MSU statement on Green Shahada Graduation Stoles

Posted May 19, 2007 4:59 PM

Original link: http://www.muslimstudentunion.com/fireworksMain/main.cfm?currentPage=shahada.cfm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Headline: False allegations and slander against Muslim students at UC Irvine concerning the wearing of religious symbols during graduation ceremonies.

IRVINE, California -- June 17, 2004.

This Saturday, June 19th, will be the 39th commencement of the University of California Irvine.

Graduating students will walk while being adorned with various sashes, stoles, and emblems representing various honors, clubs, and religious symbols. However, there has been a tremendous amount of controversy in the local and national media concerning the stoles that some of the Muslim students will be wearing. Although the same stoles were worn a year ago at UC Irvine and various other schools without any concern, some ignorant and malicious individuals decided to make an issue out of them this year and spread lies and rumors about what the stoles stand for and say.

It was falsely reported to the media by some students at UC Irvine that Muslim students would be wearing stoles that advocate support for HAMAS. Furthermore, these students erroneously alleged to various aural media outlets that the stoles stated in Arabic the term "martyrdom", in an attempt to slander the Muslim Student Union and its members at UC Irvine by depicting them as war mongers

Due to the irresponsible action of these students, both the administration and students at UCI have been under extreme pressure and distress, in a time where graduation should bring about feelings of joy and happiness. The truth of the matter is that the graduation stoles that will be worn are simple expressions of religious freedom and unity amongst Muslim students. The stoles state on one side in Arabic "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is His messenger" and "Say: God increase my knowledge" on the other side. This statement is the declaration of faith for Muslims, and its depiction on a stole is similar to a Jewish student wearing a Star of David or a Christian student wearing a cross on his respective stole or gown.

The administration has pledged its support for the Muslim students to wear their stoles and that this is an issue of free speech and they acknowledge that the accusations are false. In an effort to clarify that all such allegations are unequivocally false and blatant lies, the Muslim Student Union will be having a press conference on Friday at 3:30 pm at UCI.

Muslim Student Union of UC Irvine
www.msu-uci.com
www.muslimstudentunion.com

Summer 2004 Alkalima: The Assassinations of Sheikh Yassin and Dr. Rantissi

This was originally posted May 19, 2007 4:34 PM PST
Original link was: http://www.alkalima.com/article.php?id=0603_assassination

The Assassinations of Sheikh Yassin and Dr. Rantissi
By Abdulrahman Hachache

Why the assassinations will have serious consequences for “Israel” and the Islamic Resistance Movement

Hamas, an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Egypt, was founded in Palestine by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. In his youth, Sheikh Yassin studied under Hassan Al-Banna, the founder of the Brotherhood in Egypt. Taking the knowledge he received back home to Palestine, he established an Islamic Resistance Movement to counteract Zionism. Sheikh Yassin experienced a life of struggle as he was quadriplegic since youth, but, through struggle, his knowledge and wisdom allowed him to serve as the spiritual leader for the Hamas movement in Palestine. Having been jailed and beaten by Israel to the point where he lost vision in one eye, Sheikh Yassin was released by Israel as a gesture for having attempted to assassinate another Hamas leader in Jordan.

On March 21, 2004, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin had just concluded Fajr prayer at a Masjid in Gaza when he was cowardly assassinated by three missiles launched by an Israeli helicopter. A few weeks later, after President Bush and Sharon met at the White House, Dr. Rantissi, the newly appointed leader of Hamas was assassinated in his car in a similar way as Sheikh Yassin.

These assassinations are taking place at a time when civil liberties are being increasingly restricted in the US. One may ask: why is it that Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Dr. Rantissi were assassinated? Anybody who are targeted for assassination, whether it be Malcolm X or Dr. King in the US, or Sheikh Yassin and Dr. Rantissi in Occupied Palestine had to have been perceived as a threat. The biggest threat to the West since the end of Communism and the Cold War has been Islam’s rising popularity to people all over the world. If one is trying to establish Islam economically, socially, or politically, one becomes a threat to the West and those governments supporting it. The people being targeted in Occupied Palestine are threats to the status-quo entity.

Twenty years ago, during the time of South African apartheid, there were those who were favored by those in control, and those that were threatened or killed. At the time, the ANC, founded by Nelson Mandela, was defined by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. At the end, he became the leader of the movement to end apartheid because of his popularity among the people.

