The Muslim Student Association Western Regional Conference: What Are We Supposed to Infer?

Left: Original flyer-Right: Revised flyer

The previously-reported Muslim Student Association regional (west) conference that took place last weekend at UCLA should serve to show that the problems at UC-Irvine are not an isolated phenomena.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/muslim-student-association-regional.html

As reported by first-hand account, many of the speakers took a militant tone. Just the presence alone of Amir Abdel Malik Ali shows the militant nature of this event. Go back to many of the statements quoted in the previous post and ask yourselves what is it that we are supposed to infer about the nature of Muslim Student Associations in universities around the rest of North America.

What are the rest of us supposed to infer when speakers tell young university students to not listen to their parents? That was heard more than once by those in attendance.

(Note to Muslim parents; Do you know what your sons and daughters are being taught in universities?)

What are we supposed to infer when speakers tell young university students not to associate with non-Muslims?

What are we supposed to infer when crowds take over university plazas to hold their prayers?

What are we supposed to infer when speakers tell young students to get married early, have lots of babies and train them to be activists?

What are we supposed to infer when a speaker talks about taking (the program) right to UC-Irvine this year and the crowd responds with shouts of "Takbir"?

What are we supposed to infer when events present a picture to the audience of "us vs them"?

True, many of the messages were innocent and even praiseworthy in telling the audience to be more religious and live clean lives. However, where was the message of brotherly love among people of all faiths? Where was the praise of the country they are living in? It appears that even the most militant speakers know where to draw the line. There was no call for the violent overthrow of the US. There was no call to kill anyone. But do these speakers think that none  of us  understand when they refer to "the struggle"? They are referring to Jihad. (Of course, if that is pointed out to them, they will say Jihad means the struggle to make oneself a better Muslim-which is, indeed, one form of Jihad.)

This is the way I see it. After watching the UC-Irvine MSU for the past several years, I come away with the impression that many students join in order to enjoy the company and support of their-co-religionists. That is fine, yet, the leadership is and will always be militant and politically driven.

What I also see is that the older generation of militants, like Amir Abdel Malik Ali and Siraj Wajjad, are busy  indoctrinating and training the new generation of militant Muslim leaders. The training grounds are not only in radical mosques-like Ali's Masjid al Islam in Oakland- but right smack dab in our universities.

I also must ask the question of why UCLA allows an event like this to take place on their campus. On the surface, what is wrong with a religious group holding a conference? Nothing until statements like the above are heard. Free speech? Of course.  Yet, if one university system knows the actual nature of the speech in these MSA events, it is the University of California. If I am not mistaken, Ali has probably spoken many times on each UC campus. Last May, he drew a rebuke from UC-Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake, when he admitted supporting, Hizbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas, as well as "Jihad on campus" -as long as it is "speaking truth to power", whatever that means. He also told the Jews in the audience, 'You Jews, You all the New Nazis!".

And if I would dare to nitpick-since when do public university squares have to be used for public prayers? Isn't there something about separation of church and state? Well, I suppose it is, in the final analysis, legal. However, isn't there a sort of "in your face" statement being made when these prayer events occur in public space? Why should non-Muslim students have to make detours to get where they are going?

In the wake of all the ugly events that have taken place on the UCI campus, UC President Mark Yudof and Chancellor Drake received hundreds, if not thousands of letters in protest. After this latest event at UCLA, maybe it is time for the UCLA Chancellor to get some mail.

In summary, it is clear that the effort to radicalize Muslim youth is an organized venture. The focal point for that venture is not only in the mosques, but in our universities. The Holy Land Foundation trial helped establish the relationship between the Muslim Student Association and the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent organization of all the radical Islamic groups. It is time to take off the blinders, especially in the universities. It seems every time we experience a case of a home-grown young Muslim expressing or acting out his hate for this country, we keep asking ourselves how we could have prevented the person from becoming radicalized in the first place. In fact, it is taking place right in front of our very eyes. Our political and educational leadership, however, refuses to acknowledge what is in plain view.