In response to the disruptions made by a select few Muslim students, belonging to the UC Irvine Muslim Union, back in February at U.C Irvine during a speech given by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. The incident caused much outrage – from all ends of the spectrum. 11 students were arrested, suspended and threatened with permanent expulsion. Death threats were made to the students by older Zionists within the crowd, including an academic threat by an alleged professor. People were upset that these students had heckled the Ambassador as they did (he responded respectfully, in obvious full pr-mode) while others were more upset with the threats the students received. What has been perhaps most shocking as been the school’s response to dealing with the incident.
As mentioned the UC Irvine Eleven, as they came to be known, were arrested and temporarily suspended. Okay, cool, fine that’s digestible to an extent. Threatened expulsion? That’s a little hardcore. And now reports have come out that the school has decided to engage in collective punishment and has suspended the UC Irvine Muslim Union for the year, effective September 2010:
The decision appears to be the first in recent memory at UC recommending the ban of a student group for something other than hazing or alcohol abuse.
In making the suspension recommendation, Lisa Cornish, UC Irvine’s director of student housing, found that the Muslim Student Union had “planned, orchestrated and coordinated in advance” an effort to disrupt a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren on Feb. 8 about U.S.-Israeli relations. The recommendation was made in late May but not made public at that time.
…
Along with a one-year suspension, which would begin in September, the report requires members of the student union to complete 50 hours of community service. If the group is suspended, its current officers could not act as “authorized signers” for any other student organization.
…
Monday, Jewish groups praised the recommended ban of the student union and called it a victory against hate speech. Muslim activists said the suspension amounts to “collective punishment” that targets a whole group for the actions of a few.
Salahi said she worried the recommendation could jeopardize Muslim life on campus. Victor Sanchez, president of the systemwide UC Student Assn., said he was outraged. “It’s almost impossible not to interpret this as a means of the university to silence dissent,” he said.
…
Jewish groups cite several incidents of perceived anti-Semitism on campus, including the defacing of an Israeli flag in a dorm room, the display of a poster equating the Star of David with a swastika, the vandalizing of a Holocaust memorial, and a 2006 program sponsored by the Muslim Student Union titled “Holocaust in the Holy Land” and “Israel: The Fourth Reich.”
Alright, so, where to begin?
First off, I’m going to start with a bit of a criticism of the Muslim Student Union. I’m an MSU veteran, so I totally have like some sort of un-granted authority on the subject and function. I’ve always found it weird when religious groups and student unions engage in the political scene at a hardcore level. I mean, I get it. Religion and politics, however interpreted, tend to go hand in hand. You can’t run from political issues and you can’t run from spiritual/religious issues, especially in this country. At the same time, however, I think discretion is pretty damn important when you’re dealing with sensitive and important issues and especially when your own group is in an unfortunately precarious position. I didn’t find it weird that members of the UCI MSU decided to raise a little hell at Oren’s speech. I did, however, find it weird that the MSU decided to carry the brunt of Palestinian solidarity on campus upon their own shoulders.
Where’s the SJP at?
Is there no solidarity movement on campus for the Palestinian cause? To work against campus Hasbara? If not, one should be made, especially to avoid threatening religious life on campus for countless students. Such an action by the MSU was reckless ultimately because discretion and good judgement were not exercised. I support their dissidence and I support their desire to ‘send a message’ to Oren et al, but I cannot support their actions which I felt were ultimately ineffective in sending a message to the Ambassador. And while their actions may have highlighted the bludgeoning invocation of OMGcontroversy at anything hinting dissidence against Israeli support on American campuses, they didn’t really do anything beyond stir that big ol’ pot momentatily. They also
made it harder for students on their own campus to organize politically and rally for Palestinian solidarity; their actions and the actions of the school set a precedent for how such actions and anything even related may be handled in the future.
The fact that this is the first time a group has been suspended on non-hazing, non-alcohol related charges should set off some alarms to all of us and especially those of us who believe that university campuses have a responsibility to uphold a greater deal of freedom of expression and hold a greater threshold for dissidence on social and political issues than what we tend to have in the “real ‘real’ world.”
