Islamophobia at the University of Richmond

Disclaimer: Any student whose name is present in the article was asked for consent prior to the publication of the article.

The blatantly discriminatory, openly dangerous narrative spun around the Islamic religion has woven itself into the fabric of the United States and into all academic spaces; the University of Richmond is no exception. While boasting a robust Chaplaincy program with programs for at least twelve separate religious groups, the school also has a history of religious discrimination, and many of the practices perpetuated by this historical pattern affect Muslim students at the University today. Take the language and academic material used to study in Islam in classroom settings as an example.

An anonymous source said that in a First Year Seminar studying Islam, one book (Muhammad by Michael Cook) focused on the different forms of jihad (struggle) in Islam, but it prioritized discussing one form of jihad in much more depth than the others. It focused on the struggle to defend Islam much more than two other forms of struggle - the struggle against oneself and the struggle to build a good Muslim society. While seemingly harmless, this prioritization feeds into a narrative that Muslims are focused on defending their religion in a way that involves violence against other religions. Such a narrative adds to the vicious rhetoric surrounding the Middle East , which involves Americans assuming that all Muslims in the region are utilizing terrorist tactics to “take over the world” with Islam. In reality, most are trying to stay alive under the oppressive regimes of terrorist groups and infrastructurally weak governments that negatively affect them, too. Islam is effectively misrepresented in the classroom to perpetuate a false narrative, giving people the opportunity to weaponize it.

This is just one example of how Islamophobia is normalized and even encouraged in academic and social settings around the University. Another example is how the University chooses to respond to different social justice issues affecting the country as a whole. Razan Khalil, student at the University of Richmond and founder of Students for Justice in Palestine, witnessed the University’s Instagram account liking a post from the group and then promptly unliking it just moments later. Such an action shows that the University is scared to support students rallying for a cause that may push back against common societal narratives. Seeing that nearly 98% of Palestinians are Muslim, what does this message say to Muslim students at the school?

Let’s dig even deeper. Around February 24 when it was declared that Russia was invading Ukraine, University of Richmond students received a campus-wide email addressing the war and providing solace and comfort to students affected by it from the President’s Office. Of course, it is extremely important to discuss the pain of Ukrainian people and support students on campus who are deeply disturbed by this issue. However, the Office’s insistence on addressing the war as a campus wide concern without addressing previous issues in emails such as the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan last fall or the severe increase in violence in Palestine last summer reveals something quite sinister.

In 1969, University faculty were confused as to what the requirements of religious identity were for employees, and some assumed that Baptist Christians were preferred ove r people of other religious identities Eventually the University released a statement that explicitly said that discrimination based on religion was outlawed at the school, but that did not stop harmful narratives about other religions from being intertwined with the academic curriculum, as we noted before. Collegian opinion writer Paul Caputo, a student at the University of Richmond in 1993, wrote about an experience of religious discrimination that he witnessed at the school. Caputo, who was an atheist at the time, detailed his experience walking through the Commons building while a Christian group handed out pamphlets that said, “Are you good enough to go to heaven?” While Caputo acknowledged that all students have the right to freedom of speech on and off campus, he also said that he felt targeted by the pamphlets because they insisted that students convert to Christianity as it is the only religion that gets people to heaven. As Caputo candidly states, “No person or group has the right to tell another person or group that their religious thinking is inferior.” If the University of Richmond claims to support different expressions of religion and be a secular institution, then no person of a marginalized religious identity should feel inferior in their own Commons building, right?

Finally, in 1994, Mohammed Omar, who was a former business school professor, was denied tenure in the Robins School of Business at the University . He promptly initiated a trial against the University and claimed that he was denied tenure because of both his religious and national identity. He then lost the trial. His daughter managed the appeals case that was pursued after he lost the initial case and had to go back to the Middle East for work, and she said that many of her father’s witnesses were not allowed in the courtroom as well as much information about the case. Yet some in the University claimed that there was nothing wrong with how the case proceeded.

When analyzing these historical events in a modern-day context, it becomes clear that as an institution, the University of Richmond has helped foster an environment where Muslim students, as well as students of other marginalized religious identities, struggle to feel welcome. When studying these historical events with the knowledge of ongoing religious discrimination on campus, it becomes clear that more actionable steps must be taken to acknowledge this issue and actively make the campus a more comfortable, safe, and open environment.

In fact, we can look at the University of Richmond’s Law School for some instruction on how to enact change. In the Law School, several events were hosted that used the word sharia (religious law) in multiple contexts pertaining to women’s rights, Islamic finance, family law, etc. to destigmatize the term. The aim of these events was to encourage a more thorough and accurate understanding of the term free of the common assumptions connected to it that are often a result of Islamophobia. There even was a lecture held at the Law School on the topic of interpretations of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)’s legacy. More events and lectures can be hosted in different schools at the University to promote a better perception of the religion. On a more administrative level, there should be reviews on the curriculum in religious classes on Islam to ensure that harmful narratives are not perpetuated. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to review material on other marginalized religious identities - if this is happening to Muslim students, who is to say that it is not happening to other marginalized students?

Rectifying the University’s mistakes in the realm of religious discrimination will (unsurprisingly) take more action and labor, but luckily, we already have a great framework for how we can continue that work. When more events are hosted at the University, consider publicizing them and attending them! When you hear damaging rhetoric in the classroom, follow up with the professor. And if you feel uneducated in your effort to end Islamophobia and other forms of religious discrimination, research and read material in contemporary news that breaks down these systems of oppression.

Show up and do your part.

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