Following Temple University suspending one of its student groups after a protest that ended with four arrested and accusations of police brutality, the school is meeting with a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group.
Temple’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine has been placed on suspension following a protest the group held at a career fair hosted by the Temple University Engineering School in the Howard Gittis Student Center on September 26.
The goal of the protest was to demonstrate against a few vendors at the career fair that the group believes have ties to violence in Gaza.
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Two SJP members -- one a recent graduate of the school -- were arrested. The two women are now accusing Temple University Police and Philadelphia Police officers of brutalizing and humiliating them.
“During my arrest at the career fair, a male Temple police officer groped my breast and pulled it, using it to pull me in for my own arrest,” Alia Amanpour, one of the protesters, said.
Johara Shamaa, another protester, said a Philadelphia police officer yanked her hijab, a religious head covering, off her head. She claims she was not allowed to wear it during her booking photo and while she was in custody for 20 hours.
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“Even after repeatedly explaining the significance of my religious attire to the officers, they mocked me and denied me the right to cover myself,” Shamaa said. “Despite me crying and shaking, a male officer then proceeded to take my mugshot photo without my hijab on.”
Philadelphia Police said they allowed the woman to wear her hijab in common areas in front of men during her booking.
SJP posted on Instagram about the protest and the arrests, posting videos taken of what transpired.
In their post, they say that the protesters left the career fair on their own accord and that there was no dispersal warning given by Temple police or Philadelphia police. In the post, they claim the officers began “assaulting protesters” and “brutalized” them.
Temple University’s Department of Public Safety (TUDPS) posted a statement on social media about the arrests, stating that Temple officers had body-worn cameras that captured the events and that they reviewed that along with cameras at the building and witness statements.
After their review, the TUDPS said “there is no evidence that a hijab was pulled off by police. On the contrary, the individual was assisted by TUPD and a fellow student when the hijab slipped from covering her hair.”
TUDPS also said there was no evidence anyone was groped or that anyone’s chest was revealed.
Wednesday afternoon, the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philadelphia) held a news conference to call on Temple police, Philadelphia police and the mayor’s office to launch an investigation into the allegations of the woman’s hijab being removed during the arrest.
“Temple University’s inappropriate response last week highlights the larger landscape of escalating hostility towards Muslim students and community members,” Adam Alaa Attia, with CAIR-Philadelphia said.
CAIR officials and university administrators have scheduled a meeting for Thursday.
TUPD said they detained four individuals and are working with the District Attorney’s Office to charge them with disorderly conduct and other related offenses.
They said the evidence they reviewed shows that the “protesters illegally disrupted a registered event that was important for hundreds of students.” They also claim the protesters pushed officers and resisted arrest.
TUPD’s message came after Temple’s President Richard Englert posted a message about the protest and arrests on Sept. 26 where he stated that the protesters violated the school’s demonstration guidelines.
In his statement, the president said, “‘University officials or law enforcement agents may move or request the removal of any demonstrator or participant believed to be in violation of federal, state, or municipal laws and ordinances, and all university policies, regulations, and guidelines.’”
“What occurred last week was not a peaceful protest. It was a major disruption to an event intended to help students find jobs and internships. As a result of the aggressive protesting, several visiting employers were escorted from the space for their safety and students were denied an opportunity to engage with potential employers – some students left the event entirely,” a statement sent Wednesday night by Temple University said.
Temple school officials also said they encourage anyone with any evidence of the accusations made by the protesters to submit them to Temple police.
"We listened to the allegations brought to us by our community members. We trust them, we believe them, and we’re going to stand by them," Attia said.