Similarly, ten years ago Hamas was considered a terrorist organization by Arabs and non-Arabs alike. Since then, the Arab people have realized that the only solution to the Zionist situation is through military force, which is espoused by Hamas, Hizb’Allah, Islamic Jihad, and other Islamic resistance organizations. Hizb’ Allah, led by Sheikh Nassrallah, proceeded with the use of military force and was successful in liberating South Lebanon.

Arab countries have come to realize that the only group able to liberate land from the Zionists was Hizb’ Allah. Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, who only had control of his tongue, stuck to his correct legitimate ideology and was assassinated as a hero of the Palestinian people and Muslims worldwide. Although he had various physical limitations and the only thing he could command was his tongue, Sheikh Yassin used it to fight and "terrorize" the evils of Shaytan (Satan) and the enemies of Allah.

Just as the legacy of those before them has grown after their martyrdom - as has been the case with Hassan Al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and Malcolm X - Sheikh Yassin and Dr. Rantissi have joined these martyrs in the Islamic Movement; their influence on future generations will be immense. Hamas, Hizb’ Allah and other Islamic Resistance groups have vowed to respond to the killings of these martyrs, and the quickest response so far has come from Hizb’ Allah, who launched missile strikes on "Israel" immediately after the martyrdom of Sheikh Yassin.

The killing of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin has sparked a fire in Muslims all over the world. "Israel" has elevated Sheikh Yassin from a man to a martyr. In that same vein, it will be one hundred years from now that Sheikh Yassin will be established as a dominant hero in the Middle East as Malcolm X was in the States. The assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, founder of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine, whose persistence, piety, and self-sacrifice led to his popularity amongst people all over the world, gives rise to the beginning of the second generation of Islamic Resistance.

The actions taken by "Israel" can be compared to a snakehead analogy. By taking of the head, you are able to debilitate the rest of the body. However, this strategy is clearly shortsighted and counterproductive. The Qur’an states, "Men said to them, ‘A great army is gathering against you,’ and frightened them, but it (only) increased their Faith. They said, ‘For us Allah is sufficient, and He is the best disposer of affairs’" (3:173).

The likely consequences of "Israel’s" assassination of Sheikh Yassin and Dr. Rantissi will be a new group of people whose knowledge, spiritual soundness, and sincerity will lead them above the rest. If Hamas is sincere, the assassinations will embolden the organization and those within it by making them stronger and eventually allowing them to succeed and reap the rewards they seek, as long as they stick steadfastly to their objective and work for the sake of Allah.

Hachache is a fifth year History major at UC Irvine

MSU's Flyer from 2004 Annual Hate Israel Week

Posted originally 5/19/2007 4:39 PM

Photo from May 2004 Annual Hate Israel Week

Posted originally May 19, 2007 4:21 PM PST

Note the Swastika = Jewish Star (Judaism = Nazism) and Mohammad Al-Dura from Pallywood.

Notes from the SAS's May 17, 2004 evening event

Posted May 19, 2007 4:53 PM

Received this via email

Notes from 5/17/2004 6:30-7:30 pm at UCI Flagpoles
SAS event with 3 speakers

1948 Speaker: Khaire denne Abuljebain (Osama Abuljebain’s grandfather?):

- “4 million refugees”?
- “Some things to note on destruction of houses in Rafah in Gaza Strip”
- Recognizes British and Allies won against Ottomans and thus gained rights of control of Palestinian Mandate area
- All nations except Palestinian Mandate got independence
- Promises were made to Palestinians
- Residents were “Canaanites and 7th century Muslims”
- Minorities: Christians and Jews
- Lived in Jaffa in early 30’s – no Zionists then
- In fact, intermarriages between Muslims and Jews
- Immigration of Jews led to fight against Zionists
- “Palestine was full”
- 1914 census: Jews were 8% of population
- “Laws were imposed requiring villagers to sell their land to Jews”
- Then 1947 decision: Palestine should be partitioned
- “US Administration and Truman helped impose” solution, “although not practical”
- “Partition took Arab land and gave it to Jews”
- Brought about fights
- “Divided land ½ to Arabs and ½ to Zionists”
- “Jews then took everything”
- “Intifada is to get rid of Jews in Gaza and West Bank”
- “We have a right to fight but no one is listening to us”
- “We have laws of UN but no one is listening”
- “France tried to expel Nazi occupiers”
- “Fighting to send Jewish occupiers out of our land”
- “British gave all the guns and arms to Jews”
- “I had a shell to my leg and had to leave”
- “Now 8 million Palestinians, 4 million refugees…some in Arab world”
- “Bush promised to help with state of Palestine”
- “Aim is to create democratic state for all – Jews and Arab”
- “Want to create a real state”
- “if scattered, not a real state”

