FBI Investigating Reports Men Urinated On Muslim Prayer Rugs At U-M

ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - The FBI has joined the investigation into an alleged hate crime at the University of Michigan.

Earlier this week, two U-M students claim they saw three men urinate on Muslim prayer rugs in a "reflection room" at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library on the Ann Arbor campus.

The school has several reflection rooms used by people of various religions for prayer.

Officials with Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) are asking for tips in the case.

"Students on our university campuses should feel safe to express their faiths without fear of intimidation or harassment," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, in a statement. "We encourage anyone who has knowledge of this incident to immediately contact law enforcement authorities."

Separately this week, U-M discovered racist and anti-Semitic and anti-African-American emails touting ethnic extermination, with the slogan "Heil Trump!", were sent to students on campus.

Officials said the messages were s falsely attributed to an engineering professor and one of his students. An investigation into that incident is also ongoing.