Muslim college students at Rutgers University say they feel unsafe after the Islamic center on campus was vandalized.

Police say the break in occurred Tuesday night during Eid, which celebrates the end of Ramadan.

They found a ripped Palestinian flag and art pieces with Quran verses destroyed.

The incident is being investigated as a criminal act of bias and hatred.

As Melissa Rose Cooper reports.

It comes as tensions have been rising on campus over the war in Gaza.

Zero was one of the few places, if not the only where Muslims truly felt comfort and safety on campus.

And now that has been taken from us.

Feelings of disappointment.

Norah Asker now has, after learning the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University, had been vandalized Tuesday night during the holiday marks the end of Ramadan and is one of the most celebratory times on the Islamic calendar.

I received the news of this disgusting and disturbing attack yesterday morning.

The same time I usually wake up and greet my parents and start celebrating our beloved and sacred holiday.

I eat instead.

Like many Muslim students, I watched in horror as we saw what happened to a space so near and dear to our hearts.

This center isn't just a religious space.

For more than a decade, students have been able to come here for educational programing, as well as counseling and other support.

Our physical presence on this campus is evidence of and a message to everyone in this university that our community belongs here.

But for Atiya, Aftab, chair of the Board of Trustees, for the center, the vandalism is just one of the latest attacks on the Muslim community since the war in Gaza began.

Why is it that the days after October 7th, our chaplain was deemed unwelcome and his presence to some was seen as threatening because of his call to humanize Palestinian Palestinian life?

Now, members of the Center for Islamic Life are demanding Rutgers do more to ensure the safety of its Muslim community.

Unfortunately, one of the experiences of being a muslim in America or being a muslim in a public position is that we do occasionally, us and our student groups receive threats and they get reported every single time and we do what we can to take the steps appropriately.

But really what we wanted to say with our statement is twofold.

Yes, it's the security concern that we need to do better to secure ourselves, but is also the idea that an action like this was emboldened because we didn't communicate in a public setting, appropriately enough, to recognize the Muslim experience, to recognize the voices that are sometimes silenced.

Rutgers maintains they take every claim of bias, intolerance and hate seriously, conducting thorough investigations when warranted, a spokesperson adding in a statement, The safety and well-being of our students is a top priority.

But are you?

P.D.

will continue to increase public safety presence on and around campus.

Additional campus safety resources are available to students.

Although we appreciate the support shown by them on it.

The Rutgers administration's failure to address these concerns earlier has not only allowed, but has affirmed the recurrence of further hateful acts towards our Muslim, Arab and especially Palestinian students here on campus.

Now is not the time for empty gestures.

Now is the time for action.

We urge the Rutgers administration to take concrete steps in order to ensure the safety and security of our Muslim community here at Rutgers.

Governor Murphy and State Attorney General Matt Parkin both say they've launched a criminal investigation into the incidents.

And although the vandalism has left members of the center sad, they say it's not enough to keep their voices from being heard.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Rose Cooper.