Muslim Civil Rights Group Calls on University to Discipline Harvard Republican Club Over Eid Post

The Council on American-Islamic Relations on Tuesday urged Harvard to discipline the Harvard Republican Club over a social media post criticizing a campus Eid celebration, arguing that the post singled out Muslim students and contributed to a hostile campus climate.

In a two-page letter addressed to University President Alan M. Garber ’76, CAIR’s Unhostile Campus Campaign Specialist Maryam Hasan wrote that the club’s April 4 post — which described Harvard as “captured” during a Harvard Islamic Society Eid al-Fitr celebration — disparaged a core religious observance and amounted to discriminatory targeting of Muslim students.

“The post singles out members of the Harvard community for apparent discriminatory harassment based solely on their Islamic faith,” Hasan wrote.

The post, which as of Thursday remained pinned to the Harvard Republican Club’s X account, claimed that the celebration disrupted students studying for midterms with “loud prayers and music.” It also alleged that attendees sold religious items, spread “large prayer mats” across the grass, and drew “dozens of unvetted strangers” near student dormitories.

Attendees, however, were required to register in advance, and the items described as prayer mats were tarps used for seating.

In its letter, CAIR argued that the language of the post portrayed Muslim students as a threat. Hasan pointed in particular to the framing of the event as evidence that Harvard had been “captured,” writing that such rhetoric suggested Muslim students were outsiders exerting undue control over campus life.

The Harvard Republican Club did not respond to requests for comment.

The letter also noted that, in its review of the club’s X account dating back to August 2024, CAIR found no comparable complaints about noise or disruption tied to events hosted by other religious or campus groups.

“Taken together, these points raise the reasonable concern that being Muslim is the problem,” the letter read.

CAIR cited Harvard’s Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying Policy, which includes Islamophobia among prohibited forms of discriminatory harassment, and argued that the post met that standard. The letter further contended that Harvard has an obligation under Title VI to address conduct that could interfere with students’ equal access to educational opportunities.

Beyond disciplinary action, CAIR called on the University to require the removal of the post, publicly condemn what it described as anti-Muslim extremism, and adopt a clearer, enforceable definition of Islamophobia.

“Without such a framework, anti-Muslim bias is routinely minimized or dismissed, even where it contributes to a hostile environment,” Hasan wrote.

University spokespeople did not respond to repeated requests for comment on CAIR’s letter.

The letter also pointed to CAIR’s 2025 Hostile Campus Ratings Report, which gave Harvard a score of 12 percent and designated it a “Hostile Campus.”

The Harvard Republican Club is separately under investigation by the Dean of Students Office following a formal complaint alleging that the post violated College policies on harassment and photography. College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo confirmed the investigation Tuesday but declined to comment on its details.

Harvard Islamic Society leaders have sharply criticized the post in the days since its publication. In a Tuesday op-ed in The Crimson, co-president Moeen M. Razzaque ’26 called the post “spiteful” and accused the club of spreading “blatant lies” about the event.

“I am appalled by such bigotry from a recognized student organization,” Razzaque wrote.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ser.85. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.