“I told him that I do not shake hands, obviously because he is a man and I am a Muslim,” said Sumeyya Osman.
Provost Shane Martin of Seattle University took a Palestinian flag from a Muslim student as she was about to unfold it during the commencement ceremony.
Shane Martin took the flag from Sumeyya Osman during the ceremony last month, according to a video shared by CAIR Washington, which later claimed that he acted aggressively. The New York Post writes about the incident.
Martin then attempted to keep the flag out of camera view before he and Osman pulled on it while photographs were being taken. Afterwards, he held on to Osman’s arm as he led her away from the stage. She waved the flag as she walked off the stage.
See the video of the incident further down in the article, along with interviews with the traumatised students who appear to have been marked by the experience for the rest of their lives.
Other Countries, Other Customs
Osman has said that she believed Martin was about to greet her when she stepped onto the stage, The Post further reports.
“I told him that I do not shake hands, obviously because he is a man and I am a Muslim,” she said.
It is common for Muslim women not to shake hands with men outside their family, according to KUOW, a local NPR affiliate.
At a press conference organised by CAIR a few days later, she said that she had explained that she does not shake hands with men, but that Martin did so anyway.
CAIR is an American Muslim advocacy organisation that works on civil rights and issues related to perceived discrimination and other everyday grievances people may experience.
Particularly when customs and conventions are not the same as in their home country.
There have been countless controversies involving CAIR USA, including on university campuses across the country.
Penger for hat: Muslimsk gruppe betalte jødehatere ved universiteter
Osman claims that Martin instead attempted to take the flag from her in an aggressive manner.
I was shaking a little. I asked the person next to me: Do you think something is going to happen to me? I’m scared. What if the ceremony ends and they take me aside and something happens?
CAIR Washington’s primary focus is combating Islamophobia, The Post writes. The organisation claimed that the student had been physically accosted by the provost and demanded accountability:
We demand accountability; no employee should ever lay hands on a student. This behaviour is unacceptable; Muslim students deserve the safety to practise their religion and express their identity.
Martin says that he neither saw nor heard any request from Osman to avoid physical contact for religious reasons.
As a leader of a faith-based institution, I have deep respect for the many religious traditions represented on campus and throughout the world, he said.
He stated that had he been made aware of this, he would have respected the request, as he has done with other students who did not wish to have physical contact.
Neither the New York Post nor KUOW examines in any detail why Martin took the flag from the student. The handshake appears to have become the main focus of the story.
Students Marked for Life
For graduates of the university, this will be one of their final memories of their time as students, says the reporter from Fox 13 Seattle. He has spoken with students who appear as though they will be marked by the experience for the rest of their lives.
However, there is little support in the comments section, where people are praising the provost. Here are some of the comments:
Bravo to the provost! I fully support his actions.
The nose-ring theory never fails.
Shame on you, students who support this pointless behaviour. Enough is enough! This is not your platform — take your diploma and leave!!
How detached from reality do you have to be to think that waving the Palestinian flag during a graduation ceremony will change anything at all? If anything, this is for her friends, to prove that she is somebody.