Islamic Society Members Respond to Assault

In its first general meeting since one of its members was injured in what police called a hate crime, members of the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS) gathered last night to discuss the ramifications of the attack for the school's Islamic population.

Zayed M. Yasin '02, president of meeting was "to provide a forum for members of the Islamic community to express their own personal concerns and work out their thoughts and reactions in a personal manner."

On a more practical note, Yasin said, the intent was "to deal with issues of common concern in terms of safety and community response."

Confronted by a group of apparently intoxicated skinheads last Tuesday, the student, a senior, was pushed to the ground and kicked repeatedly. The injuries required stitches, and the victim spent the rest of the week recuperating.

Speculating that the student was singled out as a result of his Islamic prayer cap, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) and Cambridge Police Department (CPD) are treating the attack as a possible hate crime.

In contrast to Sunday night's widely attended "Stop the Violence" vigil--in which 150 community members marched in silence from the steps of Memorial Church through Harvard Square to the Pit--Yasin described last night's gathering as "an internal HIS meeting with people that are close and comfortable with each other."

Though he lauded the familiarity allowed by a small meeting, Yasin also stressed that larger gatherings like the vigil play an important role.

"Other organizations in the community have really come out and expressed support for us and for the victim," he said.

The recent racial violence in Cambridge has shocked and dismayed the College's Islamic community, members of that community said.

"I couldn't have imagined that it could happen on this campus, in this city," Saif I. Shah Mohammed '01 said.

"It's not like we live on a hill, where everything is perfect," Khadijha Abdullahwali '02 said.

Still, she said, she found the violence horrifying.

"Who could expect that there would be such a direct act of hatred?"

HIS has formulated a tentative plan of action to reduce the likelihood of such an attack in the future.

The plan involves "a general e-mail safety brief about self-defense classes, shuttle numbers and police numbers," Yasin said.

"We need to find measures so people don't lose peace of mind or freedom of movement."