Center for Security, Race and Rights

Center for Security, Race and Rights
AbbreviationCSRR
Formation2018 (2018)
FounderSahar Aziz
TypeAcademic research center
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersRutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey
Location
  • United States
Founding director
Sahar Aziz
Parent organization
Rutgers University
Websitecsrr.rutgers.edu

The Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) is an academic research center at Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey. Founded in 2018 by law professor Sahar Aziz, the center conducts research, education, and advocacy concerning law and policy that affect the civil and human rights of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities in the United States.[1][2]

In 2024, Republican members of the U.S. Congress investigated the center as part of broader inquiries into antisemitism at Rutgers, alleging that some of its events and affiliates promoted antisemitic, anti-Israel, or pro-terrorist views. More than 500 legal scholars and several academic organizations criticized the investigations as threats to free speech and academic freedom.[3][4] In 2025, a center report on Hindutva drew objections from Hindu American organizations and a bipartisan group of members of Congress.[5]

History and activities

The center was established in 2018 by Sahar Aziz, a Distinguished Professor of Law and Chancellor's Social Justice Scholar at Rutgers Law School, who serves as its founding director.[6][7] According to the center, it was created during a period of heightened anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States, citing the federal travel restrictions affecting several Muslim-majority countries and a reported rise in hate crimes against Muslims.[2] It was established to focus on civil rights law and policy affecting Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities.[7] Before entering academia, Aziz served as a senior policy advisor in the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; her scholarship, including her 2021 book The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, examines the racialization of Muslims in the United States.[6][8]

Sahar Aziz

The center organizes its work around three broad themes: the historical and contemporary intersection of race and religion in the United States; the criminalization of Muslim identity through national-security law; and transnational questions of rights and security arising from relations between the United States and Muslim-majority countries.[1] Its activities include a lecture series with subseries such as "Islam in America," "Color of Religion," and "Palestinian Rights"; the Race and Rights Podcast; teach-ins, workshops, and conferences; and the publication of policy reports and resource guides.[1][2] It administers a law-student fellowship, endowed as the Bassem and Muna Hishmeh Endowed Student Fellowship, and a "Humanizing Palestine" program, and it is directed by Aziz with the support of executive staff, faculty affiliates, and a board of advisors.[1] The center documents its work in annual newsletters published since 2020 and in a cumulative executive report covering 2018 to 2024.[9]

Congressional scrutiny

Senate inquiry

The center attracted national scrutiny during the Senate’s consideration of Adeel A. Mangi’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mangi, who served on CSRR’s advisory board from 2019 to 2023, was questioned by Republican senators about speakers and events hosted by the center.[10] Mangi said that the advisory board did not oversee the center’s programming, that he had not been aware of the events in question, and that he unequivocally condemned terrorism and the October 7 attacks.[3][11]

In February 2024, following the questioning of Mangi, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by ranking member Lindsey Graham, opened an inquiry into the center's programming and funding. They alleged that the center had sponsored "events featuring antisemitic speakers, individuals who justify violence against the State of Israel, terrorist sympathizers and advocates for domestic radicalism." Their letter to Rutgers president Jonathan Holloway cited a 2021 event featuring Sami al-Arian, who was indicted in 2003 on charges of aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad and in 2006 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide services to a terrorist group[12]. It also cited an October 2023 lecture by scholar Lara Sheehi, and requested information on the center's federal, state, and foreign funding. The senators also wrote to the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP regarding a donation to the center's law-fellows program.[3][13]

House inquiry and hearing

On March 27, 2024, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Representative Virginia Foxx, added Rutgers to its wider investigation into campus antisemitism. Foxx described the center as having "become notorious as a hotbed of radical antisemitic, anti-American, anti-Israel, and pro-terrorist activity." The committee's document request cited faculty statements, the center's distribution of pro-Palestinian material, and a lecture defending the slogan "From the river to the sea." A Rutgers spokesperson responded that the university "takes claims of antisemitism, and all forms of bias and intolerance, very seriously."[14][15]

The center was raised again at a May 23, 2024 hearing of the House committee, at which Holloway testified alongside the leaders of Northwestern University and UCLA.[16] Representative Bob Good questioned Holloway about the center, citing social-media posts he characterized as antisemitic, and pressed him on whether Rutgers would close it. Holloway replied that he had "no plans to close the center."[17][18]

