On Aug. 31, 2026, a woman passing the Muslim Student Association (MSA) table, between Riverfront Center and Douglas Hall, pointed at a keffiyeh on display and called it “terrorism,” according to two MSA board members who witnessed the incident. 

Ahmad Elokda, a second-year civil engineering student and MSA’s dawah director, was speaking with other members and students when the incident occurred. Elokda said he noticed the woman recording as she walked by but initially thought that she was on a call or could be curious about the club.

“As she was walking by, she saw the keffiyeh, and said, ‘That’s terrorism, take it down!’” Elokda said.

Elokda said that everyone at the table was shocked by the statement, and he responded by telling the woman to “keep on walking.” 

Arfa Arshad, a second-year business student and MSA political policy director was speaking with a prospective member when she noticed the interaction. 

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Arshad said she was taken aback by the incident because MSA was tabling like every other club. She said she’d never experienced anything like this at Sac State and described the incident as “scary.” 

According to the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding’s 2025 poll, 25% of Muslims who reported experiencing religious discrimination said they experienced it at their university when interacting with peers. While another 24% reported discrimination at a university when interacting with people in authority.

“If someone’s brave enough to come and say that to our club and record us, imagine what they’d do if it was a single person,” Elokda said. He said MSA members never table alone to avoid situations like this.

Elokda’s role as dawah director consists of various public facing initiatives. His responsibilities include educating students about Islam through halaqas, religious gatherings focused on studying Islam, campus tabling and connecting the campus community to the broader Muslim community. Dawah tabling offers students and other members on campus the ability to approach the table with any questions they may have regarding Islam, and learn more from MSA members. 

“Now that we’ve gone through that, we want to make sure people at the table know how to deal with something like this,” Elokda said. He said that MSA plans to take additional precautions during future tabling, ensuring members are prepared to respond to similar incidents without escalating the situation.

MSA also informed the Southwest Asian and North African Student Resource Center of this incident. 

Marwa Al Khamees, the director of SWANA, emphasized the importance of making sure students were aware of their resources. 

“My first priority is the students. I want them to know they are supported and that they do not have to figure out next steps alone,” Al Khamees said. The SWANA Center connects students to other campus reporting options, as well as counseling and other campus resources.

Arshad and MSA president, Shazil Mahmood, went to the Sacramento State Police Department and filed a report. They said they were told that there was little police could do since the incident did not involve a direct threat. 

The MSA also reported this incident to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)  and Manara West. The incident raised concerns among MSA members about their safety and the broader implications of hate speech on campus. 

The CSU does have a non-discrimination policy and students are encouraged to report incidents like these through the Office of Equal Opportunity online reporting system.

The State Hornet reached out to Sac State PD but did not receive a comment by press time.