigating an alleged hate crime involving an Islamic center at Rutgers University, which was broken into and vandalized on the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr celebrating the end of Ramadan.
The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday at the university’s Center for Islamic Life on the New Brunswick campus. The building was unoccupied at the time, university police said.
The suspects allegedly shattered the building’s windows and once inside, destroyed a Palestinian flag, ruined artwork and broke TVs and printers, according to the group’s chairwoman, Atiya Aftab.
“This reprehensible act, occurring on our sacred day, is undoubtedly fueled by Islamophobia, is clearly a hate crime targeting our Muslim population at Rutgers,” Aftab said.
The incident is being investigated as a “burglary, criminal mischief, and bias crime,” according to Rutgers University Police.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office published a report last month which said the state appeared to set a record for reported bias incidents in 2023, according to preliminary data. The report showed especially high levels of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab incidents since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7.
“Let me be clear: New Jersey will not tolerate acts of hate against the Muslim community,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement on Wednesday.
Platkin called the incident at Rutgers “appalling,” and added that his office is working in conjunction with other state officials to investigate the matter.
With News Wire Services