Jerusalem presenter:
- “Occupied in 1948, and against the rule in 1967, annexed”

1967 Speaker: Omar (UCI Person)
- “Oslo was our hope”
- “As a small child, I listened to the radio: ‘Israelis won’, ‘Arabs won’ – no one was sure”
- “There was a rumor that in 1948 there were lots of massacres by Jews of Arabs”
- “My father had a choice: to be or not to be a refugee”
- “In 1967 while Arab tanks retreated, we were told that the Arab armies were making a maneuver.”
- “There was a helicopter overhead with a speaker that said ‘surrender, surrender, the Israeli army is coming’”
- “My parents were hurt by war in 1948 and now in 1967”
- “Israelis came to our door”
- “There was a rumor that the Jews will rape and kill, but in reality the Israelis took all the private cars”
- “70 km were annexed from Palestinians for Jerusalem”
- “We were under special emergency laws”
- “They changed the curriculum in the schools”
- “My father took me out of the schools and instead sent me to the West Bank, to Bethlehem, to study the Jordanian curriculum”
- “Had municipal elections”
- “Settlements have vast percentage of West Bank”
- “Then there were Jewish terrorist attacks against Arab leaders – some killed and maimed – they then cancelled the elections”
- “Tribal leaders tried to form governments, but a boycott prevented success.”
- “Since 1967, no economic development or health services in Palestinian areas”
- “Under UN rules, Israel responsible for such things.”
- “This only created resentment.”
- “The first intifada was less violent and had more hope”
- “Sharon’s plan had a huge resistance to it”
- “There are hundreds of settlements with lots of investments”
- “A joke from the territories: there are dilapidated cities and nice highways. If your street has holes in it, you must be in a Palestinian area. If you have a nice street, it must lead to a Jewish settlement.”
- “There is no difference between today and 1967”

Jericho speaker:
- “Hopes were raised for my independence, but developments and checkpoints created fragmentation and daily siege”

2000 speaker (VP of SAS?):
- “I have not lived there and experienced it”
- “My family lives there and I have seen the effects”
- “I worked for the Arab Association for Human Rights”
- “There is a sense of community and strength”
- “’History is a people’s memory’ – Malcom X”
- “The daily struggle adds to our identity…gives hope…despite dehumanization of our culture”
- “Our cause lives in people who believe in peace, equality, and justice”
- “It is felt by all who have felt discrimination, racism…”
- “Equality doesn’t exist”
- “So many misconceptions covering reality have blinded Arabs and Israelis both”
- Witnessed attempt to transport $2,000 of medical equipment through a checkpoint – doctors held at gunpoint while Israeli solders destroyed half of it.
- “People cannot receive proper medical aid”
- “I recently could not go into the territories because they were closed”
- “In Ramallah, people collect everything in big bags and cross illegally”
- “Now we have a wall”
- “Palestinians cannot cross the wall but Jews can”
- “Wall divides us as human beings”
- “The misconception is that Jews, Palestinians, and Christians cannot live together. This is not true – everybody in Nazareth lives in peace.”
- “The wall divides us but we need to stay united”
- “I remember riding in a car from the airport in Palestine while 8 years old. There were sporadic cactus plants surrounded by trees. I asked about the cactus plants and was told that the cactus plants were symbols where arab villages once stood. Every year, the Israelis cut them down, but they always grow back bigger and stronger.”
- “I know this the next time the Israeli army gets gun happy and guns down 13 high schoolers.”
- “This is the universal cause for freedom, justice, and equality.”

MSU: "Reward the Speakers and those who have helped"

Posted originally May 19, 2007 4:47 PM

To my knowledge, one needs to get permission to request donations for funds. I wonder if the MSU can produce documentation that they received permission to gather these donations.

Reward the Speakers and those who have helped the MSU-UCI

Assalamu alaykum,

On Thursday June 10th at 6:30pm we will be having our annual end of the year banquet! At the banquet, we would like to reward 3 Individuals who have dedicated a great deal of time and hard work to help the MSU of UCI, Amir Abdel Malik Ali, Dr. Imad Bayoun, and Sister Maha. We are currently collecting donations for these gifts.

If you would like to donate, please contact Muzzammil at mahussai@... and he will coordinate with you.

