The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) today said an apology offered by Seattle University Provost Shane Martin did not address the fact that he grabbed a student and tried to snatch away her Palestinian flag during commencement.
The provost issued an apology after video of him grabbing a Palestinian flag out of the hands of a Muslim female student during commencement. The apology, however, did not address the grabbing of the flag. “I apologize for a misunderstanding that our student {student name} has raised since the ceremony. I did not observe or hear any request from {student name} that she wished to avoid physical contact as part of her Muslim faith,” the apology stated.
SEE: Controversy surrounds Seattle U over swiped Palestinian flag | FOX 13 Seattle
CAIR-WA previously condemned the incident.
In a statement, CAIR-WA Executive Director Imran Siddiqi said:
“Mr. Martin’s apology does not address the main issue at hand, namely that he tried to snatch the student’s Palestinian flag out of her hand very aggressively during commencement. This is not a simple misunderstanding, and the issue here is not that Mr. Martin touched the student in a congratulatory fashion that may have gone against her religious beliefs. It is an issue of aggressively trying to prevent a student from exercising her right to free speech. We urge Mr. Martin and Seattle University to address this incident fully.”
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CONTACT: Imraan Siddiqi, Executive Director at CAIR-WA, imraansiddiqi@cair.com