Muslim students rally for freedom



Muslim students rally for freedom Activists support social
changes, religious unity

By Patrick Marantal

Daily Bruin Contributor

Amid the sounds of the crowd and the heat of the sun, voices
amplified through a microphone rang like a distinct, clarion call
to the students passing by.

On Jum’ah, the holiest day of Ramadan, the Muslim Students
Association and about 100 supporters rallied against oppression.
Four experienced activists were also brought in to speak on the
forms of injustice affecting the United States and discuss ways to
effect social change, organizers said.

"I did not come here to condone or condemn. I did not come here
to accuse or point fingers. I did not come here to be involved in a
process of catharsis where we get things off our chest," said Maher
Hathout, an activist working in the Muslim and Los Angeles
community. "I came here to celebrate.

"You’re taking responsibility as humans (in a) very legitimate
role (to look) into the problems of your country (and) find
solutions," he added.

During the rally, several of the speakers emphasized the power
of students in raising awareness on issues of national
importance.

"The movement that is actually prodding the government forward
is by students," said Peter Sellars, a visiting professor of world
arts and cultures. "Student are calling upon their government to
have accountability. Students are questioning the standards of
human rights.(And) students are questioning the behavior of
business.

"The fact that many of you are here today is that you are the
power elite of the country," he added.

The rally raised issues ranging from human rights to
politics.

"Big money should be off the election process," Hathout said.
"It is no more a government for the people, by the people, from the
people. It is a government by the millionaires, for the
millionaires, from the millionaires.

"I believe (that) if our intentions are right, we are about to
break the cycle of indifference that enables the few to exploit the
oppressed," Hathout said.

However, members of UCLA’s Jewish community waited on the
fringes of the Muslim-sponsored rally, fearing that the
demonstration could become an anti-Zionist protest.

"People are allowed to have their views but don’t mask it," said
Gary Bernato, a fourth-year English student and editor in chief of
Ha’Am. "If you’re anti-Israel, anti-Jew or anti-Zionist, just say
it."

But Muslims maintained that the rally was meant to foster
knowledge and focus on solutions, not conflict.

"We’re not here to give rhetoric. We’re here to speak the truth
about what Zionism has created," said Pejman Novin, a fourth-year
philosophy and Iranian studies student, and assistant programming
director for the Muslim Students Association. "(But) we’re willing
to discuss it intelligently and calmly to come to a solution."

And many members of non-Muslim groups attended the rally
transgressing religious and ethnic boundaries, Novin said.

"The whole purpose was not to make people Muslim (but) to make
them know what it represents," said Masood Khan, a third-year
history student.

Others said the rally served to unite people of different
backgrounds.

"(It is) more than a rally or a protest," Novin said. "There are
people from different cultures uniting in one message which is to
believe in one God."

But some argued that calling for belief in any single god or
religion countered the purpose of the rally.

"If you take it as far as everyone should be a Muslim, aren’t
you taking away choice?" Bernato asked. "It’s a kind of
imperialism."

But regardless of the debate over faith, organizers said the
rally was a paradigm for future student action.

"(The rally) is a stepping stone. We want to unite people,
educate people and discuss what’s going on," Novin said. "It is
basically a platform of what is to come in the future. It is an
introduction for rallies to come."

ANDREW SCHOLER/Daily Bruin

Tahira Hoke, fourth-year psychology student, listens attentively
as speakers express hopes for social change and future student
action.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1996 ASUCLA Communications Board

[Back] [Home]