University of California Irvine Muslim Student Union

University of California Irvine Muslim Student Union
Muslim Student Union
Formation 2001
President Asaad Traina
Website http://www.msuuci.com

The University of California Irvine Muslim Student Union (MSU) is an affiliated chapter of MSA National. The MSU at UCI strives to embody that tradition and engage the UCI campus with various programs from humanitarian to educational to political. It has striven to sustain itself as "the central community for Muslim students at UC Irvine."[1]

The UC Irvine MSU was suspended by the UC Irvine's director of student housing, who accused it of deliberately disrupting Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech, organized by the university, on Feb. 8, 2010. The MSU maintained that the disruption was done by individual students, not MSU as a group.[2][3]

Contents

Religious and Humanitarian Activities

The MSU offers daily congregational prayers at least three times a day, as well as weekly jummah(Friday) prayers on campus. The organization also it puts on programs in efforts to educate fellow students about Islam through "Islam Awareness Quarter."[1][4] MSU has also co-sponsored events such as Invisible Children, which brings light to and raises funds for the plight of Ugandan child soldiers,[5] and Fashion Fighting Famine, a student-led initiative which seeks to promote basic human rights across the globe through charity fashion shows and themed parties. Since its founding in 2007, Fashion Fighting Famine has raised and donated over $10,000 to various places including the Palestinian territories and Sudan.[6][7] In the 2009–2010 college school year, MSU consistently collected donations and spread awareness about the devastating events that took place in Indonesia and Haiti. Through coin drives, selling food on campus, and other creative ways, MSU sponsored relief efforts for Haiti.[8] After the deadly South East Asian Tsunami disaster in 2004, MSU raised $12,000 in relief money for countries affected by the disaster.[9]

Campus Solidarity

The MSU regularly collaborates with campus organizations to put on a variety of different events.

In 2008 and 2009, MSU co-sponsored a week of events entitled “Gears of War.” In the Winter Quarter of 2009, the purpose of this week was to host “a series of events surrounding the 6th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq and the role of the university in supporting imperialism” and “to highlight issues concerning the occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine and elsewhere and discuss how we can collectively organize against imperialism throughout the world.” The week was co-hosted by the UCI Worker Student Alliance, Muslim Student Union, Amnesty International at UCI, Darfur Action Committee, Campaign for Consciousness, and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.[10][11]

Israeli Apartheid Week

See also: Israel and the apartheid analogy

For several years, the MSU has organized a week-long event, usually coinciding with the Israeli Independence Day, calling for boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning the State of Israel.[12] This annual event attracts local and national media every year for what human rights organizations and academics who specialize in anti-Semitism refer to as anti-Semitic rhetoric advanced by the MSU.[13][14] In regards to this notion an investigation in 2007 was conducted by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR report stated:

"OCR's investigation revealed that during these events many speakers criticized Israel, its governmental policies, its treatment of the Palestinians, and Jews throughout the world who support Israel. Most speakers distinguished opposition to Zionism from opposition to Jews. Other speakers did not do so, yet their criticism of Jews was focused on their perceived support of Israel. OCR's investigation also revealed that some speakers made broad generalizations about Jews, which were offensive to Jewish students. In addition during these events there were often symbols utilized that were offensive to Jewish students, such as such as mock checkpoints, green armbands; and a poster that contained a picture of a wall on which was painted a swastika, an equal sign, and a Star of David. Several students interviewed by OCR stated that they were deeply offended and, in some instances, intimidated and harassed by these events.

OCR determined that although offensive to Jewish students, the speeches, articles, marches, symbols, and other events at issue were not based on the national origin of the Jewish students, but rather based on opposition to the policies of Israel."[15]

On May 14, 2010, Amir Abdul Malik Ali, a pro-Palestinian activist from Oakland, California gave an address. During a question and answer period that followed, Roz Rothstein, the CEO of StandWithUs, asked Ali if he supported Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, to which Ali replied affirmatively. When Rothstein asked if Ali supports jihad on the UCI campus, he replied yes, insofar as it pertains to "speaking truth to power". [16] Soon after the speech, UC Irvine Chancellor Drake made a campus-wide announcement condemning "the speaker's endorsement of terrorism."[17]

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren Speech – February 2010

Eleven students, eight of them MSU UCI members, including the MSU President at the time,[2] were arrested as part of a disruption of a speech made by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. Earlier in the day, the MSU had issued a press release condemning his presence on the campus. They criticized Oren as "an outspoken supporter of the recent war on Gaza and stands in the way of international law by refusing to cooperate with the United Nation’s Goldstone Report, a fact-finding mission endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council." [3]

At first, the Muslim Student Union denied that any arrested were a part of their organization.[18][dead link] Later however, an MSU spokeswoman claimed that the Muslim Student Union wasn’t officially involved "in the protest, and that the students were 'acting on their individual accord.'"[19]

