McMaster hate crime investigation

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Six Muslim women have moved out of their student house after reporting to police they are the victims of a hate crime.

While the incident happened off campus, McMaster’s Dean of Students says the university has been working with the students to provide them with the supports they need.

“They’re students. Students during exam time should not be forced to leave their house. That’s very sad as well. It’s an emotionally challenging time for them.” McMaster Muslim Students Association’s Umer Javed says six students, all Muslim women, felt the need to move after some sort of threat at their Westdale home last week. “They were shaken but they are strong. They’re being given the support they need, so they are ok now.”

With help from other community groups, Javed says the women have found temporary places to stay during exams.

Hamilton Police Detective Carmen Pietroniro wouldn’t talk about the specifics of the allegations, but says an incident that happened at the women’s home is being probed as a possible hate crime.

“It’s still under investigation and we’re following up with any details we possibly can right now.”

In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S., Pietroniro says Hamilton police have dealt with very few hate related incidents.

“Some of them have actually become unfounded but none the less we still encourage the reporting and we’re very happy to see that people are coming to us and letting us know and we’ll determine the extent of the incident.”

When it comes to Islamophobia, Javed says Muslims can’t live in fear, but they have to be vigilant. “People say things and this is particularly when you can recognize someone visibly as a Muslim especially women wearing the Hijab or the Niqab.”

Javed says it’s important for people to talk about Islamaphobia. The more they do, the easier it will be to remove misconceptions.