Muslim Students Face Disproportionate Religious Discrimination on U.S. College Campuses, New Data Shows

WASHINGTON — Muslim students in the United States are reporting religious discrimination on college campuses at rates substantially higher than students from other religious groups, according to data highlighted in a new higher education resource from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

The findings are part of ISPU’s “Countering and Dismantling Islamophobia” toolkit, which includes recommendations specifically aimed at universities and colleges. The data point to discrimination involving fellow students, people in positions of authority, institutional practices and restrictions on religious expression.

According to ISPU’s American Muslim Poll 2025, 63 percent of Muslims surveyed reported experiencing religious discrimination during the previous year, compared with 50 percent of Jewish respondents, 27 percent of Protestants, 25 percent of Catholics and 22 percent of religiously unaffiliated respondents. The survey was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago between April 2 and May 8, 2025.

The disparities become particularly pronounced when researchers examine higher education.

Among respondents who said they had experienced religious discrimination, 25 percent of Muslims reported experiencing discrimination while interacting with peers at a university or college. The corresponding figures were 13 percent among Jewish respondents and 6 percent among Protestants.

Nearly another quarter, 24 percent, of Muslims who experienced religious discrimination reported encountering it while dealing with people in positions of authority at their academic institutions, including faculty, administrators or staff, according to ISPU’s university findings.

Muslim students report greater discrimination than Muslim nonstudents

Earlier ISPU research suggests that attending college itself may be associated with greater exposure to religious discrimination among Muslims.

In research based on polling conducted from December 2023 through January 2024, 84 percent of Muslim students in higher education or vocational programs reported experiencing religious discrimination during the preceding year, compared with 66 percent of Muslims who were not students.

The difference was also visible in particular settings. Seventy eight percent of Muslim students reported religious bias from peers, compared with 56 percent of Muslim nonstudents. Sixty eight percent reported discrimination involving people in authority, compared with 50 percent of Muslim nonstudents.

The results indicate that discrimination is not confined to isolated interactions between students. ISPU describes Muslim students as encountering bias from peers, faculty and institutional policies.

Students report pressure to remain silent

Another issue identified by the research is self censorship.

ISPU’s university toolkit, citing research from Muslim Campus Life, reports that 53 percent of Muslim students self censor generally and 69 percent report self censoring when interacting with professors, the highest levels among the religious groups measured.

The finding raises concerns beyond religious accommodation. Students who believe that expressing religious, social or political views could result in academic or professional consequences may choose not to participate fully in classroom discussions or campus activities.

Muslim Campus Life, an organization focused on Muslim experiences in higher education, maintains a national tracker documenting reported incidents involving Islamophobia, anti Muslim racism, anti Arab racism and anti Palestinian racism on college campuses.

Other research points to a broader campus problem

ISPU’s findings are consistent with other recent research examining Muslim students.

A 2024 study by CAIR California surveyed 720 Muslim students attending 87 public and private colleges and universities in California. Nearly half reported experiencing harassment or discrimination on campus during the 2023 to 2024 academic year, an increase from 40 percent in the organization’s previous campus climate study.

Among students who reported harassment or discrimination because of their Muslim identity, 53 percent said their institution’s official statements regarding Palestine and Israel made them feel excluded on campus.

Institutional reviews have documented similar concerns. Harvard University’s 2025 Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti Muslim, Anti Arab and Anti Palestinian Bias reported concerns from Muslim students regarding prayer space, halal food, Ramadan meals and institutional support for Muslim religious life.

Muslim religious spaces have also been targeted

Recent incidents have demonstrated that campus discrimination can extend beyond speech or institutional policy.

During Eid al Fitr in April 2024, the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University was broken into and vandalized. Religious artifacts and other property were damaged. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged a New Jersey man with a federal hate crime involving obstruction of religious practice.

In April 2025, a Muslim prayer room inside a New York University library was vandalized. University officials reported obscene imagery on a wall and urine on prayer mats and publicly condemned the desecration.

These incidents illustrate the range of problems Muslim students may encounter, from interpersonal discrimination and inadequate religious accommodation to attacks on spaces specifically designated for Muslim religious practice.

ISPU calls for institutional action

ISPU’s recommendations for universities and colleges call for campus climate assessments, clear procedures for reporting anti Muslim discrimination, religious accommodations, reviews of policies that may disproportionately affect Muslim students and training for faculty and administrators on Islamophobia and anti Muslim bias.

The toolkit also calls for consistent application of free speech and academic freedom protections and recommends accommodations for Ramadan, Eid, daily prayers and dietary requirements.