Academic response

The inquiries drew objections from academics and academic organizations, who described them as a viewpoint-based attack on the center and its director. In April 2024, a letter signed by 505 law professors and faculty members was delivered to the House committee, arguing that the investigation endangered "core American commitments to free speech and academic freedom." The signatories contended that the committee had selectively labeled Palestinian-related speakers as antisemitic despite the center having hosted nearly 90 lectures, and they called for the investigation to end.[4] The Middle East Studies Association's Committee on Academic Freedom also wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee in defense of the center.[19]

Hindutva in America report and event

In May 2025, the center published a report titled Hindutva in America: A Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism. The report described proponents of Hindu nationalism, which it characterized as a "transnational far-right political ideology" distinct from Hinduism as a religion, as seeking to spread "hate against Muslims, Sikhs and other minority groups" and to silence dissenting Indian Americans. It named Hindu advocacy organizations, including the Hindu American Foundation, as "proxies" of Indian parent organizations.[20][5]

The report drew objections from a coalition of Hindu American organizations, including the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), which described it as recycling "cherry-picked anecdotes and tired tropes" to target Hindu individuals and organizations and characterized it as promoting anti-Hindu prejudice.[21] On October 24, 2025, four members of the U.S. House of Representatives - Suhas Subramanyam (D–VA), Shri Thanedar (D–MI), Sanford Bishop (D–GA), and Rich McCormick (R–GA) - wrote to Rutgers president William F. Tate IV. They expressed concern that the report's rhetoric could fuel prejudice against Hindu students and asked the university to clarify that it did not institutionally endorse a related event.[22] The event, a panel held on October 27, proceeded as scheduled, while students, faculty and community members held a silent protest outside Alexander Library.[5][23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Our Mission". Center for Security, Race and Rights. Rutgers Law School. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  2. 1 2 3 "CSRR Executive Report". Center for Security, Race and Rights. Rutgers Law School. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  3. 1 2 3 "Senate Republicans take aim at Rutgers research program amid antisemitism allegations". Courthouse News Service. 2024-02-07. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  4. 1 2 "505 law professors sign letter condemning US House committee investigation into Rutgers University". JURIST. 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  5. 1 2 3 Karmarkar, Richa (2025-11-17). "How Rutgers University became a battleground for Hindu inclusion". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  6. 1 2 "Sahar Aziz". Rutgers Law School. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  7. 1 2 Pizzutillo, Rich (2018-08-29). "Rutgers Law announces academic centers focused on controversial legal issues". ROI-NJ. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  8. ↑ Aziz, Sahar F. (2021). The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520382299.
  9. ↑ "Annual Newsletters". Center for Security, Race and Rights. Rutgers Law School. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  10. ↑ Hulac, Benjamin J. (2024-02-23). "Attempt to derail NJ attorney nominated to influential court". NJ Spotlight News. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  11. ↑ Raji, Tobi (2024-03-20). "White House: Attack on judicial nominee is 'Islamophobic smear campaign'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  12. ↑ "Former Professor Pleads Guilty to Terrorist Charge". NPR. 2006-04-18. Retrieved 2026-07-27.
  13. ↑ "Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans Probe Rutgers University Center that Promotes Terrorist Sympathizers and Anti-Semitism". U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. 2024-02-07. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  14. ↑ Lapin, Andrew (2024-03-27). "Rutgers joins growing list of schools under GOP House investigation for antisemitism". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  15. ↑ "Rutgers joins growing list of schools under GOP House investigation for antisemitism". The Times of Israel. 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  16. ↑ Nieto-Munoz, Sophie (2024-05-24). "Rutgers president takes heat in Congress over handling of Gaza encampments • New Jersey Monitor". New Jersey Monitor. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  17. ↑ "Campus leaders stand their ground before Congress". Inside Higher Ed. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  18. ↑ Fox, Joey (2024-05-23). "Rutgers president in the hot seat at House committee hearing". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  19. ↑ "Letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers University–Newark Law School". Middle East Studies Association. 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  20. ↑ "Hindutva in America". Center for Security, Race and Rights. Rutgers Law School. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  21. ↑ "Coalition Letter on Rutgers CSRR's "Hindutva" Report". Coalition of Hindus of North America. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  22. ↑ "Explained: Why four US Congressmen have written to Rutgers over a 'Hindutva in America' event". The Times of India. 2025-10-25. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  23. ↑ "U. students, faculty, community members silently protest anti-Hindutva lecture". The Daily Targum. 2025-10-30. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.