The University of South Florida Police Department said they're working to identify three men who disrupted the early morning prayers of the Muslim Student Association.
The students were on top of the Collins Boulevard Parking Facility on the Tampa campus engaging in fajr prayer, which takes place before sunrise.
It was around 6 a.m. Tuesday when the three men interrupted, shouting and livestreaming the incident.
The university said they plan to refer "the perpetrators to the State Attorney's Office for criminal charges" and will issue trespass orders to prevent them from returning to campus.
USF said they've increased police presence on campus and at events.
A university statement regarding a recent incident on our Tampa campus. pic.twitter.com/zSSQBtt7jg
— University of South Florida (@USouthFlorida) November 19, 2025
A video of the livestream was posted to the YouTube channel "Warriors for Christ," a group the Southern Poverty Law Center recognizes as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.
Videos on the YouTube page show its members disrupting Muslim and LGBTQ+ events and protesting outside of abortion clinics.
Its members have targeted events and businesses in cities across the country including Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Bartlesville, Oklahoma; and Lafayette, Louisiana.
In a video taken by a member of the Muslim Students Association, one of the men wears a white thobe (a traditional garment worn by men in the middle east and North Africa). The words "12th Imam says Jesus is God" is written on the front.
The man shouts at the group of students to look at a cardboard box with the words "Kaaba 2.0 Jesus is Lord" they placed in front of the students.
A kaaba is a shrine located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and is where Muslims orient themselves during prayer.
Throughout the incident, which lasts about 10 minutes, the men mock aspects of the Islamic religion. One man spits on the ground near the students and another waves pieces of bacon at them.
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In Islam, pork is forbidden.
The individual filming brings the camera close to the students as they continue to engage in prayer. When one of the men waves his finger in a student's face, the student grabs the man's wrist.
"Did we put our hands on you? Did we touch you? No, but that's what you did," the man behind the camera said, "This isn't harassment, this is free speech."
Mariam Yuldashev, who was at the prayer, said one of the men yelled at them multiple times to "take that towel off your head."
"It got to a point where we were feeling a little bit emotional from the situation," Yuldashev said, "The guy screamed at us, 'Why are you crying? Your prophet's in hell.'"
Malak Albustami, president of the MSA, said she hopes USF condemns, not only the incident, but Islamophobic actions as a whole.
"The longer the university takes to address the situation formally, the more hatred that could be gathered," said Albustami. "It could snowball into a much bigger thing, and it could very well lead to another planned attack on us."
Khadijah Nayeem, another member of the MSA, said this isn't the first time Islamophobia has surfaced on USF's campus.
Nayeem said she's received multiple comments from people on campus telling her "it's disgraceful that I'm even Muslim."
"I think every single sister at least has one story that they can share," Nayeem said.
Albustami said MSA is preparing a list of demands for USF, which include formally condemning Islamophobia and reaffirming protections for Muslim students.
If the issue is not addressed properly, Albustami said she fears others will feel emboldened to do the same.
She pointed to comments under social media videos of the incident in which people ask to join the men.
"Not only are they going around like terrorizing students and harassing them, they're encouraging large groups of other people to do the same," Albustami said.
During the prayer, both Albustami and Yuldashev said they were afraid things would escalate.
"We don't know what these men are going to do. We don't know if it was going to turn violent," said Yuldashev.
In the wake of the situation, Yuldashev said she and her peers have received an outpouring of support. People from different faiths have reached out and offered to stand watch at their next prayer.
Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, whose district includes USF, posted a statement on his Facebook condemning the incident.
"The video that I saw was disturbing and deeply hurtful. I cannot imagine how it feels to be attacked and mocked while practicing your faith - a historic faith often passed down from generation to generation of Muslims and that is so meaningful to one’s family and history," Viera wrote.
Albustami said the community support gives her hope.
"You will not break us, and we're here to stay, and we're proud of who we are and what we believe in," Albustami said, "Instead of inciting hate, maybe look into yourselves and why you're doing this."