In other words, a university campus must promote and encourage controversy and dissidence – it is, after all, a place of learning and mental growth. It is where many become the people they’ll be for the remainder of their lives, as their opinions and worldviews are shaped here. I know, slightly terrifying. But this unique role that colleges and universities play in the lives of millions necessitate that we have the ability to do and say what we please – without inciting violence of any sort – in an attempt to create frameworks for discussion on important topics affecting us, our communities, our country and our world. Don’t like what’s being said or done? Protest it and challenge it – but do it in such a way where it’s effective and meaningful. Yelling and screaming gets you nothing, regardless of which side of the separation barrier you sit on. Maybe I’m too classy for my own good, but engaging respectfully and intelligently goes a long way – especially in the PR battle of the bigger war. Using the Nazi-Star of David and Holocaust comparisons is getting cliche and, well, Godwin’s law people. Godwin’s law.
Mind you, all of this doesn’t mean that it’s a free for all; that racist and sexist literature, images and events should covet campus grounds. It’s a tough line to tow, without a doubt, and it is not necessarily even the best route. But acting immaturely shouldn’t necessitate a near-well censorship either. Suspending campus unions for a year – and doing it during a time when students are dispersed, campus is virtually dead, so as to not oblige an uproar on school grounds – is extreme and really begs the question, amongst several others, when was the line drawn and why didn’t anyone see it at UCI?
Campuses are always breeding grounds for the next revolution, thus not only does dissidence hit hard but so does its repression.
Related posts:
- LSE Students’ Union Rocks!
- The UCI Protests were Clearly Civil Disobedience
- Edward Said Mural Project At SFSU
- Union in Canada Backs Israel Boycott
- UC Irvine: The Toilet Bowl of Student Activism
Do you think this has something to do with Jumanah Albahri? What is up with her? She's kind of cute, is she single? Does she have a blog? Did she meet with Helen Thomas to reconcile their differences on where Jews should gather, in Poland or in Israel? Did Nasrallah invite her to Lebanon?
Posted by moe | June 16, 2010, 7:45 amWake up moe and cut your delusions. Amalgamation is a very dangerous game, and lots of people can and will play it.
I guess if there is anyone in the world who owes the Jews a place to gather in is Germany, that actually Killed 6 million Jews in WWII.
Why do Zionists neglect this fact?
and before you jump to any of that "throw the Jews in the see BS", I told you before moe, I am against population displacement, I call for the one democratic state solution).
Posted by Han | June 16, 2010, 8:20 amWhy Arabs like you deny Jewish history? Do you know what Jewish holidays are about? Passover? Hanuka ? Do Jews deny that Arabs are from Arabia? Do Jews deny Mecca is holy to Muslims? Why do you deny the Hebrew names of Judea and Samaria? Do you deny the existence of Samaritans too?
Do you also deny that Jesus was a Jew? or do you only deny Jewish history?
Posted by moe | June 16, 2010, 1:38 pmCould you please tell me how these questions are related to my comment.
It is not that I am unable to answer these questions, It is only that I hate your (Jew/Arab or Jew/Muslim opposition), plus you rarely answer my questions,
But I will answer one question just so you wouldn't claim that I know nothing about Jews,
Chanuka is the commemoration of the Hasemonians entry to Jerusalem during their revolt.
Have you ever heard of dear Yassine? (this is your way of handling a discussion)
Have you ever heard about the battle of Hittin?
Have you ever heard about Sabra and Chatila?
Do you deny that Jesus was a Palestinan? or is it Only the word Palestine that you hate?
Attention moe, I'm worried about you because you might be hearing this word more often, should get used to it….
Posted by Han | June 16, 2010, 3:00 pmYou deny Jewish history, you call Jesus "palestinian" when he was Jewish and killed by the Romans, from whom Arabs stole the name "Balestine".
At Sabra and Chatila Arabs massacred Arabs – again you chose the anti-Jewish blood libel (I can't say you are anti-Semitic because you will use the ignorant Jumana Albahri "I'm a Semite" defense – I don't think the Nazi Mufti told Hitler he was a Semite).
If you do not answer how you reconcile your denial of Jewish history, if you don't explain this sickness among Arabs, my "captain" will give me a new task and you won't have a playmate.
