Somali UW students receive racist letter, call for change

After Somalian University of Washington students recently received a racist letter, advocates are calling for change following other incidents of Muslim harassment on campus.

SEATTLE - After Somalian University of Washington students recently received a racist letter, advocates are calling for change following other incidents of Muslim harassment on campus.

The Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) says the UW Seattle Somali Student Association received a letter on March 13, during the first few days of Ramadan, which included the phrase, "go back to whatever s***hole you came from," among other profanity.

The Somali Student Association filed a police report and is calling for solidarity and support. They plan to hold a demonstration at the UW Quad on March 28 at noon.

"It is clear that the SSA has been targeted with this racist, Islamophobic rhetoric due to their principled and consistent activism in standing against the genocide in Gaza," said CAIR-WA Executive Director Imraan Siddiqi. "The hate experienced by Muslim students on campuses across this state is disturbing. However, our community stands in support of the SSA and we refuse to be silenced in the face of such blatant anti-Muslim bigotry."

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In light of other anti-Muslin incidents at UW, including ongoing harassment of a Muslim student and an attack against a woman wearing a hijab, CAIR-WA says it is imperative that UW speaks out against Islamaphobia, anti-Muslim bias and hate in all its forms.

The University of Washington issued the following statement on the racist letter: