"The mind can only absorb what the ass can endure"
-Socrates (or one of them guys)
That is the lesson for Osama Abu Irshaid, who spoke today on day 3 of the Muslim Student Union fizzeroo at UC Irvine. Once again we were treated to a boring speaker who spoke for nearly an hour on Israel and the Palestinians. Once again, there was an audience of about 35 people, mostly MSU folks seated on the hard stone steps in front of the flagpoles. By the time he finshed speaking (leaving no time for q and a) he had lost the interest of the crowd and a few bodies as well.
As for the taping issue, this time the moderator opened the event by requesting that no video be taken from the audience, which I, of course, ignored.
Abu Irshaid is a board member of American Muslims for Palestine and is reportedly a one-time editor of a publication of the now defunct Islamic Association for Palestine-which was allegedly a front for Hamas established by the Muslim Brotherhood. (Source: counterjihadreport.com/tag/Osama-abu-irshaid )
Some notable statements made today by Abu Irshaid were that the Arab hostility to Israel has nothing to do with religion and several historical examples of how well Jews have been treated in Muslim countries.
Here is the video if you can stand to watch it. It is long, tedious, and just the usual boiler plate "Israel is evil" stuff we hear every year, every day.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/OIhMpgRluNY
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WyFGksZm8nQ
http://www.youtube.com/embed/BIGJWbxDMlE
After the talk, I appoached Abu Irshaid and asked a question as I contiued filming. I asked him about a quote attributed to him that "rockets being fired into Israel from Gaza should be considered legitimate resistance". I also asked him since Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the US Government if he agreed with that or if he supported Hamas.
As to the first point, he said that it was taken out of context but implied that it was acceptable because Gaza was occupied, which would make it acceptable under international law for the Palestinians to defend themselves (I am paraphrasing. You can watch the video.) As to Hamas, he acknowledged that the US considered Hamas a terrorist group, but gave another winding answer as to whether he supported or condemned Hamas. He said, "I don't defend Hamas. I defend the Palestinian people", then changed the subject to the Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
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2 comments:
And Jews should have stayed in Europe where they were loved, respected, and prosperous, right Miggie?
When referring to fair treatment of Jews, they are talking about Muslim history stretching back hundreds of years into the Middle Ages. Jews were generally treated better for ages, and it was only the rise of Zionism that created tensions between Muslims and Jews. As for arguments about where to live--the Palestinians lived in historic Israel for hundreds and hundreds of years, and then got kicked out in 1948. It makes sense that they would be upset and would want their land back, in the same way that the Jews got kicked out after the destruction of the Second Temple back in Roman Times. Everyone lost at some point or another in history. It is NOT true that "Arabs can live in peace and prosper in Israel but no Jew is allowed in the Arab areas." Many Arabs accept Israel and simply want a two-state solution to be adopted. The problem is not with Jews, but with the occupation by the state of Israel.
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