Statement : Union of Muslim Students’ Associations’ of South Africa support the call to Action against the US Foreign Policy and Rejection of Obama Visit to South Africa

27 June 2013
 

We as the Union of Muslim Students’ Associations’ of South Africa would like to reaffirm our utmost rejection of the criminal visit of the United States of America (USA) President, Barack Obama to our country. We declare our support for stance taken by the Muslim Lawyers Association (MLA) and the efforts of our compatriots in the coalition, standing firm in rejecting Obama’s Visit to South Africa and against the decision taken by the University of Johannesburg to award an Honorary Degree to the President of the USA.

The award of an Honorary Degree is done by the resolution of the Council and of Senate of an institution of higher learning on the grounds of his or her distinguished contribution to learning or by resolution of the Council on any other grounds noting that the contribution of the person in question is not viewed in isolation but is assessed in a holistic context. We fail to understand how the USA's arrogant, selfish and oppressive foreign policies, continuous unfair treatment of workers, international trade relations deeply rooted in war mongering, colonial racism and the disregard and destruction of the environment and incapacity in making the realization of a just and peaceful world possible are sufficient basis to even ‘honour’ the President of the USA, Barack Obama.

In the words of the Freedom Charter of South Africa, “our people have been robbed of their birth right to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality”. As South African youth, after 19 years of democracy, can attest that we have still not healed from the wounds of the oppressive apartheid regime.

We find it ludicrous that the main cheerleader of a regime led by the Israeli government, which unequivocally resembles the social, political and economic construct of the South African apartheid regime that has raped the inhabitants of this land from actualizing their true potential is being ‘honoured’ for his distinguished contribution to the progressive development of society.

We find the continued support by the Obama administration of the USA, to Israel and its apartheid policies, enough bases to disqualify Barack Obama from being acknowledged with an Honorary Degree by any South African public institution of higher learning.

As a representative of the youth intelligentsia of this country, we find the contradictions between what is universally understood as a fair basis to award an Honorary Degree to the track record of the USA President, Barack Obama an insult to our intelligence for the following reasons:
• The championing and maintenance, by the USA, in the militarisation of international relations and co-operation. It is a well-known fact that the USA approaches a lot of conflicts on the world through inciting, encouraging as well and championing war, primarily driven by its business interests often masqueraded in the language of defence of human rights.
• The continued greed in the guzzling of world resources by the USA epitomized by its encouragement and support of its multinational companies that have no regard for the environment, human rights like progressive labour laws.
• The USA’s active support and defence of colonial and oppressive regimes.
• The United States of America role in contributing to the destruction of the environment, as being the single largest contributor to global warming, which increasingly condemns the world into catastrophic environmental disasters.

Often accused of acting from an intellectually baseless standpoint, we would like to humbly request that the Chair of the University of Johannesburg Honorary Degree Committee and the Vice Chancellor to assist us in understanding the terms fair, holistic and precedent because using these terms, our conclusion of the decision by the University of Johannesburg to award the USA President, Barack Obama with an Honorary Degree:
• Has undermined the value of a South African Honorary Degree.
• Is setting a dangerous precedent which other public institutions of higher learning might pursue in future, further undermining the value of a South African Honorary Degree.
• Is an insult to all South Africans by ‘honouring’ the main cheerleader of a regime which has been described as a replication of apartheid South Africa?
Furthermore, as a representative of the youth intelligentsia of this country, we reaffirm the stance of South African Communist Party (SACP), the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCL), the South African Students Congress (SASCO),the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Friend of Cuba Society (FOCUS), Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel in South Africa (BDS South African), and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

We Call Upon All Peace and Justice Loving citizens to take the streets in Action against The United States Foreign Policy, and Against University of Johannesburg Decision to award Obama an Honorary Doctorate at an” Appropriate Occasion”.

We reaffirm the demands issued the Coalition:
• The Immediate Release of Our Friends of Cuba
• The Immediate Closure of Guantanamo Bay and the Release of the Innocent
• The Immediate Withdrawal of Support to Morocco who continue to colonise Western Sahara
• The Withdraw of AFRICOM
• Cease US/NATO warmongering in Syria and elsewhere
• Close GITMO
• Respect Privacy of Networking. Stop Snooping!

Lastly, the Union of Muslim Students’ Association of South Africa urge our compatriots in the coalition and broader civil society to raise our issues and stress that our National Government are to hear and understand our demands, in order for them to pressure the United States to honour our demands. In the main, the peoples of South Africa through the efforts of solidarity and the struggle for self-determination and the right to live freely and justly, has championed the liberation movement.

We see it fit that South Africa as an Emerging Power, An Ambassador for Africa and a Key Role Player in the South, who undeniably has also been negatively affected and limited in its action by the foreign policies of imperial powers. Nonetheless as a leadership of developing world, our National Government must play more of active role in championing the representation of demands and further ensuring their demands for the people of the Africa, Middle East and Latin America. If South Africa can champion that, then South Africa will be recognised as the true leader of the South.

In the name of Justice, Freedom and Equality; we must stand for the entire world and her people against imperialism and oppression, amongst others. As long as the USA President, Barack Obama continues to rule in a manner and support a regime that undermines the Freedom Charter of South Africa, his presence on South African soil is unwelcomed and an insult to the very people still recovering from the wounds of apartheid South Africa.