Posted by moe | June 16, 2010, 5:19 pmWhat the hell does any of this have to do with the post at hand? Take your schizophrenic talk to MSN. You can't repeat the same conversation in every single post..
Posted by Osc | June 16, 2010, 6:47 pmOsc, it's Han who repeats the lies. I will ignore his lies next time.
Posted by moe | June 16, 2010, 7:38 pmha ha ha….
the liar is tired of lying
I bet you can't tell the difference anymore between truth an lies, you have been saying so many lies lately…..
Posted by han | June 16, 2010, 8:18 pmOh no please moe, Please just don't leave here at this blog alone, beg your captain I will become a Zionist, anything but leaving this blog. What is Palestine? It's "Eretz Israel" that was created to harbor the poor Holocaust survivals massacred by the Nazis with the active collaboration of the Balestinians, who, not satisfied with the work Hitler done, invited them to Palestine, sorry Eretz Yisrael, and then tried to repeat the holocaust with the complicity of the Brits. Of course these so called Palestinians, Arabs, Alqaeda, Muslims, Nazis, Christians who cares, this bulk of population only came and settled in Palestine, sorry again Eretz Yishrael because of the Jewish economic miracle that the early Yishuv did converting desert into forests and fields. Indeed this marriage, this "return" to a land without a people for a people without a land and the miracles it made only made these horrible untermenschen these so called Balestinians and the other Arabs more Jealous, ever since they were trying, stalking, to destroy poor poor Israel. The colonies, what colonies these are cities and villages in Judea and Sameria, this is the covenant of Hashem. Gaza strip, there is nothing wrong in Gaza, in fact life in Gaza is so great that they even have cars, if only these poor Gazans were not ruled by the Islamo-fascist organization called Chamas. Israeli Palestinians very nice people,although they are a fifth column, but we as a democracy allow them to stay in these villages they built on our land, but It would be better for them to pack up and go to Saudi Arabia, with the camels and the oil and so….
We never never never attacked any one, even this boat we attacked in the middle of the sea last week was in self defense it was filled with chorrible Turks and Communists coming to destroy us with their large Rambo Posters and their armchairs. So you see now the whole world is against us because of this Arab propaganda, and although we have between 200 and 300 nuclear war heads no one dares to ask about, even though we never respected any of the UN security council, and even though we were admitted lately to the OECD, even though we have great and unique relationship with the world's only super power, and with the EU, this whole antisemitic world hates us, not for a reason, just because we're Israeli Jews, we never did anything wrong, poor poor us, poor poor Israel,
How was that ?
Did I forget anything moe?
Would your captain accept me in your team?
———————————————————————
Wow it must be really scary to be in your head moe,
Now let me tell you this, Do you think that I give a f**** if you get another task assigned?
As you may have noticed the whole Zionist propaganda you seem to believe in could be easily deconstructed.
What makes you think that I am going to answer any of your questions when you never answer mine, do you think that you are in any position of superiority?
Listen to me boy, you thought that you could treat me for an ignorant of the "Jewish history" since I proved you several times ignorant about the history of Palestine, the country you claim to love a lot.
Although to be fair I don't think your captain should give you another assignment, I guess that the best thing he can do is to send you to history class, or may be better buy you some history books, Ilan Pappe Avi Shalim, Benny Morris (I think you would like Benny Morris), I recommend that you read Finkelstein's Industry of the Holocaust as well.
Your captain could do you a favor in teaching you some manners and a bit of logic as well.
Posted by han | June 16, 2010, 6:50 pmYes– "Is there no solidarity movement on campus for the Palestinian cause? To work against campus Hasbara? If not, one should be made, especially to avoid threatening religious life on campus for countless students"
If the national MSA, and the ADC, and all the campus "solidarity" groups keep hiding from the words "Boycott Israel", they will finally all be expelled or worse by university administrators. And they will deserve it.
But Palestine deserves to have the campuses come alive with "Boycott Israel" campaigns, starting now.
Posted by City Council is Next | June 16, 2010, 3:09 pmThe horrific conditions of Arab summer camps in Gaza, the horror: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/jun/…
Posted by moe | June 16, 2010, 7:41 pmIf you like it that much why don't you move to Gaza……
You are such a spiteful racist that you cannot bear to see a Palestinian child happy for a second,
I guess that's how the Nazis treated the Jews.
