A Columbia man who was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of abusing a 14-year-old female relative for failing to wear her hijab is a former adjunct instructor at MU.
Youssif Omar, 53, was arrested Wednesday evening at the 1700 block of Timber Creek Drive on suspicion of child abuse. Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Bryana Larimer said in an email statement that police were dispatched to Hickman High School at 3 p.m. that day in reference to the incident.
Larimer said that after Omar noticed the relative not wearing her hijab that he “grabbed her violently by the hair, pulled her outside and down a flight of stairs.” He then slapped the girl in the face, pulled her by the hair again and put her into a vehicle, the report said.
Omar was taken to the Boone County Jail. He was later released after posting $4,500 bond.
Christian Basi of the MU News Bureau said Monday that Omar has not been affiliated with MU since July 2015. He also refuted widespread media reports that Omar was an assistant professor, saying that Omar had never held a faculty position. The MU directory on Monday morning listed Omar as an adjunct instructor of Arabic in the Department of German and Russian Studies.
Basi confirmed that Omar had been an adjunct and said he also was a research assistant in the Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum and in the Campus Writing Program
Omar is also the former managing editor of MU’s Artifacts, a semi-annual journal of undergraduate essays sponsored by the Campus Writing Program. Essays published in the journal come from MU writing intensive and composition courses.
Each edition of the journal includes an introduction from the managing editor. Omar wrote essays titled “Good Will in Globalized World” in April, “Divine Matrix” in December, “Diversity” in August 2014 and “Importance of Art in Our Life” in April 2014.
Omar remained listed as the managing editor of the publication early Monday morning, but the website was later updated to show Bonnie Selting of the Campus Writing Program as the new managing editor.
The Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said Monday that the case remained under review.
