Muslim UIC student sparks controversy, calls America 'cancer' in viral video; then leaves, netizens say

Mohammad Nusairat, a Muslim student of the class of 2025 at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), has sparked controversy after a video of him delivering a sermon on May 3, 2024, went viral on social media.

In the video, Nusairat described America, the American government, secularism, democracy and capitalism as “cancers that have spread their disease all over the world.”

“America is the cancer. America, the American government, secularism, democracy, capitalism, these are cancers that have spread their disease all over the world – in America and in the Middle East. In America, over here, people are free to commit – as I said – zina. [fornication] but if you express your opinion, it is a problem,” Nusairat said in the video.


Nusairat, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in data science with a concentration in computer science at UIC, claimed that Muslims are fed up with American government and democracy and want a new way of life. His speech drew considerable criticism on social media, with many users suggesting that he should leave the country if he held such views.

In the same video, another person named Musab Kazi stated during a Friday sermon at UIC MSA on April 26, 2024 that the liberation of Palestine cannot be achieved through the efforts of America, Congressmen or Senators, but through the Muslim nation. Kazi referred to the “strong Muslims” present in the room who are capable of saving Masjid Al-Aqsa from the hands of the “oppressors.”