Kayla Muñecas, Contributing Writer
A report from the Council of American-Islamic Relations released Feb. 11 categorized VCU as a “hostile campus” for Muslim students. The university was ranked as less-hostile than the average of the universities studied.
Approximately 2,000 Muslim students attend VCU.The report, which observed 51 universities and colleges across the country throughout 2025, aimed to gauge the prevalence of Islamophobia on campuses, as well as measure institutional support for Muslim students and their allies.
The CAIR’s findings can serve as a “roadmap for improvement,” and can encourage higher education institutions to create safer spaces for their Muslim students, according to the report.
There are three possible categories that universities can fall into in the report: “unhostile campus,” “under watch campus” and “hostile campus.” Under watch campuses are defined as campuses that have demonstrated inconsistent support of Muslim students or have exhibited harmful behaviors. Hostile campuses are defined as those that have been deemed repressive or discriminatory towards Muslim students.
VCU received a score of 45 out of 100, which, despite earning the institution the lowest ranking category, still fell above the average score from the CAIR’s findings. Of the 51 schools that were examined, 47 were seen as hostile campuses.
Point deductions in the report occurred if the university’s anti-discrimination policies did not specifically mention Muslim students, if there were reports of negative or harmful student experiences and if political expression prohibitions were implemented.
VCU received point deductions for a variety of reasons, including a lack of mention of anti-Muslim bias in their anti-discrimination policy, biased statements/actions and major policy changes while “excluding input from students,” the CAIR report states.
The university most notably lost points for how its administration responded to student protesters’ pro-Palestine encampment in 2024.
VCU promptly changed its Campus Expression and Space Utilization Policy the following semester — with new restrictions on chalking and where students could protest. After pro-Palestine protesters and police clashed in the spring of 2024 , the university changed policies on student conduct, such as chalking on the Compass in front of Cabell Library.
The university also temporarily withheld the degrees of several graduating student protesters, most notably Sereen Haddad — who did not receive her degree until late in the summer.
Online letters alleging discrimination, media documentation of anti-Palestinian biases, arrests, sanctions and suspensions are all listed as further reasons the university was deemed a hostile campus.
On Oct. 12, 2023, five days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, VCU President Michael Rao sent an email to students in which he described the attack as “savage” and “barbaric.”
In response, over 900 VCU students signed a petition asking Rao to consider more perspectives on the issue “rather than issuing a one-sided statement that completely disregards the attacks on Palestinians.”
The sentiment was echoed at a protest on Oct. 18, 2023 organized by the Richmond chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, which VCU students also attended. Among them was then-Muslim Life director at VCU Bilal Quraishi, who called the language “miscalculated” per a previous report by The CT.
“You feel dehumanized, like all this talk about diversity and inclusion and ‘we love our Muslim brothers and sisters, our community,’ it just feels like empty words,” Quraishi said.
Ammar Mohiuddin, current president of the Muslim Student Association at VCU, said he partly agrees with the rating the university received in the report.
“I guess it makes me, in a way, feel unsafe. It’s a small feeling in the back of everyone’s mind, especially with that report,” Mohiuddin said. “But at the same time, there’s different people at VCU that have done a great job in really trying to advocate for Muslim students.”
Regarding pro-Palestine demonstrations, Mohiuddin said he does not believe VCU handled the situation to the best of their ability.
Mohiuddin said the report was a bit surprising, but helped him to recall instances in which the university has not been exactly supportive of Muslim students.
Mohiuddin said staff and faculty in the Commons have been especially helpful during Ramadan, a month where Muslims fast from sunset to sundown, by helping Muslim students reserve places to hold iftar, or daily dinners where fasts are broken.
“I think that there’s different levels to VCU. So maybe at the top, it might not be the best for Muslim students, but as I build connections with different people within VCU, I really have found that some people really do want what’s best for Muslim students,” Mohiuddin said.
VCU spokesperson Michael Porter stated that the CAIR had not reached out to the university, and in turn that they would not be able to address the rating.
“VCU is committed to upholding a climate of mutual trust and respect where individuals of different backgrounds, identities, abilities and life experiences are embraced, engaged and empowered to drive excellence and success,” Porter said.