Temple suspends pro-Palestinian student group; Muslim advocates call to investigate police over alleged hijab removal during campus protest

Temple University has temporarily banned Students for Justice in Palestine from operating on campus, the latest in a wave of suspensions against pro-Palestinian student groups amid sustained protests against the war in Gaza.

The move comes after police detained four SJP members, including a Temple student, during a demonstration that interrupted an on-campus career fair last week.

Muslim community leaders are calling for an investigation into the university’s handling of that protest after a Philadelphia police officer allegedly removed a Muslim protester’s hijab and detained the woman without access to her religious head covering.

While Temple did not cite that specific incident, a university spokesperson said in a statement that the interim suspension stemmed from “recent conduct,” and the student activist group is now forbidden from holding on-campus activities, including “meetings, social and philanthropic events.” The suspension was first reported by the Temple News.

The spokesperson pointed to the university’s on-campus demonstration guidelines that are “in place to ensure the safety and well-being of community members while also encouraging and preserving freedom of expression.”

Students for Justice in Palestine did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and had not posted about the suspension on social media.

This is not the group’s first brush with university leaders. Temple president Richard Englert denounced an SJP-led demonstration in August after protesters chanted outside a Jewish student center on campus.

In a statement, Englert threatened disciplinary action against students who participated in the rally, which he described as a form of “intimidation and harassment.” The pro-Palestinian student group pushed back against Englert’s comments, arguing in a post on social media that the president “distorted our message to serve the false narrative that Temple SJP is a threat to Temple.”

Pro-Palestinian student groups have faced similar sanctions across the nation amid sustained protest against Israel’s retaliatory siege against Hamas in Gaza. The University of Pennsylvania in April banned Penn Against the Occupation, revoking the student group’s credentials and forcing it to publicly distance itself from the Ivy League school. Colleges and universities across the region also dismantled pro-Palestinian student encampments that swept across campuses this summer.

But protests have continued ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, as Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza continues to draw international rebuke.

The Philadelphia Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the suspension of Temple SJP and called it another example of an “increasingly hostile campaign to suppress any criticism of Israel and to criminalize Muslim students.”

“It’s always wrong to suspend student groups for activism,” Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia, said Wednesday. “The university says they’re open to talking, but then they take these actions to shut [pro-Palestinian community members] out.”

CAIR is leading calls for the investigation into alleged hijab removal at the career fair protest last week. In a statement, the organization alleged police removed a woman’s hijab for her mug shot and denied her right to wear the head scarf while she was being detained. Footage posted on social media by the group shows officers shoving and grabbing protesters during the commotion, at one point pinning one person to the ground.

Temple sought to charge the career fair protesters with disorderly conduct and related offenses, but District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office declined the charges, according to the Temple News.

Temple denied the claims in a social media post last week. After reviewing hours of body-worn camera and building security footage, Temple police said there was “no evidence” officers removed the hijab or “brutalized” protesters, and further claimed that one Temple police officer assisted a woman whose hijab slipped from her hair.

Tekelioglu said CAIR will likely file a lawsuit over the incident.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Adam Attia, legal director for CAIR Philadelphia, called the treatment of the woman who was forced to remove her hijab by the Philadelphia police a “humiliating violation” and “serious defilement.”

Attia said he was looking at “all legal options” and was seeking discipline for the officers involved, a public apology for the woman and other protesters detained and later released without being charged with any crimes, and a change of policy.

In a statement, police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp said the woman was allowed “to wear her hijab while in common areas that could be in the presence of individuals identifying as male. However, it was removed for her booking photograph and securely placed with her personal belongings while she was in a holding cell with other women.”

At the CAIR news conference, the woman who was forced to remove her hijab, Johara Shama, who identified herself as a recent Temple graduate, said she was told to remove the religious covering because the officer said it was a suicide hazard.

Shama said it was against her religious beliefs, but complied. She still had an undercap on her head, and according to Shama, a male officer removed that. She was then fingerprinted and taken to be photographed, which was done by another male officer.

The coverings were returned to her in a bag after 20 hours of detention. She was not charged.

In the police department statement, Gripp said: “We recognize that our policies need to evolve to better respect and accommodate religious practices. The PPD is actively working to update our policies to allow for the wearing of religious head coverings during the booking process and while in custody, provided that it does not compromise safety or security protocols.”

Gripp said the department is looking at best practices among other law enforcement agencies, and he noted that a recent police recruit was allowed to wear religious garb during training under a temporary provision.

“This officer, and all officers going forward, will be permitted to do so going forward as per an update to our uniform policy that is currently underway,” Gripp said.

“Our goal is to ensure that our practices uphold the constitutional rights of all individuals while maintaining the safety and integrity of our law enforcement processes,” he said.

Staff writer Beatrice Forman contributed to this article.