MAS Convention 2011

MSA UCSD Denounces UCI for the Suspension of the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(La Jolla, CA 9/15/2010) The Muslim Student Association (MSA) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) condemns the University of California Irvine (UCI) administration’s suspension of the Muslim Student Union (MSU) following a July recommendation to penalize the organization for its alleged involvement in the disruption of Israeli ambassador Michael Oren’s speech on February 8, 2010.

Chancellor Michael Drake maintains that freedom of speech is “among the most fundamental, and among the most cherished of the bedrock values our nation is built upon.” We agree: freedom of speech is an intrinsic value of our society, but not as the Chancellor seems to believe, a condemnable offense. Nor do we believe such “bedrock principles” should be sacrificed to further the agenda of off-campus special interest groups. We find it alarming that the university, an institution established to promote free thought and open discussion, cannot tolerate even eleven voices of opposition. We rightly recognize UCI administration’s unwarranted methods as a draconian attempt to silence dissent in the UCI community as well as in the student bodies of other academic institutions. Therefore, MSA UCSD calls for a reversal of the decision to suspend the MSU until December 31, 2010, as well as the decision to sentence the MSU to two years probation and its members to 100 hours of mandated community service.

UCI administration’s verdict raises legitimate concerns for the status of religious freedom on campus. The MSU organizes religiously mandated daily and weekly congregational prayers for both members and non-members.  The MSU also functions as a support system for all Muslim students residing in a hostile campus and national climate.

In addition, the MSU’s events, such as the annual Islam Awareness Week, help dispel rampant misconceptions of Islam both on and off-campus. Muslims have been the targets of hate crimes since September 11; however the recent surge of violence in such incidences is cause for alarm. The bombing of a Jacksonville Mosque this past May, the stabbing of a Muslim New York cab driver in August, the arson of the construction site for a Murfreesboro mosque mere weeks ago, are all indicative of the hostile political climate that is now spilling onto campuses across the nation.

Such Islamophobia is not limited to the masses; politicians across the country speak of revoking the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Muslim-Americans, and vocally oppose the construction of an Islamic community center in Manhattan in clear violation of the free exercise clause.

The suspension of the MSU will collectively punish all Muslim students at UCI, leaving them vulnerable to hostility and alienation, as well as reinforce the country’s rampant anti-Muslim sentiments by closing channels of dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims.

It is worth noting that the political nature of the controversy surrounding MSU UCI raises questions of whether the UCI administration is bowing to pressure by off-campus interest groups.

Regardless, MSA UCSD finds UC Irvine administration’s actions unacceptable. We demand the administration repeal its decision and apologize to the Muslim-American community for this display of blatant discrimination and intolerance. We call upon the entire UCI community as well as student groups across the nation to stand in solidarity with the MSU.

Contact: pr[at]msaucsd.org

Fordson Trailer from Fordson The Movie on Vimeo.

The film is called FORDSON, and it follows four talented high school football players from Dearborn Michigan as they gear up for their big senior year rivalry game during the last ten days of Ramadan, a month when Muslims traditionally fast every day from sunrise to sundown.

The story is set against the backdrop of the stunningly beautiful Fordson High School, a public high school built by Henry Ford in 1922, which was once all white, but now boasts a 98% Arab population.

As our team readies itself to play its affluent, cross town rival, we unearth the adversity faced by a community that is desperately holding onto its Islamic faith and trying to gain acceptance from their fellow U.S. citizens in post 9/11 America. Through the eyes of the team, their coaches, and their fans, we get an unprecedented glimpse inside the lives of a community that is home to the largest concentration of Arabs in any city outside of the Middle East, and their determination to hold on to the American Dream.

Source: http://www.eidness.com/2010/09/01/fordson-feature-length-documentary/

Source: http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=26610&&name=n&&currPage=1

A clean-shaven Jon Stewart returned from a long weekend last night to tackle the recent controversy over the building of a mosque at the World Trade Center site. Critics of the Islamic cultural center claim it would be built on hallowed ground, but it would actually be built several blocks away from Ground Zero on top of a former Burlington Coat Factory.

Stewart wondered: what distance from Ground Zero is it acceptable to build a mosque? He then showed clips of pundits saying everything from 5 blocks, to 20 blocks, to Woody Allen’s bulding on the “Upper West Side.”

“Woody Allen? That’s your go-to, out-of-touch, New York liberal Jew reference? What is it, 1976?” Stewart asked, adding “I’m right here!” before conceding that perhaps a mosque anywhere near Ground Zero was too close.

It turns out it’s also not OK to build mosques in Staten Island, Tennessee, Wisconsin, or California, as Stewart exemplified with clips of protests in each state.

“Why does everyone think America is divided?” Stewart asked. “It appears distrust of Muslims is the only thing that goes from ‘sea to shining sea.’”

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/11/stewart-takes-on-ground-z_n_678224.html?ref=fb&src=sp