In April 2010, Congressman John Campbell stated that "someone" leaked MSU minutes and emails that showed "a mountain of evidence showing Muslim intolerance and antipathy towards free expression".[20] According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,

In an e-mail to the Muslim Student Union board dated Feb. 6, union president Mohamed Abdelgany described the union's "game plan" for the Oren speech, including a call for "disruptors." Later in the e-mail, Abdelgany, who was himself arrested during the Oren speech, laid out the plan for the event itself, which he said would involve "disrupting it throughout the whole time" if possible. Abdelgany also allegedly cautioned disruptors to be loud and firm, but not not lose their composure. "Remember," he wrote, "that this is a planned/calculated response."[21]

Suspension at UC Irvine

According to the OC Register, a May 27 letter – obtained and released by the Jewish Federation – sent to the Muslim Student Union from the student affairs disciplinary committee detailed the results of the investigation after the Israeli Ambassador protest in February 2010. The letter stated that after a thorough internal investigation it found the group guilty not only of “disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures or other University activities," but also "other forms of dishonesty including, but not limited to fabricating information, false information, or reporting a false emergency to the University." [3] In response to the findings, the university recommended the suspension of the Muslim Student Union for the 2010–2011 academic school year, a yearlong probationary period for the following year, and collective completion of 50 hours of volunteer service by the unions members.[22]

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, wrote to the Los Angeles Times criticizing those who disrupted the speech of the Israeli Ambassador, saying "those who yelled to keep the ambassador from being heard were not engaged in constitutionally protected behavior." Shortly after the disruption, but before the investigation and suspension, Chermerinsky wrote, "I also disagree with those who call for draconian sanctions against these students or of punishment for a larger group. Only the students who were actually disruptive should be punished."[23] After the university recommended suspension, Chermerinsky said, "What they found was that a group of students, the Muslim Student Union, engaged in intentional disruptive behavior that violated the student conduct code, misrepresented to the university in advance and after what they were doing is an organization that can and should be punished."[24] The suspension was condemned by the Asian Law Caucus, expressing concerns that the suspension would "deprive hundreds of current and future Muslim students of their First Amendment right to freedom of association."[25]

Some Jewish groups welcomed the suspension, calling it a victory against hate speech. Isaac Yerushalmi said the MSU had attempted "to silence Jewish voices on campus." Israeli Consul General Jacob Dayan accused the Muslim Student Union of "spreading hate" and suppressing "free discussion and open debate."[3] The president of the Jewish Federation Orange County commended "the University for its judicious decision in support of free speech and civil discourse."[26] Jeff Margolis of the Jewish Federation's Rose Council said, "UCI’s administration has done the right thing and is to be commended."[27]Jewlicious Jewish Blog ran an editorial expressing "satisfaction" with the suspension.[28]

In September 2010, after the MSU filed the appeal to the recommendation of the suspension, UC Irvine decided to suspend the group for one quarter instead of one year. However, the group is now responsible for 100 hours of community service instead of the original 50. In addition, UC Irvine is putting the organization on probation for two years instead of one.[29][30]

Incoming union Vice President Hadeer Soliman stated that during this time, members have endured personal attacks and received hate mail.[30]

In September 2010, after the MSU filed the appeal to the recommendation of the suspension, UC Irvine decided to suspend the group for one quarter instead of one year. However, the group is now responsible for 100 hours of community service instead of the original 50. In addition, UC Irvine is putting the organization on probation for two years instead of one.[31][32]

Criminal charges

In February 2011, the Orange County district attorney’s office charged the eleven arrested MSU students with counts of conspiracy to disturb a lawful meeting and the disturbance of the meeting.[33] Many opposed these criminal charges. The same month, more than 90 members of faculty at University of California Irvine wrote a letter to the District Attorney, published in New University, opposing the criminal charges. They stated:

"But the individual students and the Muslim Student Union were disciplined for this conduct by the University, including the MSU being suspended from being a student organization for a quarter. This is sufficient punishment. There is no need for criminal prosecution and criminal sanctions. The use of the criminal justice system will be detrimental to our campus as it inherently will be divisive and risk undoing the healing process which has occurred over the last year. It also sets a dangerous precedent for the use of the criminal law against non-violent protests on campus."[34]

In March 2011, 30 members of the Jewish studies faculty from seven campuses of University of California called for the dropping of charges against 11 Muslim students. They said "while we disagree with the students' decision to disrupt the speech, we do not believe such peaceful protest should give rise to criminal liability."[35] Erwin Chermerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, had earlier written to the Los Angeles Times that "the punishment should be great enough to convey that the conduct was wrong and unacceptable, but it should not be so severe as to ruin these students' educational careers."[23]

