A group of students at Washington University in St. Louis dressed up as soldiers posed holding water guns to the head of a student dressed like Osama bin Laden.
A picture posted on Facebook of the scene has provoked anger from Muslims, who say that the group went too far.
Mahroh Jahangiri, who posted a screenshot of the photo on her Facebook, said that the photo represents “a broader, more aggressive (and apparently violent) Islamophobia rampant here at WashU and in the United States.”
“This photo and its ‘Amurrica’ caption imply that ‘Amurrica’ is white (male) Americans; people with beards, or of darker color, or implicitly Muslims, are not,” she wrote. “This photo implies that not only are Muslims not American, their lives are expendable. They can (and should) be brought to their knees with guns pointed at their damned faces.”
Jahangiri said seeing the photo made her cry.
Washington University officials held an emergency meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the photo and concerns about anti-Muslim sentiment on the campus, reported the student newspaper of the university.
Gaby Dinkin, chair of the Diversity Affairs Council, said that the committee had an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and was working on drafting a formal statement.
“We’re not blaming anyone or saying that anyone was being intentionally hurtful, but people in our community were hurt, and that’s what we’d like to focus on,” Dinkin said. “I hope it won’t be a divisive issue but more a moment for everyone to learn and have a discussion.”
Further, the Muslim Students Association plans to have an open forum on Thursday night.
“This is going to be a space where we can provide basic information for why it is an important issue and why it has hurt and affected students on campus,” Jahangiri said.
