We condemn the recent violence by Iran’s security forces at Sharif University and other universities in Iran against student protesters. Iranian students are not only the future of Iran but also make significant contributions to arts, culture, science, and industry across the world. They deserve to be treated with dignity, they have the right to protest, and they should be released from detention. We also ask that UC Davis and the University of California system as a whole condemn state violence against student protesters.

Recent events in Afghanistan have once again captured the attention of the media. Many of the headlines do not describe the terrible humanitarian toll on Afghanistan’s people during the past 20 years of US/NATO occupation and the Karzai-Ghani administrations. The Middle East/South Asia Studies Program (ME/SA) expresses its solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and encourages all stakeholders to come together to alleviate the Afghan people’s suffering and ensure their well-being and prosperity in the future.

he Middle East/ South Asia Studies Program strongly condemns the hate-crime against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16th, 2021, when a white shooter killed eight people, including six Asian women. We recognize that this horrific incident is deeply-rooted in the perpetuation of racial discrimination towards the AAPI community and is testament to the sexualization and fetishization of Asian women.

Dear Community, We witness, yet again, the senseless and brutal murder of a Black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police officers in the city of Minneapolis. The Middle East/South Asia Studies Program unequivocally and categorically condemns this racist and violent act. We stand with the family and friends of George Floyd and with all those who feel the pain and anguish of this outrageous and tragic incident. We stand in support of the human rights and human dignity of our Black brothers and sisters, and of all people of color.

On Saturday, October 27, 2018, eleven people were killed at the Tree of Life/Or L'Simcha synagogue in Pittsburgh. The mass murder happened during a bris, a ceremony to welcome an infant into the Jewish community. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in the history of the United States.