Threat to Set Fire to Hijab-Wearing U-M Student Probed as Hate Crime

ANN ARBOR, MI — Police in Ann Arbor are investigating an incident Friday in which a man allegedly forced a Muslim woman to remove her hijab and threatened to set her on fire with his lighter, prompting a University of Michigan campus-wide safety alert, according to news reports.

The woman, a University of Michigan student, complied and was able to leave safely. University officials called the incident, which occurred off-campus between 5:30-7 p.m. Friday on the 600 block of East William Street, a hate crime.

The incident is one of several reports around the country of threats, intimidation and racially charged violence since Tuesday’s historic election of Donald Trump last Tuesday. More than 200 complaints of hate crimes have been taken since Election Day, the Southern Poverty Law Center said.

“Since the election, we’ve seen a big uptick in incidents of vandalism, threats, intimidation spurred by the rhetoric surrounding Mr. Trump’s election,” Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, told USA Today. “The white supremacists out there are celebrating his victory and many are feeling their oats.”

In his first extensive interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Sunday after his election, Trump said he was “saddened” to hear of reports of violence among some of his supporters and directly addressed them.

“I would say don’t do it, that’s terrible, 'cause I’m gonna bring this country together,” he responded when reporter Lesley Stahl shared reports of harassment directed at Latinos and Muslims. “I am so saddened to hear that. And I say, ‘Stop it.’ If it — if it helps. I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it.”

• See Also: Among American Muslims, Trump Election Has ‘Psychological Impact’

Trump’s election has put Arab-Americans and American Muslims on edge. They worry that intimidation against Muslims was normalized during Trump’s campaign.

“Donald Trump did not invent hate crimes, discrimination and bigotry,” Abed Ayoub, the national legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told Patch last week, “but he provided a space for it to be normal.”

Police in Ann Arbor are “actively investigating” the alleged threat against the U-M student and are “soliciting information from anyone who may have witnessed this incident,” Police Sgt. Patrick Maguire told the Detroit Free Press.

According to the alert to students, the suspect was described as a white male between the ages of 20-30, with an average height and athletic build, bad body odor, an unkempt appearance and was intoxicated and had slurred speech. Anyone with information is asked to call Ann Arbor police at (734) 794-6920 or the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security at (734) 763-1131.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Free Press the incident is “just the latest anti-Muslim incident reported since the election of Donald Trump as president.”

“Our nation’s leaders, and particularly President-elect Donald Trump, need to speak out forcefully against the wave of anti-Muslim incidents sweeping the country after Tuesday’s election,” Walid said.

Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab-American News, told WDIV-TV that Islamophobia isn’t new but was heightened by the presidential race.

“This Islamic phobia has really been uncovered by the presidential race, but it’s been brewing for a long, long time,” Siblani told the TV station.

U-M officials have cautioned Muslim students to remain vigilant.

“If you see something, say something,” student Regina Onishchenko told WDIV. “Having the courage to say something and help others is really important.”

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