Jazakum Allahu Khair,
MSU UCI Board

UCI MSU Alkalima Spring 2004 Editorial

Originally posted May 19, 2007 3:39 PM PST
Original link was "http://www.alkalima.com/article.php?id=0602_editorsDesk"

Editorial

Being a stickler for equal rights, I’ve always believed that leaders
are made, not born. However, last quarter, if someone had told
me that leaders are born, not made, I would have wholeheartedly
agreed with them. Being in a leadership position myself, I
encountered several problems that tested my abilities and
frustrated me to the extent that I resigned myself to the idea that
I was not born to lead people - that regardless of how much I
worked towards it, I would never be the charismatic, dynamic
leader I always wanted to be.

Yet when the Alkalima staff arrived at the theme of "Leaders and Revolution" for its
next issue, I slowly began to reaffirm my initial belief that leaders are, in fact, made,
and not born. True, there are those individuals who have a natural tendency to take
charge and elicit responses from their followers, but being a leader means much
more than being charming and engaging. Acquiring the skills that make a leader
takes time and energy, and a determination to succeed. The mark of a true leader is
perseverance, thriving in adversity and making light of any discomfiting situation that
confronts her. What makes a leader truly exceptional is her ability to create positive
change - change so dramatic that it may even be considered revolutionary. Changing
long-held dictums and challenging the way people think is never an easy
undertaking, but when done effectively by a strong leader, the results are
extraordinary.

No one ever said being a leader would be easy. It takes sacrifice, resilience, and
most importantly patience. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws), the best of men
and leaders, sacrificed so much for the sake of Islam and was a just and patient
leader. He led by example, placing the good of his people before his own. His
complete faith and trust in Allah allowed him to rise above the challenges that
confronted him, for only through Allah’s guidance and mercy does a leader truly
succeed.

"If ye help not (your leader), (it is no matter): for Allah did indeed help him, when
the Unbelievers drove him out: he had no more than one companion; they too were
in the cave, and he said to his companion, ‘Have no fear, for Allah is with us’: then
Allah sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which ye saw
not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of Allah is
exalted to the heights: for Allah is Exalted in might, Wise" (The Holy Qur’an 9:40).

When one does become a leader, however, it is her moral obligation not to abuse her
power, because her people will do whatever she wants and directs them to do.
Currently, the United States suffers international censure - a plight the American
people have to face - because of the mistakes made by the miscalculations of its
leaders. A leader must take responsibility for her actions, for the extent of the
influence that a leader holds over her people is immeasurable. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin,
the face of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, carried so much influence
over his people that they were willing to sacrifice their lives because he believed it
would further their movement. He was a frail, nearly-blind 73-year-old who was
paralyzed from the neck down, and yet he held so much pull over his people. Setting
aside his actions and political agenda for a moment, one cannot help but marvel at
the extent of Yassin’s power and influence, especially since Israel thought that it was
necessary to use three missiles to eliminate him.

So many leaders - even those in some "Muslim" countries - have made thoughtless and irresponsible decisions, and thus - regardless of whether they deserve it - an entire people is subsequently labeled as selfish and inhumane.

When you really think about it, leaders incite revolutions. They may not necessarily be violent or political revolutions, but some form of change does result from a leader. What is variable is whether that revolution a positive - an outcome that rests in the hands of none other than the leader and her faith and trust in Allah.

Shahtaj Siddiqui
Editor-in-Chief
Alkalima Newsmagazine

MSU Event: The Life and Struggle of Shiekh Ahmed Yassin: A Lifetime Legacy of Resistance in the Face of Oppression

Originally posted here 5/16/2008

Original Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/msu-uci/message/884

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,

MSU UCI Presents…

The Life and Struggle of Shiekh Ahmed Yassin:

A Lifetime Legacy of Resistance in the Face of Oppression

with Dr. Imad Bayoun

“Think not of those, who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. Nay, they are living. With their Lord they have provision. Jubilant (are they) because of that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His bounty, rejoicing for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind: that there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. They rejoice because of favor from Allah and kindness, and that Allah wasteth not the wage of the believers.” Qur’an (3:169-171)

Where: Social Science Lab 270

When: 7:30 PM, Tuesday April 13^th

For more information contact: MSU_UCI@... or br. Kareem @ (714) 595 - 8662

Flyer from MSU website for Amir Abdel Malik Ali's February 26 2004 Speech

Posted originally May 19, 2007 4:43 PM PST