A Muslim student who allegedly lied that her Jewish roommate had threatened her life following a dispute about October 7 will not face any repercussions.
University of Washington student Isha Hussein claimed that her roommate made Islamophobic remarks and threatened to stab her with a knife as she prayed.
The roommate denied the allegations but was temporarily removed from her dorm and later moved out due to the hostility she faced.
However, a campus police report concluded it ‘could not establish probable cause’ after a witness contradicted Hussein’s account.
In a viral post which garnered almost 44,000 likes, Hussein claimed her roommate had made racist remarks to her when they moved in together in September 2023.
‘My roommate noticed I was a black Muslim and started making comments such as, ‘My family and I don’t like black people’, ‘That’s why my religion is better than yours’ and ‘Muslims are suicide bombers’,’ she wrote in the post.
Their relationship came to a head around the time of the October 7 attack after the two clashed during a discussion about Israel’s response, according to both parties.
During one exchange Hussein’s roommate said to her that she would, ‘pull a knife on her while praying […] then grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer’, a campus police report states.
The report was filed on October 24 when officers were called to the dorm to reports of harassment.
Both students’ names have been redacted, however the allegations match those made in Hussein’s Instagram post.
At the time of the alleged knife incident, Hussein told campus police during an interview she did not want to assist with prosecution, but just wanted the incident to be documented, the report states.
She also complained to the university, who she accused of failing to take her concerns seriously in the Instagram post shared in February.
Her statement further alleged that one of her other roommates went on to assault her in November as the fallout continued.
‘As a black Muslim woman, the University of Washington Housing and Food Services failed to protect me on the multiple occasions described,’ Hussein wrote.
Her claims sparked a huge backlash, with a ‘Justice for Isha Hussein’ rally held by the Somali Student Association the following month.’
However, the police report states that officers conducted an interview with a third roommate, who ‘did not witness any threats of open hostility towards the victim from the suspect.’
‘Based on the interview with only named witnesses I could not establish probable cause,’ the report reads.
The accused roommate has strenuously denied the allegations and stated that the two had been avoiding each other in the wake of October 7 due to ‘awkwardness’.
Her account to police details her surprise at receiving an email from college officials informing her she had to leave her apartment following a report about her alleged threatening behavior.
‘I was thrown out of my campus with no due process based entirely on a false accusation,’ she said in her statement.
She said she was eventually allowed to move back to her dorm after an interview with university director Amanda Roy who found no evidence of any violation, according to her statement.
‘I never wished to be any part of [readacted’s] false and harmful narrative, not now and not in October when she started her journey of made-up stories,’ the roommate said.
She speculated that Hussein may have fabricated the event in a bid to bolster her campaign to become student body president.
‘To my knowledge, there were no repercussions for [redacted] for making false and defamatory claims against me which resulted in my temporary loss of housing and permanent need to relocate and which caused considerable stress and strain on my academic schedule and emotional wellbeing,’ the accused roommate said.
The university confirmed it did not proceed with any further investigation at Hussein’s request.
‘The University of Washington is committed to providing a safe environment for students to live and learn, and has been aware of the issue shared by a student regarding conflicts with her roommate,’ university spokesperson Victor Balta told DailyMail.com.
‘Federal privacy laws prohibit the UW from sharing specific details, however I can share that the student who was allegedly threatened was interviewed by UW police and declined to assist with any potential prosecution, instead requesting only that the allegation be documented — which it was.
‘The claims and counterclaims are serious, deeply personal and have been difficult to verify or resolve for all parties.
‘UW HFS was, however, in regular contact with both students and they have been offered extensive support and resources to help them both move forward and to formally report any ongoing or subsequent issues.
‘As noted in the report, the case was reopened in March to include an additional statement that was eventually provided and to conduct additional interviews with witnesses. It was closed after no probable cause could be determined.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Hussein for comment.