A screening of the Daily Wire’s new film “Run Hide Fight: Infidels” at Vanderbilt University has sparked a public clash between the campus Muslim Students Association and one of the film’s most prominent backers, Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro.
The Vanderbilt Muslim Students Association (MSA) released a statement on Instagram titled “On Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Rhetoric,” co-signed by 24 registered student organizations, denouncing the Turning Point USA screening and urging fellow students to reject what it described as rhetoric promoting collective blame and religious intolerance. The group added that it had “little faith in Vanderbilt’s administration to respond appropriately.”
According to the Daily Wire, the film follows a former Delta Force operator, played by Jonathan Majors, who confronts radical Islamic terrorists after they seize a pro-Palestinian protest at a liberal university and attempt to impose sharia law.
What the MSA Statement Says
The MSA accused the film of “conflating Muslim identity, Palestinian liberation, and political violence,” arguing that it encourages viewers to see calls for a “free Palestine” as “dangerous and extreme.” The group contended that such portrayals do not occur in a vacuum.
“For Muslim students, faculty and staff, media that portrays Islam through a lens of extremism and violence does not exist in a vacuum,” the statement read. “For decades, these stereotypes have fueled racism, xenophobia and hate against Muslims, particularly in the 25 years since 9/11.”
The group also pushed back on the idea that free expression requires it to stay quiet. “Free speech does not require our silence in the face of rhetoric that dehumanizes our people,” it stated.
Shapiro Responds
Shapiro, a Daily Wire co-founder and host, answered the group’s criticism in a post on X. “I would expect nothing less from the MSA, which was originally founded in coordination with Muslim Brotherhood figures,” he wrote in a September 17, 2026 post. “When I was a student at UCLA, the MSA openly fangirled Hezbollah and fundraised for the Holy Land Foundation, a front group for Hamas.”
The Daily Wire’s own X account noted that the film appeared to have struck a nerve with the Vanderbilt chapter. “Run Hide Fight: Infidels” is currently available on the DailyWire+ streaming platform.
Context on Campus Tensions
The dispute at Vanderbilt is not the first time the university has found itself at the center of political controversy. In March 2024, 27 students entered Kirkland Hall and occupied the administrative building for more than 21 hours in a disruptive anti-Israel demonstration. Three students were arrested on allegations that they pushed a campus community service officer during the entry, and two later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.
A Nashville Scene reporter was also arrested for trespassing while trying to enter the building, but was released without charges after the district attorney declined to prosecute.
At the time, the Vanderbilt MSA defended the protesters, calling on the university to “promptly repeal the suspensions and dismiss any and all criminal charges against the students.” That history has now become part of the backdrop for the current fight over the film.
Broader Debate
The episode reflects a wider national argument playing out on college campuses over the line between protected speech and rhetoric that some students view as harmful. Supporters of the film and the screening argue that the content is a work of fiction addressing the threat of terrorism, while critics, including the MSA and its co-signers, maintain that it reinforces stereotypes with real-world consequences for Muslim communities.
Neither Vanderbilt’s administration nor Turning Point USA has issued a public response to the MSA statement as of the time of this report. The Daily Wire’s coverage framed the MSA’s reaction as a “meltdown” over the screening.
The controversy is likely to continue as the film remains available on DailyWire+ and the campus conversation over its content shows no sign of cooling.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/student-muslim-group-melts-down-over-daily-wires-run-hide-fight-infidels