Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Ad in Penn State paper associates Muslim student group with al Qaeda
By Jessica Turnbull
Daily Collegian Penn StateSchool
April 24, 2008

Judy Bowes was brought to tears April 21 when an ad sponsored by the Terrorism Awareness Project called her organization a radical group that supports jihad.

But ad sponsor and conservative author David Horowitz said he wanted to stimulate discussion about the facts so people could understand the agenda of the Muslim Student Association (MSA). He said the MSA cannot claim it is a religious organization if it invites political speakers to their events.

In the ad — published in the April 21 issue of The Daily Collegian — the Project states the MSA "is a radical political group that was founded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the godfather of al Qaeda and Hamas, to bring jihad into the heart of American higher education."

Bowes (senior-art history), who converted to Islam two years ago, said she was hurt and disturbed to see the project align the MSA with terrorists.

"All we are trying to do is get an education," said Bowes, who is the MSA's public relations officer. " ... We do not support anything done by terrorists across the world."

The ad is "defamatory" and is composed of "hate speech" and "pure lies," Bowes said.

The ad states the Penn State MSA featured speakers such as Sheikh Khalid Yasi, "who denies that al-Qaida was involved in 9/11; says that the World Trade Center fell as a result of 'internal explosive charges'; and believes that homosexuals should be killed in accordance with the commandments of the Quran."

Sheikh Khalid Yasi has spoken twice at Penn State.

Horowitz said he will admit he made a mistake if the MSA can prove it's not associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and if it says it made a "terrible mistake" for inviting political speakers.

"If the student association will condemn Hamas, I will come and say 'Maybe this one at Penn State is different,' " he said. "But I doubt it."

Penn State's MSA is an independent chapter and it is not associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Bowes said.

Horowitz said he was tired of people "whining" about feeling threatened by his ads, which he said don't label students as terrorists, but highlight an association with the Brotherhood.

MSA member Syed Fsahii (graduate-mechanical engineering) said the ad evoked a variety of emotions in him: surprise it was printed, anger at the accusations and fear there may be violent repercussions against Muslim students.

Carolyn Yanoff, business manager of the Collegian, said she held the ad for two weeks until Horowitz's organization sent her documentation for the ad's contents.

"It was never my intention to place an ad to hurt any individual or group," said Yanoff, who made the decision to publish the ad.

By April 22, the MSA had begun circulating a petition calling for the Collegian to apologize for running the ad. The petition garnered 100 signatures in less than 24 hours.

The Daily Collegian has two separate divisions. The Business Division, which Yanoff heads, is responsible for advertising content. The News Division is responsible for news content.

Fsahii said the MSA is not a political group but it is a place for Muslims to interact. He said the Penn State chapter was founded by students who wanted a club to talk about what they face as Muslims.

Horowitz is known for taking quotes out of context and making assumptions, Fsahii said.

English professor Michael Berube said Horowitz "doesn't turn off the light and go to sleep at night until he knows he's upset someone."

Berube, along with sociology professor Sam Richards, was criticized in Horowitz's book, The Professors: 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America.

Horowitz's goal is to shake people up and "piss them off," Richards said. He said Horowitz told him he wants people to talk about things they don't normally discuss, such as politically incorrect issues.

Ten years ago, Horowitz published ads calling for reparations for the ancestors of slaves that referred to welfare as a form of slavery, he said. The ads caused controversy until the Daily Princetonian at Princeton University published an editorial denouncing the content of the ad, which it ran the same day, Berube said.

"It's always about agitation," Berube said. "It's never about a serious exchange or serious dialogue. ... It's to produce turmoil."

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