However, many also supported the criminal charges. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said in a public statement, "These defendants meant to stop this speech and stop anyone else from hearing his ideas, and they did so by disrupting a lawful meeting. This is a clear violation of the law and failing to bring charges against this conduct would amount to a failure to uphold the Constitution."[36] Susan Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said, "It seems that the basic question is what if we substituted different groups — what if this were the Klu Klux Klan [sic] who conspired to silence a speech by Martin Luther King."[37] The leaders of the Zionist Organization of America said in a public statement:

"We’re pleased to see that the District Attorney’s office is not hesitating to hold members of the Muslim Student Union responsible for possibly criminal behavior. Had the District Attorney decided not to prosecute, he’d be sending the message that the disrupters’ conduct was acceptable, effectively making a mockery of the First Amendment and a mockery of our laws. Members of the Muslim Student Union aren’t entitled to special treatment. If they violated the law, they should be held accountable and punished."[38]

Cecilie Surasky of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) noted that while JVP hecklers did not receive criminal charges when they disrupted a speech by Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2010, the MSU hecklers did receive criminal charges in regards to the Oren incident.[39] Rachel Roberts, writing an editorial in the The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles entitled "Muslim criminals, Jewish activists?", said that there are double standards in the treatment of Muslim students, calling the criminal charges against the Muslim students to be discrimination.[40] The Muslim Public Affairs Council, referring to this incident, called the criminal charges as "inequality".[41]

In September 2011, ten of the eleven MSU students who interrupted Ambassador Oren's speech were "convicted of a California misdemeanor and sentenced to probation and a fine."[42] Shortly after the verdict, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas wrote, "History tells us of the dire consequences when one group is allowed to shout down and intimidate another or a group of people so as to not allow them to have opinions or be heard. History requires us to draw a line in the sand against this sort of organized thuggery."[43] Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz wrote, "It was a good day for the First Amendment when the prosecutor decided to apply the law to their censorial conduct. It was another good day for the First Amendment when the jury appropriately convicted them. And I hope it will be yet another good day for the First Amendment when the appellate courts affirm this constitutionally just conviction."[42]

Critics

Mark Yudof

In a public letter written by Mark Yudof, although UC President but writing in the capacity of a "private citizen", regarding the Muslim Student Union's series of events titled "Israel: The Politics of Genocide," said "Permit me now to remove my cap and gown and to exercise my First Amendment rights as a private citizen. In my opinion, the title of the series is virulent, historically inaccurate and offensive to Jewish people everywhere."[44]

Anti Defamation League

The Anti Defamation League, an organization dedicated to “combating anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds,”[45] has described the Muslim Student Union as being "responsible for staging large events every spring featuring virulently anti-Semitic speakers."[13]

Zionist Organization of America

In May 2009, the Muslim Student Union hosted British Parliament Member, and founder of Viva Palestina, George Galloway for a speech at UC Irvine. During the event, funds were raised for Viva Palestina. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) soon after filed that an investigation be conducted with the belief that the funds were raised for Hamas, a US Designated Terror Organization.[46] However, no such allegations were proven to be true. In May 2010, campus officials concluded that there was no evidence to say that the MSU was guilty of wrongdoing and after referring the matter to the office of the Vice-Chancellor, the organization has since then been cleared of these allegations.[47]