Statement issued by Yusuf Talia, President and Sumayya Omar, Political Officer of the Muslim Students’ Association Union (MSA Union)

Yusuf Talia: yusuf.talia@gmail.com / 071-677-2391
Sumayya Omar: sumz01@hotmail.co.za / 076-331-5299

A Different Perspective On Syria

Sumayya Omar, Political officer of the Union of Muslim Students South Africa

Do you know the history of Middle East? In essence it is the graveyard for all superpowers. Bring war and bloodshed upon my people and we will strike back with unity. Bring destruction upon our lands and we will show you conquest and liberation.  Out of every strike you make on us Muslims, a new jihadist movement is borne.

Israeli media reported that the ‘New Arab Rising’ and a new call for Arab leadership is one of an “Islamic, Anti-Western, Anti- liberal, Anti- Israeli, Anti- democratic wave”.  As Muslims, we know it as the call for Shariah law, but have we ever questioned why the call for Shariah is more apparent in the last 20 years?

 As Muslims, have we failed to link the deaths of our Muslim dictators? Starting with the execution of Saddam in 2006, and then with Ben Ali who suffered from a stroke in 2010, Qaddaffi’s death in 2012, Mubarak’s cancer outbreak in 2012. . . And now Syria is on the brink of the same fate.

Firstly, these leaders were Muslims by birth, but were their belief in only One God customary? Was Allah their only God or were they, their own Gods in the lands in which they ruled? Was the Quran their constitution or did they abandon the Quran and create a new book- Qaddaffi’s Green book? Was Shariah their law or did they massacre the people who lived according to Shariah?

Regardless of their dictatorship we need to understand their rule of law, their underlying beliefs of politics and we need to become wary of their devotees.

In this article, I have no intention to link the Syrian Revolution; to what the media brands it as a call to dictatorship or even a revolution that is fuelled by the west to oust Assad. My intention rather is educate you on bathism and why there is a worldwide Muslim call to support the Free Syrian Army.

These Baathist leaders namely: Saddam Hussein and Bashar Al Assad who are rather a unique kind. The Syrian Army whose slogan is: “  Ask my son, ask my father, ask my grandfather, ask my in-laws , Ask Al- Wahid Al-Ahad (Allah), ask whomever you wish, Bathism is my religion and my Lord is Bashar Al- Assad” have made it clear to us that Bathism for the Syrian devotees of Bashar is a religion, a sort of Islamic sect. Yet in actuality it is an Arab political party that was created in Iraq and Syria. Their ideological commitment was of Secularisation, Socialism and Pan-Arab Unionism in both Syrian and Iraq. For Syria it became a legal Syrian political party after 1963. Sources say after 2000 when Bashar Al- Assad took over his father’s reign, Bathism had ended. Yet we can beg to differ, due to his army’s slogan for example.

Syria is headed By Bashar Al – Assad and the Assad’s have ruled for over 40 years. Bashar’s regime compromises of Nusaiyra/ Alwais.  Their God is Bashar and they believe in the trinity of Allah; that Allah is reincarnated in Muhammad (S.A.W), then that Allah is reincarnated in Ali (RA), whom they take as a holy spirit, and thereafter Allah is reincarnated into Salman. They are not followers of the Quran or the Sunnat of the Prophet (S.A.W), they denounce Syrians to pray Salaah and grow a beard.  Whatever comes in their way of believing and praising Bashar, they will slaughter; they state that “whoever pushes Syria in a corner, we will push Allah, the one created him, into a corner”. They have openly waged war on Masajids, scholars of Islam and Islamic text.

What has started as an uprising two years ago, has now spilled over into civil war. Over 70 000 people have been killed and 1.2 million people are refugees in foreign lands. The Free Syrian Army is branded as rebel and terrorist groups. The Arab World is failing to help the people of Syria. Russia and China realistically are the role players in the supposed peace talks. The most significant action perhaps of the Arab league was that they granted the Syrian Opposition a summit seat. Turkey is evidently denying the claims made against them for the deportation and expulsion of Syrian Refugees in Turkey (A UN violation indeed!). Again we can question actions of the Turks - who’s side are they on? Evidently the west has not only merged Turkey but Turkey is now the gateway to Europe. Furthermore Turkey has reconciled with Israel, precisely defining that the apology process was done through the White House and Obama, and that reconciliation isn’t linked to the Syrian war. 

But the persecution of our brothers and sisters can’t go on for any longer; the civil war needs to end. It cannot be ended by the west, for their interest is only annihilate Bashar ( though putting the blame on islamist) and dominate the Arab World.  It is no longer the actual “cry” for freedom but rather, the blood that has being shed is the call for freedom.

On the 7^th of February 2012 a Fatwa was signed by 108 Muslim scholars worldwide to encourage Muslims to support the FREE SYRIAN ARMY. This is one of the calls amongst the calls of unity, which the west has “denounced” it as the ‘Arab rising”, it is the same call that was recited 20 years ago in Palestine; it is the call for Jihad.

The Solution is not diplomacy it is Jihad.  Once again the Syrians have stated: “Renounce Al-Assad or else Syria will become your graveyard”. For the faith of Syria and the war is not to be determined by the west, it should be by us Muslims and Muslim Countries. For it is a war to instil Shariah and not the Democracy of which is the west speaks about or outlined in USA Foreign Policy. For he Who controls political language essentially controls political action.