A University of Kansas fraternity kicked out four members after they mocked Muslims in a video posted on a social media app called Yeti.
Jason Finkelstein, Zeta Beta Tau chapter president, said that the video was posted to Yeti on April 9, and he learned it existed the following day. The four members of the traditionally Jewish fraternity were kicked out on April 11, according to International Business Times.
A written statement to Daily Kansan, the university student newspaper, was released by Zeta Beta Tau vice president of external affairs Ben Felderstein over the weekend, and it was released to Associated Press on Wednesday. The fraternity stated that they “take a strong stance against bigotry and intolerance” and they are dedicated to their “founding as the world’s first Jewish fraternity.”
According the newspaper, the 10-second-long video displayed a crowd of fraternity members laughing as one member shouted “Allahu Akbar.” This phrase is Arabic for “God is greater.”
Shegufta Huma, president of the Muslim Student Association at Kansas University, was impressed by the fraternity’s quick response to the video. He said that the chapter “demonstrated their willingness to sure the Muslim community feels valued.” Huma told the Daily Kansan that the actions of those four members do not reflect the values of the fraternity as a whole.
Huma added that “hateful behavior” of this kind is “entirely unacceptable” in the Muslim community. He said that the association is talking through ways to prevent similar incidents in the future with the fraternity.
University spokesman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson told AP that the matter was considered resolved after the fraternity members were kicked out.
A Florida chapter of Zeta Beta Tau was also accused of demonstrating inappropriate behavior last week. They were caught urinating on flags and spitting on veterans while in Panama City Beach on trip, according to Fox News. The chapter was shut down on April 29 due to the incident.