Concerned Students - CampusJ

“Israel is a state needs to be dissolved” was the message at a meeting of a new student group on Tuesday.

Wed, Nov 16, 2005

Laura Rheinheimer

The club, Concerned Students, is led by upperclassman Suleiman Hyatt, who has been involved in a number of causes on campus, including the Muslim Student Association and MeChA. At the meeting, Hyatt called dissolution of Israel “the only way to deal with this issue” of Zionism. Hyatt went on to say, “Israel is an oppressive nation,” in addressing a group of nearly ten students—including two boys from a nearby high school—on the couches in the MOSAIC office.

Hyatt said that he formed Concerned Students in the hope of addressing the “fundamental flaws” of the MSA. He opined that while the MSA was established as loose, temporary meeting of people, some want to change the MSA to a “movement mentality.” Hyatt handed out CDs to the group on “liberation theology,” which Hyatt stated would “educate us on what we should be knowing.”

Another speaker at the meeting, Caleb -- who wouldn’t provide his last name -- told the group that they could expect a lot of opposition, specifically from “the Zionists and in the propaganda they put out,” but not to be concerned about it, because he has dealt with it before. He urged the members of the group to seek advice from himself and Hyatt if they they felt uncomfortable due to any opposition.

Hyatt said in the meeting that he aimed to reach out to five area campuses and include area high schools so that people are “pulled to the same issues exactly.” The issues he named were Zionism, 9/11, Black Power, the misconception of the Muslim community, and oppression by the American government.

Hyatt he aims to bring his issues to the forefront of public attention in three phases: propaganda, holding events to complement the propaganda, and organizing events to unify the different campus chapters.

The meeting-place for the meeting, MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center is a campus organization dedicated to promoting and empowering different groups on campus. According to their mission statement, MOSAIC aims to “prepare innovative, socially-just leaders for our global community.” The group is not yet an affiliate of MOSAIC, according to staffers, and therefore cannot take advantage of the services they offer, including funding, help with events, and providing space for meetings.

Hyatt said he hopes the group will “shake at the complacency of the Muslim community.” He felt Muslims do not want to get involved in controversial issues, and that his events should be used to “kick somebody in the nuts and see how they react.”

Source: Campus J