Posted by han | June 16, 2010, 8:22 pmHan, don't be mad at me that Arabs lie about Gaza.
Posted by moe | June 17, 2010, 7:14 amAs far as I am concerned "some" Arabs lie about Gaza, Mubarak, Abbas, Saudi Arabia, those allied with Israel.
But that doesn't mean that Israel doesn't lie, oh it is the master of lies in the 21 century….
Posted by han | June 17, 2010, 9:16 amhan, you don't get to play that game. Either Abbas represent the Palestinians, or it's the Hamas terrorists. Either Arab states represent Arabs, or Bin Ladin.
Your sick ideology, Han, is exactly what Arab dictators and terrorists spew. All you comments here can be said by Abbas, Haniya, Mubarak or Qaddafi.
Posted by moe | June 17, 2010, 10:50 amIgnorance and more ignorance keeps coming from moe, using my vocabulary moe won't really help you….
I told you before, but it seems that you forget things very very fast, Abbas represents at best Half of Ramallah city, plus the American interests, talking about Abbas,Mubarak, and Qaddafi while forgetting that they are Americas allies, and in the case of Mubarak and Abbas puppets, is just like ignoring that Israel is America's ally and perotégé in the ME.
Try next time to use less amalgamation moe, and try to remember what I have told you in previous comments before speaking nonsense.
Posted by Han | June 17, 2010, 1:09 pmThe issue becoming increasingly moot. In modern societies the important things are:
1. Access to communities
2. Access to resources.
Israel has neither. It is becoming increasingly isolated in the world community and it has very few natural resources to speak of. All its "neighbors" are disgusted by its behavior. They'll choose to do business with each other, leaving Israel out of the equation in the future. A lot of religious fanatics still love Israel in America, but that's slowly but surely changing as well.
Israel may very well keep its stolen booty for another few decades, and when they're finally disgusted by the stench of each others hate, they will most likely admit that they'd rather be Palestinians after all.
Posted by Jamal | June 17, 2010, 3:32 pmThat is a very likely scenario Jamal,
One of the many episodes of the history of Palestine, Zionists prefer to ignore is the Crusades.
And I understand why.
Posted by Han | June 17, 2010, 3:55 pmI agree that the suspension is extreme, but did the UCIrvine MSA really think they could make a difference by being a bit rowdy at Oren's speech? They would have made much more of a difference by scheduling a well-publicized speech with a question and answer session on Palestine the week after or the week before.
Posted by Misha | June 17, 2010, 1:07 am"Where’s the SJP at?"
If they are smart, they will stay far, far away from the MSU – at least the current iteration of it. Nothing creates more sympathy for Israel in the local area then the "guest speakers" the MSU bring to UCI for "Israel Apartheid Week."
Those kids are just frankly not that bright. I understand college is the time to be "radical" – and even, sometimes stupid. The MSU at UCI seem to have both in spades.
Oh well. Nice going – only they can succeed in making the Israeli ambassador look like a victim. Classic.
Posted by whoops | June 17, 2010, 1:54 amthis is important news. a few thoughts…
1) i agree with City Council is Next: the attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla demonstrated that Israel in particular and Zionists in general are extending their attacks beyond Palestinians and Muslims to include the solidarity movement as well.
this comes in response to Israel's waning legitimacy which has become evident in the massive mobilization to the assault on Gaza in 08/09, the proliferation of anti-ZIonist Jewish organizations, and the use of disruption as a tactic which signals a radical shift in the movement towards militant confrontation.
what's needed right now is an increase in mobilization of our forces, continued militant confrontation with ZIonists and official institutions (such as university administrations that refuse to BDS from Israel) and sustained divestment campaigns.
props to Kabobfest for the coverage of this story; i hope they continue the coverage when the school year starts back up in the fall.
