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SFU TAKING STEPS MAKE SFU SAFE AFTER URINATION INCIDENT ON CAMPUS PRAYER SPACE
9-18-2019
On June 3, there was an individual (not a student) who entered into our prayer area at the SFU Surrey campus and he was caught defacating (urinating) in our prayer area. This was done intentionally. Afterwards, he was caught stating, “F*** all muslims”. Then he began to lay down and relax. One of our executives witnessed the act and ran to inform security about what had occurred. Security escorted the individual out of the prayer area and banned him from entering SFU Surrey.
The second incident took place on the same day at our Burnaby campus a couple hours after the first one. An individual came into our prayer area and opened up our storage closet and grabbed our donation box. They stole some money from there and threw the box on the floor and ran away. He was not caught and we have no description of his appearance. Luckily we had removed most of the money from the box so not much was stolen.
Both of these incidents have been reported to the RCMP and various media outlets such as Omni News, News1130 and RedFM have covered this story. SFU has responded well and have provided us a temporary new room until Fall. In Fall, they will be providing us a new permanent prayer room which will provide students with a sense of security and privacy while praying.
September 5, 2019)
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the Muslim Students Association (MSA) are very grateful to the Simon Fraser University (SFU) administration for taking action after an individual urinated in front of a Muslim student and allegedly used an Islamophobic slur at the Surrey campus interfaith and prayer space in early June 2019.
Since the incident, SFU administration, NCCM, and the MSA have engaged in productive dialogue. As per a recent letter sent to the MSA by the SFU administration, Simon Fraser University has promised to take a number of steps to address the situation, including but not limited to conducting a review of SFU’s interfaith and prayer spaces and producing a report of recommendations to ensure SFU standards for safe, welcoming spaces.
“We welcomed the opportunity to work constructively with the SFU administration after this incident to address Islamophobia on campus,” says NCCM’s Executive Director Mustafa Farooq. “While the attack itself was disgusting and made students feel unsafe, we are happy to see the University take this so seriously, and to take steps to keep SFU safe, welcoming, and inclusive.”
Ahmed Khan, the SFU MSA President, said, “This disgusting incident reflects the fact that Islamophobia is on the rise and it needs to be tackled. We are grateful that SFU has listened to our concerns and has taken the appropriate steps to address the incident.”
The NCCM is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organization that is a leading voice for civic engagement and the promotion of human rights.
The Muslim Student Association of Simon Fraser University has been active since 1977 and continues to be involved in providing a space for Muslims to pray, learn, meet others and get involved in the community as well as many other activities.
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