Police at the University of Texas at Dallas are investigating Qurans that were discovered in the toilet at the school’s student center.
The UT Dallas student newspaper, the Mercury, reports the Qurans were discovered by Jonathan Schuler, who just so happens to be the head of the student government legislative affairs committee and who allegedly found the Qurans after a student government meeting.
“I was appalled. It made a lot of the hate I had been hearing and seeing on national news real, and very present,” Schuler said.
Fellow student government member Sammy Lutes took photos of the Qurans in the toilet to be used as evidence.
Lutes told the Mercury, “I was just really shocked. And I was kind of in disbelief for a moment. I didn’t believe that was a real thing that must have happened.”
Lutes added, “In itself, I think it is an isolated incident not part of a larger effort. But I still think it is extremely frightening. I think that administration should really address the situation of Islamophobia and hate on campus.”
The student government members reported the Qurans to the manager of the Student Union who contacted the police.
The Muslim Students Association on campus was quick to condemn the act and call it part of a larger national pattern.
Mohammad Syed, the president of the Muslim Student Association, said, “Given the current political climate and how Muslims are portrayed in the media, it makes certain individuals act in this hateful way.”
Syed told NBC 5, “These things have been happening throughout the country and, you know, it just happens. It happened over here. And It’s unfortunate.”
A Google search for “Quran,” “found,” and “toilet” over the past month only yields relevant results about the UT Dallas incident.
In fact, police described the act as “unusual,” rather than a common occurrence.
In 2005, Newsweek was forced to retract a story alleging American interrogators at Guantanamo Bay put Qurans in toilets. The false report caused riots across Afghanistan, leading to the death of at least 15 people.
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