2) militant confrontation and the tactic of disruption also need to be continued. this is where i disagree with Sana. there are a few things that can be gained by this tactic.
first, if you note the school official who chided the Muslim students was doing it in the defense of free speech rights. i've seen many Palestine solidarity organizers accept these terms of engagement and fall in to this trap. i know Sana is not arguing this, but this topic is worth exploring.
the problem with this conception is that it pretends that the rights of the speaker — in this case the ZIonist — and the disruptors — Muslims — are the same. they are not. the MSU does not have billions of dollars, bombs, tanks, and a university administration at their disposal to fight for the liberation of Palestine.
would the UC Irvine administration allow a speaker from Hamas or Hezbullah to speak? probably not.
was the MSU or other Palestine solidarity organizers allowed a mic and equal time to address the audience? a formalized debate would have been equal terms, but the university administration, because they support Zionism and white supremacy, would never allow this.
our first foot forward should be that racist hate speech is not free speech. it's an attempt to rally support for the continued murder of people of color in general and Muslims & Palestinians in particular. this is exactly what ZIonists are doing on their speaking tours and they need to be opposed and shut down.
3) as a veteran of a Muslim Student Association i have to say it's about damn time one of them has taken seriously the task of organizing and Palestine solidarity.
i'll disagree with Sana here again, and say that not only does the MSU have every business organizing in the Palestine solidarity movement, but it has a responsibility to do so.
we have been, no doubt, living through what some have called an Islamic resurgence. many people have over the past 30 years chosen to emphasize the Muslim part of their identity over others such as national, political, etc. this is, of course, not across the board and there are variations to this trend.
this trend, however, is linked to the failure of other ideologies such as nationalism and Communism to provide a successful framework to both understand our experiences under empire and white supremacy, and fight back. political Islam has emerged as a possible means to fill that role.
Muslim Student Associations/Unions are often the only organizations for Muslim students as Muslims on campuses across the country. in addition to religious education and community, i believe these MSA/U's need to be incorporating these aspects of the Muslim experience — those that are deemed political — into their program.
one of the biggest questions American Muslims are asking themselves is what our place in American society is. this is an important question considering the US Empire's war on terror/Muslims, which includes the racialization of Muslims within the American system of white supremacy.
our Muslim identity cannot be separated from this political reality, and if Islam is going to be relevant for young Muslims in this country an Islamic theology of liberation must be developed. if not Muslims may look elsewhere for answers. i would argue that looking to other traditions is OK, but it may present certain challenges to the devout. i would only add that it's only natural that since we are attacked and racialized as Muslims, it would make sense to develop a thought and praxis of liberation from within that tradition, i.e. Islam.
Posted by jubayr | June 17, 2010, 4:16 amWhen MSAs start standing up for all different injustices beyond Palestine, then I'll back up their solidarity work.
Where are MSAs with Sierra Leone? With Kashmir? With Chechnya? With the currently-raging war in Kyrgyzstan? What about the persecuted Muslims of China? At my school we have a thriving MSA and a thriving palestinian solidarity movement – both overlap but not in such a way that both are somehow compromised. The MSA is smart about how it wishes to engage with campus politics and it's something which has benefited everything in the long run, esp. the Pali solidarity movement on campus, even though we constantly are told "Why aren't you leading the cause?"
MSAs always focus, on some level or another, on Palestine. I just don't think it has the place to be heading the organization of solidarity on campus. It's not just a Muslim or Islamic cause .For me, it's not even about Jerusalem ultimately – as important as the city is to us. It's about 1. Granting people basic human dignity and rights to subsist without fear of constant and systemic violence and oppression 2. The unimaginable extent to which a state – any state- can use its military might 3. The dangers of ethno-nationalism 4. The extent to which the domestic/defense policy of another country, as well as its PR policy, can affect political discourse and engagement as well as domestic and foreign policy in other countries i.e. Canada and the US
Amongst other things.
If we're talking about this being our obligation as Muslims to organize such solidarity work for Palestine, then I suggest we look into our own traditions in dealing with such issues i.e. the importance of adab and respect in everything we do. The Prophet (saw) for instance surely would not have done what those students did, and it his example from which we should extract. For instance, he was constantly insulted and had things thrown at him – he was constantly heckled for doing what he was do, but he always treated his greatest adversaries with the utmost result and care. There is a tradition where a a woman would alway throw water on the Prophet whenever he passed her home. Happened all the time. One day, he passed her home and no water fell upon him. What did he do? He went in to inquire about whether the old woman was ill or not?
