It’s time we hold colleges accountable: Islamophobia at Downing
Samira Abukar argues that Downing College has failed its duty of care to her following a series of Islamophobic incidents throughout her first year
Content Note: This article contains detailed discussion of Islamophobia
When I entered my first year at Cambridge, Downing College failed its duty of care to me as an undergraduate student by tolerating and upholding Islamophobia. Islamophobia is a hatred or hostility towards Islam and/or Muslims. It was defined by an All Party Parliamentary Group in 2019 as “a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness” including “causing, calling for, aiding or justifying acts of aggression against Muslims”.
“Downing College not only neglected their duty of care to me, but through their decision-making procedures they have upheld and reinforced the Islamophobia I have faced”
It should go without saying that Cambridge Colleges have a responsibility to protect their students from any form of discrimination, not least Islamophobia. This includes having robust procedures of accountability and, primarily, ensuring that the victim of any harm is kept safe. However, in my experience at Downing College, this has not been the case at all. In fact, on the contrary, Downing College not only neglected their duty of care to me, but through their decision-making procedures they have upheld and reinforced the Islamophobia I have faced.
Just weeks into Michaelmas, my worst fear as a hijab-wearing Muslim female became true when another first-year Downing student started an onslaught of religiously offensive comments such as “Can I see your hair?” and “You know I can just take it off right?”
Naturally, these comments made me extremely uncomfortable, but I never imagined they would escalate into something physical. I never thought that someone would actually put their hands on me and attempt to rip off my hijab.
“I had nobody to turn to and slowly, out of fear of further incidents, began to subconsciously isolate myself in a desperate attempt to protect myself”
The hijab is an intrinsic part of my identity and to have it disrespected in such a way, and to have my bodily autonomy violated with an act of such aggression, was appalling. Having worn the hijab comfortably for 8 years, the idea of being attacked like this in my first year of university did not even cross my mind. I have never encountered such a blatant act of Islamophobia, nor did I expect to experience it to this degree at Cambridge. Being only four weeks into my first term, I had nobody to turn to and slowly, out of fear of further incidents, began to subconsciously isolate myself in a desperate attempt to protect myself. I was made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe in the place I was living. The place that was supposed to welcome me and constitute my new ‘home’, instead leaving me as alienated and alone as ever.
Following this, there were many other incidents that occurred throughout my first year. The same student invaded my privacy by forcing their way into my room as I was entering, grabbed me by the arm and asked other students “Doesn’t Samira look like a bitch?”, questioned my every move and continued to harass me, making frequent remarks about my religious and cultural background throughout the year.
Cumulatively, these incidents had a severe effect upon my wellbeing, so I decided to report the incidents to my college. Initially, the Dean told me that the behaviour I had experienced was absolutely unacceptable and informed me that although the perpetrator had denied the more minor incidents, he had admitted to the larger explicit acts of Islamophobia such as trying to take off my hijab. He stated that he was disturbed by his mindset and would take action against him.
However, once Easter term started, college took no action. The perpetrator confronted me at my bedroom door, labelling me “ignorant” and accusing me of lying. It was clear that the college’s unwillingness and failure to discipline him for his actions made him feel powerful and fed his lack of remorse. When I witnessed this from him, it became clear to me that not only had Downing tolerated the harm I faced, their inaction had directly encouraged him to continue to target me. I remain deeply disturbed by his sheer confidence that he would not be reprimanded by the college, that he felt so assured and comfortable to be abusive and hateful. My ability to feel safe in the place that I live appeared to have simply become collateral damage in the collusion between the student’s Islamophobic harassment, and Downing College’s failure to uphold their duty of care.
“I was told by senior members of the College that my experiences were not acts of Islamophobia, but simply a “misunderstanding””
As a result, I asked the college why no action had been taken. I was told by senior members of the College that my experiences were not acts of Islamophobia, but simply a “misunderstanding” on my behalf. Not only was this a refusal from Downing college to acknowledge these incidents as Islamophobic, but it also shows complete disregard for the welfare of their Muslim students. The student’s attempt to remove my hijab being labelled a “misunderstanding” is evidently incorrect and trivialises the seriousness of the harm I faced. Being physically harassed and forcibly undressed by a male student who consistently made demeaning and discriminatory remarks about my faith is far from a mere “accident” of understanding, it is a targeted violation. Yet, in choosing to trivialise and belittle my experience, the College’s rhetoric of “misunderstanding” was used to avoid taking any action towards holding the perpetrator accountable.
In ignoring the harm I faced as an act of Islamophobia, Downing College is institutionally failing to uphold its duty of care for student wellbeing – especially for Muslim students for whom the failure to conceptualise Islamophobia as harm in the first place amounts to serious systemic negligence at best, and institutional Islamophobia at worst.
Since no attempt at reconciliation has been made by the student or the college, I was left to work with the Ethnic Minority Officers in my college to seek accountability. We wrote an open letter asking for concrete change in reporting procedures and the implementation of preventative methods, such as providing staff with Islamophobia training so they can recognise the different ways it manifests, in order to take action to avoid it. We circulated the letter for Downing members to sign. It gained 136 signatures and was presented at a College Diversity Committee meeting, where every point on the letter was dismissed. Instead, the conversation turned towards how the perpetrator’s wellbeing has been affected by the open letter and how them taking action against something that was just a “misunderstanding” would compromise the College’s duty of care towards him.
Following on from the meeting, the Master proceeded to send multiple emails to the EMC officers, demanding that they take down the open letter “immediately” otherwise they would face an investigation. It is unclear what rule was being violated by us seeking a process of accountability where the college had failed to do so.
“My story is one of many, and it is tragic that every Muslim here has a story of being institutionally let down when they have faced Islamophobia”
Your college is supposed to be a place where you feel safe, yet I have been made to feel invalid and trivialised. I do not appreciate being gaslighted by the senior members of Downing College and their attempt to change the narrative in order to avoid being held accountable. Unfortunately, when I have spoken to other Muslim students, I have seen that this is not the first time Islamophobic incidents have taken place at Downing College. My story is one of many, and it is tragic that every Muslim here has a story of being institutionally let down when they have faced Islamophobia. Targeted harassment is hard enough to deal with as a hypervisible student in a place like Cambridge, but it becomes so much worse when the institutions meant to protect you and prioritise your wellbeing become complicit in upholding and tolerating the Islamophobia itself.
An email sent to Downing members from the Master in Lent stated: “Let me say again that all forms of discrimination are unacceptable, in College and beyond…When incidents are reported, the College will not hesitate to take disciplinary action – for students, this could lead to removal from College.”
Performative emails and empty words will not lead to sufficient change. The burden of protecting students should be on the College, never the students. In the lead up to exam season, I attended meeting after meeting trying to explain my trauma, whilst the perpetrator has been unaffected. Although I consulted all the relevant people and followed all the correct procedures, the college has failed to address these Islamophobic incidents.
As Downing has made it clear that they are not willing to make any changes, we have now written an online petition open to wider university members to sign. Downing College must recognise its failings and take steps towards what is right for its students and those it is responsible to – including the larger Muslim community within the University.
Varsity contacted Downing College prior to publication for comment. The Master responded with the following statement:
“Downing has a strict anti-discrimination policy, which is rigorously enforced. In this case one student made a complaint of Islamophobia against a fellow student. It is not true that the College ignored either the complaint or the harm caused. We took it seriously, with swift disciplinary action resulting in the accused student being punished, and we provided extensive pastoral support to the complainant. No evidence was found to support the suggestion in your piece that a hijab was forcefully removed.”
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