Study what our mujahideen did. Start soon.
A former Columbia University professor, barred from teaching after publicly endorsing designated terror organizations, delivered a speech at Virginia Tech this week calling for the destruction of the United States and praising the October 7 attacks. Mohamed Abdou, whose academic career ended following congressional scrutiny, framed his remarks to students as a call to disrupt the American defense industry and embrace what he characterized as a sacred resistance. The episode surfaces an enduring tension in democratic societies between the protection of open discourse and the boundaries of incitement, raising questions about how universities navigate the presence of radicalized voices within — or near — their walls.
- A professor dismissed from Columbia for supporting Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad has taken his message directly to college students on a national speaking tour titled 'Death to the Akademy.'
- At Virginia Tech, Abdou explicitly called for the 'destruction' of the United States, praised the October 7 massacres as a 'blessed day,' and described student activists in the room as 'branches of the mujahideen.'
- His most operationally charged remarks urged students to identify and disrupt 'every single choke point' in American weapons supply chains — language critics are characterizing as a direct incitement to sabotage.
- Virginia Tech moved quickly to distance itself, stating the event was unregistered and unaffiliated with any university-sponsored organization, though the gathering still took place.
- The episode is intensifying a national debate about whether campuses are becoming vectors for radicalization, and what institutional responsibility looks like when outside speakers operate in the margins of university oversight.
Mohamed Abdou stood before Virginia Tech students this week and delivered remarks that left little to interpretation. Speaking as part of his national tour titled 'Death to the Akademy,' the former Columbia University professor told the audience that the slogan means exactly what it says — a total end to American power, the destruction of what he called a 'crusading settler colony.' He described the United States as a 'monster' and framed those in the room as participants in a 'racial religious war.'
Abdou's academic career at Columbia ended last year after congressional testimony in which university leadership confirmed he had expressed support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad. His personnel file was marked to permanently bar him from re-employment there. That history did not prevent him from continuing to speak on campuses. At Virginia Tech, he referred to the October 7 attacks as the 'blessed day of Al-Aqsa Flood' and called student activists 'branches of the resistance' and 'branches of the mujahideen.'
The most pointed portion of his remarks targeted the American defense industry. Abdou urged students to study what he called the methods of 'our mujahideen' and to identify every 'choke point' and 'supply chain bottleneck' in weapons manufacturing — telling them to 'start soon.' He also invoked Adolf Hitler in a historical comparison, directing students toward 'the fringes of the fringes' for intellectual guidance over mainstream academic discourse.
Virginia Tech issued a statement clarifying that the event was neither registered with the university nor affiliated with any recognized campus organization. The institution distanced itself from the content, though the gathering proceeded regardless. Neither Abdou nor university officials offered further comment on the speech or its implications.
Mohamed Abdou stood before a room of Virginia Tech students this week and spoke plainly about what he meant by the slogan that names his speaking tour. "When we say Death to America, we mean, and loud and clear, a total end to U.S. empire," he told them. "The destruction of this crusading settler colony, their entire project." Video clips of the remarks, posted to social media, show him characterizing the United States as a "monster" and framing the audience as participants in what he called a "racial religious war."
Abdou is a former Columbia University professor who was barred from teaching there last year after a congressional hearing in which university leadership testified that he had expressed support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad. His current speaking tour, titled "Death to the Akademy," has brought him to campuses across the country. In the Virginia Tech footage, he refers to the October 7 attacks as the "blessed day of Al-Aqsa Flood" and describes student activists in the room as "branches of the resistance" and "branches of the mujahideen."
Much of his remarks focused on the American defense industry. Abdou appears to urge students to identify and disrupt what he calls "every single choke point" and "supply chain bottleneck" in weapons manufacturing. "Study what our mujahideen did," he tells the students, adding that they should "start soon." The language suggests a call to action directed at young people in the audience, framed in terms of resistance and religious obligation.
Abdou's speech also ventured into historical comparison. Video clips show him discussing Adolf Hitler and telling students to "understand what Hitler stands for" before asserting that the "modern Zionist entity" embodies a "Hitlerite mentality." He also addressed the theme of his tour directly, urging students to reject mainstream academic discourse and instead look to "the fringes of the fringes" for intellectual guidance.
Virginia Tech issued a statement earlier in the week clarifying that the event was neither sponsored by a university-affiliated organization nor registered with the institution. A university spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "any claims otherwise are simply not true." The statement suggests the university was attempting to distance itself from the event, though it did not prevent the gathering from taking place on or near campus.
Abdou's path to the Virginia Tech stage began at Columbia, where his employment ended following congressional testimony. Former Columbia President Minouche Shafik told lawmakers that Abdou's personnel file would permanently mark him as ineligible for re-employment. Neither Abdou nor Virginia Tech officials responded to requests for further comment on the speech or its content.
Citações Notáveis
When we say Death to America, we mean, and loud and clear, a total end to U.S. empire. The destruction of this crusading settler colony, their entire project.— Mohamed Abdou, at Virginia Tech event
The event in question is not sponsored by a university-affiliated organization nor is it a university-registered event.— Virginia Tech spokesperson Mark Owczarski
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that this happened at Virginia Tech specifically, rather than just any campus?
Virginia Tech is a large state school with significant engineering programs tied to defense contracting. The specificity of the location—and the focus on disrupting supply chains—suggests the speaker was addressing an audience with potential access to or knowledge of those industries.
The source mentions he was "barred" from Columbia. What does that actually mean in practice?
It means he cannot teach there again. Columbia's president testified before Congress that his file is permanently marked ineligible for re-employment. It's a formal institutional exclusion, but it doesn't prevent him from speaking elsewhere or organizing.
He called students "branches of the mujahideen." Is that language metaphorical or literal?
That's the question hanging over the whole thing. He's using religious and military terminology to describe student activists. Whether he means it as inspiration, metaphor, or actual recruitment is what makes people uncomfortable—and what Virginia Tech was probably trying to signal by denying they sponsored it.
Why would a university deny sponsoring an event that happened on campus?
Plausible deniability. If it's not registered and not sponsored, the university can argue it has no responsibility for the content. But it also suggests they knew what was being said and wanted distance from it.
What's the "Death to the Academy" part about?
He's arguing that students shouldn't trust universities or mainstream scholarship to give them answers. He's directing them toward alternative sources of knowledge and authority—which, in context, seems to mean ideological movements outside the institution.
Does the Hitler comparison strengthen or weaken his argument?
It's meant to be a moral equivalence—saying Israel operates with Nazi logic. But it also reveals how his rhetoric works: taking historical atrocity and using it to justify present action. That's the pattern throughout.