That's the most basic display of human decency, mercy and respect that can be shown – and there are several other examples from history (Islamic and outside) which are testament to this. How human decency can go a long way.
The actions of the MSU students also upset me on a religious level because I don't think that's how we should conduct ourselves – and there's a reason for it. Obviously those students were not on equal footing with the Ambassador – but they could have taken the higher moral ground, which they already have in terms of their individual and collective support for the Palestinians and their dissidence against an official representing a pariah state. They were not equal in terms of physical power, but had the taken another route they could have proven their superiority to him and what he represents at the humane level.
Shouting can get you what you want – but what good is the end when the means to it are respectable or worth applauding?
And like another commentator said- what good were their actions that made the Ambassador seem like the victim? I find Oren to be disgusting and nauseating, but I actually admired his composure – especially in stark contrast to his fellow Zionists on stage and off who were so outraged. He played it well because he knew that by reacting with emotion and anger – you get a momentary satisfaction and maybe you make a minority happy, but ultimately that lack of thought and paying heed can come and bite you big time in the butt by completely belittling you morally in the eyes of the many.
sooo yes.
Posted by SanaKF | June 17, 2010, 10:57 amI agree with most of what you're saying except:
1. Zionism takes up so much of the political dialog in the world today, not because of Muslim focus on it, but because of American and European focus on it. If America and Europe ignored Israel, I'm sure Muslims and Arabs eventually would as well.
2. I believe heckling is a legitimate, non-violent means of expression for disenfranchised groups. If you're going to hold a public meeting, you leave yourself open for heckling. The only solution is to either not make speeches that open yourself up to ridicule or else be honest about your intentions and make it a closed, invite only affair. Public forums are just that, public, where everybody is free to express themselves.
Posted by Jamal | June 17, 2010, 5:18 pmIf this is an argument about bad manners, then I agree with Sana.
If this an argument about demanding Boycott-Israel resolutions, politely but clearly– I say do it.
Muslims are not require to do this.
No one is required to do this.
I say Muslims are especially well-placed to understand and fight this injustice, and to demand boycott resolutions at their student government, politely and clearly, before Gaza simply dies.
If you are afraid that even this polite demand for boycott will tarnish Islam, then don't do it.
Otherwise, please do your best.
Posted by City Council is Next | June 17, 2010, 5:56 pmSpecifically about bad manners – it's not about bad manners, in general, but I was offering a Muslim perspective on the issue if we're saying we use our tradition of Islam to inform our engagement with social justice.
I'm also not saying that we not demand a boycott of Israel – never said that and never will. I strongly support BDS, with some slight hesitations when it comes to academic as an academic myself – so I support any MSA coming out and supporting BDS. I also would encourage MSAs to support other campaigns such as ethical investements on campuses, military research (my campus has one of the largest military research outputs), etc.
I don't think it tarnishes Islam at all – I just think, speaking as a Muslim, that if we do it then we must do it intelligently and not in a reactionary sense. Reacting achieves little and the Muslim community excells at reacting. We need to be patient and organized in our efforts. That's it.
Posted by SanaKF | June 17, 2010, 6:36 pmThanks, Sana.
Then let us demand boycott of Israel. (You can just say" boycott all Israeli goods" if you want to.)
Let us be polite. Let us not take any of the hundred excuses to delay, to research, to strategize and let the years pass in silence.
Let us do it.
Posted by City Council is Next | June 17, 2010, 6:47 pmI think you're misconstruing what I've said, but alright, g.
Posted by SanaKF | June 17, 2010, 7:05 pmSorry! I have heard so many Islamic and non-Islamic reasons to delay asking for boycott, that I have become impatient.
Posted by City Council is Next | June 17, 2010, 7:29 pmNo one's saying delay the boycott – I certainly am not and fully support it. My primary contention was the role MSAs play in the consolidation of the Palestinian solidarity movement on campuses – I think they should be a part of it, but not lead it. And that's related to issues of 'manners' but reasons discussed in the article.
