The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on George Washington University to end its relationship with a program that co-led a racist training for New York Police Department (NYPD) staff that falsely claimed common expressions of Palestinian ethnic identity such as the keffiyeh and watermelons are indicators of extremism.
The Program on Extremism (GW PoE), led by Lorenzo Vidino, has previously been linked to poor research that contributed to police actions in Austria that were deemed “unlawful” and ties to Islamophobic groups.
Last week, after reporting in Jewish Currents detailed the January 2025 training, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) condemned the NYPD’s training that reportedly falsely labeled Palestinian cultural symbols – including the keffiyeh, a centuries-old emblem of Palestinian heritage and broader Arab identity, and the watermelon, which became a symbol of Palestinian solidarity after Israel’s draconian banning of the public display of the Palestinian flag – as “symbols of hate.”
SEE: Training for NYPD Officers Categorized the Keffiyeh and Watermelon as Antisemitic Symbols
“Facts still matter. If George Washington University’s leadership wishes to be seen as even slightly invested in academic credibility, Vidino’s sloppy work and at the very least tacit acceptance of ethnic bias—a keffiyeh is a longstanding Palestinian symbol and watermelon is, well…fruit—then they should show him out the front door, and quickly.” said CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor.
In a letter send today to GWU President Dr. Ellen Granberg, Saylor wrote the following:
“Reporting in 2023 in The New Yorker, Middle East Eye, and the European Islamophobia Report 2023 all show harm to a number of people caused by smears and government targeting. Central to that reporting is Operation Luxor, a 2020 police operation in Austria that was ultimately ruled unlawful by an Austrian judge. Reporting by Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative notes that the justification for the unlawful operation relied heavily on a report authored by Vidino. The report contained information that was identified as ‘completely fictitious’ and noted that ‘instead of reputable sources, the authors resorted to ‘tendentious websites or media critical of Islam.’
“The authors of the 2022 European Islamophobia Report identify Vidino as ‘a central figure in the Islamophobia network.’
“In 2020, Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative wrote, ‘Vidino is connected to numerous anti-Muslim think tanks in the United States and Europe and has published in various anti-Muslim outlets.’ The Bridge Initiative documents his collaboration with U.S.-based anti-Muslim racists Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes as well.”
CAIR previously designated GW as a university hostile to its Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students and staff.
SEE: CAIR’s Designation of George Washington University as a Hostile Campus
In March 2024, a lawsuit was filed against GWU by an Austrian Muslim scholar and professor, charging the Program and its director, Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, with carrying out a malicious smear campaign by “constructing and disseminating false narratives linking [the person who filed the lawsuit and others] to the Muslim Brotherhood.” A report authored by Vidino reportedly formed the basis for a 2020 Austrian police operation that raided dozens of Muslim homes and organizations and was later ruled unlawful by Austrian courts.
Saylor added “GWU’s continued employment of Dr. Vidino, who researchers at Georgetown University have been connected to anti -Muslim think tanks in the United States and Europe, reflects either tacit approval or institutional indifference to Islamophobia.”
SEE: Bridge Initiative Factsheet on Lorenzo Vidino
SEE ALSO: The Dirty Secrets of a Smear Campaign
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com