The data provide university leaders with measurable evidence that Muslim students’ concerns cannot be treated solely as individual disputes or isolated campus incidents. Across multiple studies, Muslim students report problems involving classmates, faculty, administrators, institutional policies and the ability to practice their faith.

For Muslim civil rights and community organizations, the findings also underscore the importance of documenting incidents and holding institutions accountable to religious freedom and nondiscrimination protections.

The Shia Muslim Foundation encourages Muslim students, families and campus organizations to document incidents of anti Muslim discrimination, preserve relevant communications and use established university reporting procedures when problems occur. Universities should apply their nondiscrimination, religious accommodation and free expression policies consistently to Muslim students and other campus communities.

U.S. Grants Sanctions Waiver for Iran to Najaf Pilgrimage Flights

The United States has granted a temporary sanctions exemption allowing Iraqi Airways to resume passenger flights between Iran and Najaf, reopening a major pilgrimage route to one of the most sacred cities in Shia Islam. Iraq’s Transport Ministry said service is expected to resume in October after regulatory and technical requirements are completed. Reuters reported that the initial authorization will last one month, with the possibility of a longer arrangement afterward.

For Shia Muslims, the significance of the decision extends far beyond the restoration of an international flight route.

Najaf is home to the shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son in law of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Imam in Shia Islam. Visitation to his shrine has been a central part of Shia religious life for centuries. Najaf developed around Imam Ali’s burial place and became an international destination for pilgrims from Iran, Iraq, the Indian subcontinent, the Gulf, North America and Shia communities across the globe.

The city is also one of the principal intellectual centers of Shia Islam. Its Hawza, or religious seminary, has shaped Shia scholarship for centuries and has produced generations of scholars and religious authorities. Najaf remains the seat of senior maraji, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, whose religious following extends across national borders. The city therefore serves simultaneously as a place of pilgrimage, religious scholarship and Shia communal life.

Najaf also functions as a gateway to Iraq’s wider network of Shia holy sites. Pilgrims arriving there frequently continue to Karbala, home to the shrines of Imam Hussain and Hazrat Abbas, as well as Kadhimiya in Baghdad and Samarra. Air access to Najaf therefore supports a much larger pilgrimage infrastructure serving millions of Shia Muslims.

Reuters reports that Najaf draws millions of pilgrims each year. The city also contains Wadi al Salam, the vast cemetery adjoining the shrine city that has served for centuries as a burial place for Shia Muslims from Iraq, Iran and communities much farther afield.

That religious importance helps explain why the interruption of flights generated an immediate reaction.

Iraq halted flights to and from Iran on September 25 in line with new United States sanctions affecting services to Iranian airlines. The restrictions were part of a broader campaign targeting Iran’s civilian aviation sector and companies providing services to Iranian carriers. The measures disrupted air connections between Iran and several neighboring countries.

The consequences in Najaf were particularly sensitive because travel between Iran and Iraq is closely tied to religious pilgrimage. Iraqi officials sought exemptions for civilian travel connected to pilgrimage, medical treatment and education.

Protests followed the suspension of service at Najaf International Airport. The dispute placed the Iraqi government between compliance with United States sanctions and the practical effects of cutting a heavily traveled religious and civilian connection with neighboring Iran.

Reuters reported that Iraqi officials warned that continued restrictions on the pilgrimage route could generate significant backlash among Shia communities. Baghdad offered safeguards including passenger screening, information sharing and measures intended to prevent the authorized flights from transporting weapons, sanctioned individuals or illicit funds.

The resulting Treasury authorization is limited. Iraqi Airways is expected to operate the permitted services through Najaf while broader restrictions affecting Iranian aviation remain in place. The number of flights authorized under the temporary exemption has not yet been determined.

The exemption therefore does not represent a general reversal of United States sanctions policy toward Iran. It creates a narrow channel intended to preserve travel through Najaf for religious pilgrimage while maintaining the broader sanctions framework.

For Shia communities outside Iraq and Iran, the dispute also demonstrates how geopolitical decisions affecting transportation can directly affect religious practice. Najaf and Karbala are international religious destinations. Restrictions on the transportation network serving them can affect pilgrims whose connection to these cities is religious rather than political.

For Shia Muslims, access to Najaf carries meaning that cannot be measured simply in passenger numbers or airline schedules. The city holds the resting place of Imam Ali, serves as a center of religious scholarship and connects generations of believers to institutions and traditions at the heart of Shia Islam.

The Shia Muslim Foundation will continue monitoring government policies that affect access to Shia holy sites and the ability of Shia Muslims to undertake religious pilgrimage across international borders.

Threats Against Mosques and Muslims Raise Security Concerns Across the United States

A series of threats against mosques and Muslims has raised security concerns for Islamic institutions across the United States. Recent incidents include an alleged bomb threat against the ADAMS Center in Virginia, a letter threatening mass killing at a California mosque, and alleged death threats against four Muslim men in Michigan.