References

  1. ^ a b "About MSU", Muslim Student Union of UCI homepage
  2. ^ a b Landon Hall (Feb. 14, 2010). "After protest, UCI pressured by both sides". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/news/students-234267-uci-campus.html. 
  3. ^ a b c Raja Abdulrahim, Christopher Goffard and Larry Gordon (June 15, 2010). "UC Irvine recommends suspension of campus' Muslim student group". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/15/local/la-me-0615-uci-muslim-20100615. Retrieved 17 June 2010. 
  4. ^ Mahreen Abid and Huma Siddiqui (Nov. 12, 2007). "MSU Promotes Islam Awareness". New University. http://www.newuniversity.org/2007/11/opinion/msu_promotes_islam_awareness46/. 
  5. ^ Anam Siddiq (Mar 05, 2007). "‘Invisible Children’ Inspires Further Activism". http://www.newuniversity.org/2007/03/news/invisible_children_inspires_further28/. 
  6. ^ "Fashion Fighting Famine event raises funds for Palestinian children". 01 June 2007. http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/15075/298/. 
  7. ^ "Student fights famine with fashion". 13 April 2010. http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/44315/1371/. 
  8. ^ UCI Support for Haiti
  9. ^ Ernest Kim (Jan 31, 2005). "Doing More For Southeast Asians". http://www.newuniversity.org/2005/01/features/doing_more_for_southeast103/. 
  10. ^ Sheba Ali (Mar 02, 2009). "Gears of Unending War". http://www.newuniversity.org/2009/03/news/gears_of_unending_war181/. 
  11. ^ Daniel Johnson (Mar. 10, 2008). "‘Gears of War’ Series Explores Iraq War and U.S. Imperialism". http://www.newuniversity.org/2008/03/news/gears_of_war_series4/. 
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ a b "Anti-Semitism at UC Irvine RULE Muslim Student Union (MSU)." ADL. 14 May 2010. 15 June 2010.
  14. ^ "Antisemitism Worldwide 2009: General Analysis." Tel Aviv, Israel. 2009. PDF. p. 27.
  15. ^ Love, Charles R. Letter to Chancellor Drake, Irvine, CA. 30 November 2007. PDF. p. 6.
  16. ^ Armony, Lisa. "UCI Chancellor Denounces Speaker’s Endorsement of Terrorism." Jewish Journal. 18 May 2010. 14 September 2010.
  17. ^ Chancellor Drake’s response
  18. ^ Landon Hall (February 14, 2010). The Orange County Register: p. Local B. 
  19. ^ Hall, Landon. "After protest, UCI pressured by both sides." The Orange County Register. 16 February 2010. 5 October 2010.
  20. ^ "UC Islam, I See Anti-Semitism-Spero News." Congressman John Campbell. 5 October 2010.
  21. ^ E-mails allege Muslim students orchestrated Irvine disruption, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), April 7, 2010.
  22. ^ Muslim student group suspension appealed
  23. ^ a b "UC Irvine's free speech debate". Los Angeles Times. 2010-02-18. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/18/opinion/la-oe-chemerinsky18-2010feb18/2. 
  24. ^ "At UC Irvine, Campus Rules and the First Amendment." KCRW 89.9 FM. 15 June 2010. 25 March 2011. Listen starting at 17:12 through 17:27.
  25. ^ "Asian Law Caucus Condemns UC Irvine's Recommended Suspension of the University's Muslim Student Union". Asian Law Caucus. 2010-07-26. http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs013/1103244704062/archive/1103583415011.html. 
  26. ^ Mozgovaya, Natasha. "California university suspends Muslim union for heckling Israel envoy as 'killer.'" Haaretz. 14 June 2010. 2 May 2011.
  27. ^ Elias, Aaron. "Muslim Student Union Suspended at UC Irvine ... Finally." Pajamas Media. 14 June 2010. 2 May 2011.
  28. ^ Rabbi Yonah. "UC Irvine MSU Suspended for Multiple Violations." Jewlicious Jewish Blog. 14 June 2010. 2 May 2011.
  29. ^ MSU Suspension Decision Reached
  30. ^ a b "UC Irvine upholds suspension of Muslim group, bans it for one quarter."
  31. ^ MSU Suspension Decision Reached
  32. ^ "UC Irvine upholds suspension of Muslim group, bans it for one quarter."
  33. ^ Santa Cruz, Nicole. "Protesters who distrupted Israeli ambassador at UC Irvine charged by prosecutors." Los Angeles Times. 4 February 2011. 5 February 2011.
  34. ^ "UCI Faculty Letter to DA: Drop the Charges Against the Irvine 11". New University. 2011-02-15. http://www.newuniversity.org/2011/02/opinion/uci-faculty-letter-to-da-drop-the-charges-against-the-irvine-11/. 
  35. ^ "30 Jewish Studies Faculty Call on DA to Drop Charges Against Muslim Students at UCI". 2011-03-08. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-wiener/30-jewish-studies-faculty_b_832444.html. 
  36. ^ Jolly, Vik, et al. "11 Muslim students face charges in UCI protest." The Orange County Register. 8 February 2011. 26 March 2011.
  37. ^ Medina, Jennifer. "Muslim Students Face Criminal Charges at Irvine." The New York Times. 9 February 2011. 26 March 2011.
  38. ^ "Charges filed against ‘Irvine 11.’" JTA. 8 February 2011. 26 March 2011.
  39. ^ GIL SHEFLER (2011-02-08). "Jewish group supports Muslim activists who heckled Oren". Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?ID=207368&R=R1. 
  40. ^ "Muslim criminals, Jewish activists?". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. 2011-02-16. http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/muslim_criminals_jewish_activists_20110216/. 
  41. ^ "Sign Petition to Help Stop the Prosecution of the Irvine 11". 2011-03-04. http://www.mpac.org/programs/hate-crime-prevention/sign-petition-to-help-stop-the-prosecution-of-the-irvine-11.php. 
  42. ^ a b Dershowitz, Alan M. "Alan Dershowitz: ‘Irvine 10’ conviction constitutionally sound." The Orange County Register. 27 September 2011. 30 September 2011.
  43. ^ "Making Martyrs of the Irvine 11." The Investigative Project on Terrorism. 3 October 2011. 4 October 2011.
  44. ^ [2]
  45. ^ About the Anti-Defamation League
  46. ^ UC Irvine Muslim Student Union Under Investigation
  47. ^ Letter of clearance

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