Posted by SanaKF | June 17, 2010, 7:31 pmNo one should ask for boycott against Israel if they don't feel like it.
I do think that we should all feel like it!
It's not our job to lead the way: that's the job of ACLU and the many other human rights groups, and the Congress, and the President.
But since they are not leading the way, we will find ourselves in the leadership– because this kind of racism outrages us.
We should discuss how we act in a group, but if there is no group, we muct speak as our conscience dicate, with soft words or loud words. In a sweet diplomatic tone, or in a heckler's tone. We should not get arrested! But we should make ourselves heard… if we feel like it.
I feel like it.
Posted by Heckling Hitler | June 17, 2010, 8:22 pm1) in general, Sana, you seem to be holding a position that Muslims as Muslims should not be in the lead of the struggle for Palestine.
i believe that Muslims as Muslims *should* be in the lead of this struggle, because we are the at the center of these attacks by white supremacy and US Empire, and as such our organizations will play a much needed role.
i don't think every MSA/U needs to do this. i'm OK if the majority of the membership of an MSA/U does NOT want to take up the task of organizing. if that's the case then Muslim organizations that WILL take up this task are necessary. but if an MSA does take up this task, then it needs to be defended.
2) i want to take a minute to address what you called "the dangers of ethno-nationalism."
well… maybe you could elaborate on this.
if you are referring to ethnic chauvinism, then i agree that is a something to be avoided and polemicized against. we're all familiar with the authoritarian and sectarian forms of ethnic chavinism in Lebanon and now Iraq.
but i don't think all nationalism is chauvinistic, and in fact there is a history of anti-imperial collaboration between various national liberation movements. the 1955 Bandung Conference of non-aligned nations was composed of people from Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, East Asia and elsewhere.
in the US, too, many Black folks and other people of color built ties of solidarity between the Black struggle in the US and national liberation movements in Cuba, China, Africa, Mexico and elsewhere.
my basic point is that all nationalism is not created the same, and it's up to us to fight for the most democratic vision of nationalism, which includes Islam/ism.
3) i've heard many times this story of the Prophet in relation to the woman who would throw garbage along the route he used to walk home. it is used — as you did — to champion an advanced moral spirit and character that Muslims should hold themselves to.
but it is also used — as you did — with other false claims that Islam means peace, and that jihad can totally be reduced to a personal struggle. to be honest jihad may carry a meaning of personal struggle, but it also at times means going to war with our oppressors. it's a conservative argument that undermines the confidence of Muslims to struggle. i share some of City Council is Next's frustrations.
to reduce Islam or Muslim identity to this one story is equivalent to throwing the rest of our tradition into the dustbin. Muslims cannot ignore this other part of our tradition of struggle. we must engage with it.
Sana, how do you reconcile Islam with this tradition of struggle which is justifiably violent at times. to me they are not contradictory. in my previous comment i outlined why i think disruption is an appropriate tactic for Muslims as well as the solidarity movement. i would like you to engage with my arguments.
it would seem that your view is not only "Muslim perspective on the issue."
[to be continued...]
Posted by jubayr | June 17, 2010, 11:47 pm4) the solidarity movement does not "compromise" the MSA and the rights and lives of Muslims on campus; the solidarity movement emerged in response to those attacks. to say otherwise is tantamount to blaming the victim.
these attacks on the MSA/Us are evidence of exactly how they are related to attacks on Palestine and white supremacist attacks on Muslims and Islam.
5) my last point: Oren looked like a victim to who?
certainly not to other Muslims. racists and adversaries are constantly painting themselves as the oppressed. we need to be consistently putting our own perspectives out there that debunk this.
if there was a failure of the solidarity action at UC Irvine it was the absence of a consistent follow through of putting out perspectives about why Oren was not a victim, and why he should be opposed and disrupted. (although they may have done this, but i haven't come across anything indicating otherwise. all apologies if they did this.) we are in the middle of a propaganda war. single actions — as amazing and brave as this disruption was — won't cut it. the work is immense but the proponents of empire, white supremacy and apartheid work day in and day out for their aims. we must do the same for Palestine.
do we think that we can convince the politicians and rulers? that they don't know what's going on? that they don't have a vested interest in maintaining Israel? that once "the public" knows what's going things will change? is that how democracy works in the US? did the massive opposition to the war in Iraq put an end to it?
this whole conversation needs to be considered a thought experiment in what it's going to take for American Muslims to free Palestine and make serious cracks in US Empire, rather than an abstract discussion in moral piety.
civil disobedience, militant confrontation need to be considered permanent strategies for the movement. the Civil Rights Act was passed in the halls of Congress only after it was defeated in the streets by Black Power and the Civil Rights movement. we must do the same.
we need to be convincing Muslims to organize ourselves to be in a position to engage in these forms of actions. this disruption should only be considered the beginning.