A September 30 security bulletin reviewed by the Shia Muslim Foundation assessed the threat of physical attacks against Muslims as elevated, citing recent threats against mosques and individuals as well as demonstrations outside Islamic institutions. The bulletin recorded 38 reported threats and attacks in the United States between January and September 2026 and cautioned that reported incidents do not capture every case.

One of the most immediate cases for Muslim communities in the Washington region involves the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, known as the ADAMS Center, in Northern Virginia.

According to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, detectives were alerted to a comment posted on the ADAMS Center’s Instagram page indicating that someone intended to deliver an explosive device to an ADAMS Center event. Investigators executed multiple search warrants on September 18. The following day, Adam Sawyer, 50, of Spotsylvania County, was arrested and charged with one count of Threats to Bomb. The investigation involved the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and Fairfax County Police Department.

The September security bulletin also documented the threat and the subsequent arrest.

In California, federal prosecutors have charged a man in connection with an explicit threat of mass violence against Muslims.

The U.S. Department of Justice says Louis White, 60, of Warner Springs mailed a letter to the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley that threatened the mass killing of Muslims. According to a federal criminal complaint, the mosque received the letter on August 26. It included a drawing depicting a bearded man inside crosshairs.

Federal authorities said investigators traced the letter to White and searched his residence on August 29. Several firearms were seized, including what investigators described as an AR 15 style short barreled rifle without a serial number. White was charged with mailing threatening communications. The charge is an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Another case occurred in Troy, Michigan, on September 12.

Oakland County prosecutors charged Peter Hamilton Northup, 79, with four counts of Aggravated Hate Crime after an encounter involving four Muslim men outside the Troy Public Library.

According to Oakland County prosecutors, the men were offering members of the public an opportunity to discuss Islam and the Quran when Northup allegedly approached them, expressed hatred toward Muslims and threatened to kill them while stating that he was armed. Police arrested Northup and reported that he was carrying a loaded pistol.

Authorities subsequently recovered 19 firearms after Troy Police sought an order restricting his access to weapons. The criminal charges remain allegations unless proven in court.

Concerns have extended beyond direct criminal threats.

In Texas, the September security bulletin documented repeated online attention directed toward Muslim students and Muslim Student Associations at public high schools. Posts highlighted Muslim students holding Friday prayers, criticized schools for providing space for prayer and, in one instance, called for parents to shut down a Muslim Student Association.

The bulletin also reported that approximately 50 people participated in an anti Islam demonstration outside the Islamic Association of Collin County in Plano on September 11. The mosque had notified law enforcement before the demonstration, and officers patrolled the area.

Taken together, the incidents show the range of security issues confronting Muslim communities. Some involve speech or demonstrations protected by the First Amendment. Others involve alleged threats of bombing, mass killing or violence that prompt criminal investigations.

The distinction matters. Criticism of Islam, protests outside mosques and offensive speech do not automatically constitute criminal conduct. Credible threats of violence, bomb threats and conduct placing individuals in fear of physical harm can present separate public safety and law enforcement concerns.

Federal guidance recommends that houses of worship prepare for those risks before an emergency occurs.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommends a layered approach to security that includes assigning responsibility for security decisions, maintaining emergency and incident response plans, conducting vulnerability assessments, establishing channels for reporting credible threats and protecting the outer and inner areas of religious facilities. CISA also specifically recommends considering the safety of children in religious schools, childcare programs and other activities.

For SMF, the recent cases reinforce the importance of preparation without allowing intimidation to interfere with religious life.

Recent threats against mosques and Muslim Americans are a serious reminder that houses of worship must take security planning seriously. No community should have to choose between openly practicing its faith and feeling safe. Muslim institutions should build strong relationships with local law enforcement, train staff and volunteers, document threats, and report concerning activity. At the same time, we cannot allow threats or intimidation to push Muslims out of public life or make families afraid to attend their mosques. — Rahat Husain, Executive Director of the Shia Muslim Foundation

SMF encourages mosques, Islamic centers, schools and community organizations to maintain clear procedures for reporting threats, preserve threatening messages and social media posts, establish relationships with local law enforcement and periodically review emergency procedures with staff and volunteers.

Security planning does not require treating every hostile comment as an imminent danger. It requires institutions to have a process for distinguishing routine concerns from credible threats and acting quickly when circumstances warrant.

Muslim institutions remain open places of prayer, education and community life. Protecting those spaces requires awareness, preparation and cooperation while preserving the ability of Muslims to practice their faith openly and without intimidation.