In the pre-dawn darkness, at around 6 a.m. Tuesday, more than 200 people trickled into the outdoor amphitheater of the Marshall Student Center.
A mix of students and community members of different faiths gathered in support of the members of the Muslim Student Association who were harassed a week ago by three men.
The trio, who are now facing hate crime charges, shouted at the group of students in the middle of their early morning prayer atop a parking garage on the USF Tampa campus, telling them they were going to hell.
In a livestreamed video, they insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad and waved pieces of bacon at them. In Islam, pork is forbidden.
"In the moment when it happened, you're being made to feel small," said Saajid Khan, a USF senior, who was a witness at last week's incident. "You're being made to feel like these people are out to attack you for who you are."
But in the wake of the situation, the students, including Khan, said they've received an outpouring of support.
"Today, you see the entire community, whether from people from different backgrounds, people from different religions, people from different ethnicities, everybody comes out here to show support and gather for one cause," Khan said.
The crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder on prayer mats laid on the amphitheater's concrete floor. Slowly, the sun rose behind the trees, as an Imam sang the last words of the Quranic recitation for fajr, the prayer performed at the break of dawn.
Abu Tahir, who led Tuesday's event, spoke briefly about what happened a week earlier.
"Three men... came with a purpose of fracturing, of silencing, of suppressing," said Tahir. "We just scream 10 times louder in their face, and we united in a way we've never united before."
Campus police stood watch on the perimeter of the amphitheater.
Ahmad Talbi, an incoming freshman, said he attended the event to support his friends who were victims of the harassment.
"It was very hurtful to watch, very painful to see this happen," Talbi said. "But after the initial anger settled down, I was inspired by how patient those guys were."
In the 13-minute video, the three men can be seen taunting the students, who were kneeling on the floor. At a news conference last week, Tahir described being afraid that the situation would escalate to violence.
At one point, one of the men, Ricardo Yepez, waves his finger in front of a student, who then grabs his wrist.
A man off camera says, "Did we put our hands on you? Did we touch you? No, but that's what you did ... This isn't harassment; this is free speech."
Khan said the student group encourages free speech and dialogue, but what happened "was not freedom of speech."
"This was hate, and this was targeted, and that's not okay," Khan said.
In a statement last week, USF said their "policy explicitly prohibits Islamophobia, antisemitism and all other instances of hateful conduct targeting individuals because of their religion, shared ancestry or cultural heritage."
"The university values the right to free speech, expression and the open exchange of ideas, even if we strongly disagree or find some of what is said to be offensive. However, we will not allow violent or disruptive acts that do not comply with USF policy or the law," the statement read.
Malak Albustami, the president of the Muslim Student Association, said Tuesday's gathering was the largest the group has hosted.
Typically, their Friday prayers will draw about 50 to 60 people, Albustami said.
"It's not just university students. It's the leaders of our community, the Imams, the leaders of the mosques, the leaders in politics. Everybody has come out to be here and to show their support, regardless of what they believe," she said.
Connor Jaap, a junior at USF studying environmental science, said he came out to show his solidarity with the Muslim community.
"I just felt appalled that people could be so hateful," Jaap said, "But seeing this really made me feel a lot more hopeful."
Members of the MSA said they'd like to plan more inter-faith events in the future.