Posted by jubayr | June 17, 2010, 11:48 pmThis, from jubayr, really jumps off the page:
The Civil Rights Act was passed in the halls of Congress only after the racists were defeated in the streets by Black Power and the Civil Rights movement.
Yes.
Big street demonstrations to TOTALLY DIVEST from Israel were held on the Berkeley campus in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and were widely reported, all the way up to Newsweek. This panicked the Zionists and gave courage to many human rights activists on campuses. Then some divestment victories were won at Wayne State University and at the Universoity of Michigan-Dearborn.
That is the ONLY reason for the spectacular Berkeley divestment victory of 2010, which quickly led to the more stunning Evergreen State divestment victory, and to many more this coming September, you can be sure.
Those big marches are totally legal, totally peaceful, and MOST disruptive of the racist status quo.
Every MSA should be leading those marches– because for now, no one else will. Because if you see you neighbor is hungry, DON'T SLEEP– that is a Hadith, and it is also in your bones, if you love justice and hate racism.
Posted by Divestment March | June 18, 2010, 3:17 pmThanks to jubayr for that clarity of thought.
It should not be a big leap for MSA, nationally and locally, to make a big humanitarian campign to push boycott-Israel resolutions at every student government. This gets you instant campus newspaper publicity– you show the whole campus readership that Gaza is being strangled, and there IS a way to fight that.
Boycott resolutions are such an easy way to fight Apartheid Israel. Your student government is in a campus building you visit often.
Say "Divest from Israel" if the word 'boycott' strikes fear in your heart.
But our silence will only cause more Muslim students and groups to be victimized for the most minor of campus protests.
Posted by City Council is Next | June 17, 2010, 2:52 pmWould you heckle Hitler if he came to your campus?
Would those who heckle Hitler be desrving of arrest, and the suspension of their student group, and to have community service sentences imposed on them?
Posted by Heckling Hitler | June 17, 2010, 8:00 pmWould you heckle Arafat? Haniya? Queen Rania? Assad? Mubarak? Qaddafi? Ahmedinejad? in their own regimes? No, you would be killed.
Posted by moe | June 17, 2010, 10:31 pmQueen Rania?????
Arafat?????
You've completely lost it…..
Queen Rania has a regime of course, an alimentary regime.
And Arafat has been dead for more than 6 years, he has a regime in the afterlife?
How did you know that?
Posted by Han | June 18, 2010, 9:34 amHan, Hitler is dead too. This is what I responded to-
"Would you heckle Hitler if he came to your campus?"
Posted by moe | June 18, 2010, 5:50 pmZionists have compared too many people to Hitler that we don't which of your Hitlers you are talking about. Lets say that you needed to precise it was that Hitler you were talking about.
Plus this is not a very witty defense since Arafat is the only one dead among your list.
Posted by han | June 18, 2010, 6:34 pmdear MSA members,
Is it ONLY the Jews,and Israel that excite your desire for Justice ?
Is there any passion left for Moslem on Moslem murder,& oppression ?
Or is it just about the Jews ?
Israel’s “Cast Lead” attack on Gaza >>> 2,000 dead Moslems.
Saddam Hussain, the Lion of the Arabs,killed a million ? Moslems !!
Is there much concern for Moslem on Moslem oppression in Africa ?
Is there any passion left for the Moslem on Moslem oppression in the ” Islamic ” Republic of Iran ?
Will we ever see protests against violent extremists who claim Islam ?
Or is it always, and ONLY the Jews and Israel ?
Posted by Bushtheliberator | June 30, 2010, 8:43 pm