Photo courtesy of Jana Al-Akhras
Outraged students at the Ohio State University have mobilized after The Lantern, the campus’s official student-run newspaper, published what they say is a discriminatory advertisement linking the Muslim Student Association to international terrorism.
Titled “Former leaders of the Muslim Student Association (MSA)”, the advertisement asks “Where are they now?” and lists nine MSA co-founders and former Presidents as having ties to alleged terrorist groups. One such listing describes Jamal Barzini as both a co-founder of the MSA and a close associate of Hamas.
The advertisement was paid for by FrontPage Magazine, an online publication funded by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a national institution recognized for its harsh and derogatory stance against Islam.
The advertisement, printed on page 2 of the newspaper, drew immediate criticism for its direct assault on Muslim representation on American college campuses. According to Jana Al-Akhras, a 2nd year student and member of the university’s MSA, “it’s a blatant attempt at reinforcing stereotypes and causing widespread fear of Muslims on campus.” [Read more...]
All of the different Irvine 11 verdicts
A verdict has been reached. All ten of the Irvine 11 students have been found guilty on two misdemeanor counts of conspiring to disrupt and then disrupting a speech given by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California – Irvine in February 2010. The ten students have each been sentenced three years of probation, roughly $200 in fines, and 56 hours of community service, according to reports.
But that wasn’t the only verdict reached today.
The court’s decision complements traditional American policy towards Israel and its supporters. The excuse that Israel is forever under existential threat has embedded itself within the framework of the Constitution of the United States. First Amendment rights are no longer guaranteed if an individual is tried for being on the wrong side: for not supporting Israel’s policies in the Middle East, its occupation, its abandonment of the most fundamental form of justice, or its perception of public nonviolent dissent as institutionalized death-wishing festivities. So in a very obvious sense, the real verdict is that Israel’s interests stand above the right to express, to speak, to engage, and to openly challenge the injustices legitimized by Oren’s words.
In another relevant and disturbing perspective of the verdict, the court’s decision reflects that “Muslims are permanent foreigners, at least in Orange County,” according to Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. In yet another blow to Muslim freedoms and civil liberties here in the United States, the ten students have been publicly denied their right to free speech. The Muslim Students Association chapter at UC Irvine will continue to face both legal scrutiny and a heavily watchful eye — unnecessarily and undeservedly, of course — from campus authorities and anti-Muslim groups in the area. This entire case has become a breeding ground for the most virulent and bigoted anti-Islam sentiment enthusiastically shielded by the courthouse’s roof (and, ironically, the principle of “free speech”). [Read more...]