TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - A video posted on social media by students from the University of South Florida’s Muslim Student Association shows a disruption during a morning prayer that led police to file felony charges against three men.
In the video, it appears that a group of three men is eating bacon and harassing the Muslim students over their religious beliefs while they prayed.
“Take that towel off of your head! Take that towel off of your head,” one man yelled at the students in the video.
“They tried to intimidate us multiple times,” Saajid Khan, a USF student from the Muslim Student Association, told the press.
Students say they gather for prayer on campus often.
“What do you want? We came here to pray. Why are you here?” a student in the video said to their harassers.
The USF srudents who were targeted said this is the first time something like this has happened.
“In a world where we are already a minority — we are already fighting our way up — it makes us feel more isolated,” Khan said.
The perpetrators, who livestreamed the event, claim affiliation with a group called the “Kingdom Reconcilers following the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“Whatever safety we felt, it feels like that was stripped in that moment,” Khan said about the harassment they endured.
Tampa Police have identified all three men involved in the video. They face felony counts of disturbing a peaceful religious assembly.
USF officials said they are working with the Muslim Student Association to identify a location on campus to hold future activities. Those who were harassed, however, said they are looking for a more meaningful conclusion.
“Charges would be one thing. If it could get to that, that would be great. Just some kind of repercussion to show them and others that this isn’t OK,” Khan said.
Officials said the men are not affiliated with USF. The university said it plans to issue trespass orders to keep them off campus.
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