Muslim Student Union of the University of California, Irvine: Difference between revisions

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The Muslim Student Union (MSU) is a student organization at the University of California Irvine. The organization has been condemned by many civil rights organizations for its anti-Semitic activism.

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 |formation    = 2001
 |university = [[University of California, Irvine]]
-|leader_title = President
-|leader_name  = [[Mohamed Abdelgany]]
-|website      = http://www.msuuci.com
 }}
 The '''Muslim Student Union''' (MSU) is a student organization at the [[University of California Irvine]]. The organization has been condemned by many civil rights organizations for its anti-Semitic activism.
-==Mission==
-The MSU takes part in the UCI campus with various programs from humanitarian to religious to political. Its mission statement states that it "attempts to build an environment that enhances good, discourages bad, and provides networks of resources, knowledge, people, and companionship to its members." [http://www.msuuci.com/?page_id=2]
-==Significant Events==
-===Daniel Pipes Event===
-In January 2007, members of the Muslim Student Union were involved in a vocal interruption of Daniel Pipes' lecture at UC Irvine.
-===Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren Speech - February 2010===
-Eleven students were arrested as part of a protest against a campus speech by [[Israel|Israeli]] [[Ambassador]] [[Michael Oren]]. It was not clear if those arrested were members of the Muslim Student Union but reports said those arrested echoed a statement released by the MSU. <ref>{{cite news|title=Oren heckled at California college |work=Guelph Mercury|location= Ontario, Canada|date=February 10, 2010|accessdate=March 1, 2010|page=1}}</ref> The Muslim Student Union denied that any arrested were a part of their organization. <ref> {{cite news|accessdate=March 1, 2010|date=February 14, 2010|work=The Orange County Register|author=Landon Hall|page=Local B}}</ref> 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 Nations|United Nation’s]] Goldstone Report a fact-finding mission endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council." [http://www.msuuci.com/?p=2007]
-On a website created to support the arrested students, MSU President Mohamed Abdelgany wrote that "all of my actions on Monday were done out of my own individual accord and were not on behalf of the Muslim Student Union or any other organization at UC Irvine."<ref>[http://standwiththeeleven.wordpress.com/about/personal-statement-member-of-the-eleven/ Stand with the Eleven - Personal Statements.</ref>
-However, in April 2010, emails were leaked anonymously to both university officials and local law enforcement that reportedly demonstrated that the MSU not only helped organize the disruptions, but counseled students to assert that they had acted on their own. In one e-mail to the MSU board dated Feb. 6, MSU president Mohamed Abdelgany described the union's "game plan" for the Oren speech, including a call for "disrupters." 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 disrupters to be loud and firm, but not not lose their composure. "Remember," he wrote, "that this is a planned/calculated response."<ref>[http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/04/07/1011475/emails-allege-muslim-students-orchestrated-irvine-disruption E-mails allege Muslim students orchestrated Irvine disruption], Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), April 7, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.investigativeproject.org/1892/the-msu-plot-to-silence-israels-ambassador The MSU Plot to Silence Israel's Ambassador], Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), News, April 7, 2010.</ref>
-===Muhammad Cartoons Protest===
-Hundreds attended an MSU campus demonstration protesting the  publication of [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|cartoons of Muhammad]] by the Danish newspaper by the UCI College Republicans. The event was mainly made up by Irvine community members. .<ref>The Cartoons Cry, Muhammad Tariq Ghazi, Author House, 2006,   p. 141</ref>
-==Alleged Funding of Hamas==
-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 MSU violated UCI Policy by not informing the University that the event would be a fundraiser. In addition, George Galloway and Viva Palestina are currently under investigation for funding Hamas, a US Designated Terror Organization.
-==Allegations of Anti-Semitism==
-===Condemnation from UC President Mark Yudof===
-In a public letter written by UC President Mark Yudof regarding the Muslim Student Union's event titled "Israel: The Politics of Genocide", Yudof wrote "Permit me now to remove my cap and gown and to exercise my First Amendment rights as private citizen. In my opinion, the title of the series is virulent, historically inaccurate and offensive to Jewish people everywhere."
-===Anti-Defamation League===
-The Anti Defamation League has described the Muslim Student Union as being "responsible for staging large events every spring featuring virulently anti-Semitic speakers." <ref>http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Israel/Anti-Semitism+at+UC+Irvine.htm</ref>
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
-[[Category:Student political organizations in the United States]]
-[[Category:American Islamic organizations]]
-[[Category:Islamic activist organizations]]