The Daily OrangeSUNY Oswego tries to ban Muslim speaker for
By LAUREN PAUER
Posted: 2/17/05, 3:59 AM EST Section: News
Controversy surrounding a Muslim man's suspected connection to terrorists almost prevented funding for the keynote speaker's upcoming lecture on racism.
Abu Yousuf will speak Saturday at the State University of New York at Oswego, but the university's Muslim Student Association, which is sponsoring the event, did not obtain the funding easily.
Some members of SUNY Oswego's Student Association were concerned about claims in an Internet article claiming Yousuf has ties to Al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Islam group that has been linked to terrorist activity in other countries.
Fahad Samad, president of SUNY Oswego's Muslim Student Association, said the claims are false.
"Those are straight-forward lies," Samad said. "Those are accusations."
The Muslim Student Association defended Yousuf at the SUNY Oswego Student Association meeting Tuesday, and after some debate, the SA eventually gave the organization $800 to bring Yousuf to campus, said Alan Hershkowitz, a SUNY Oswego junior and SA senator.
Hershkowitz acknowledged there was initial confusion surrounding the speaker's identity.
"There was some stuff on the Internet about him, but we weren't sure if it was the same person. Abu Yousuf is a common name," he said.
SA passed the funding request because the allegation could not be verified, Hershkowitz said.
"There's no proof beyond one rumor on the Internet, and not necessarily from a credible source," he said. "Had there been proof, there would have been problems. But there really is no proof."
While the article, written for WorldNetDaily.com, does not directly accuse Yousuf of terrorist activity, it reports Yousuf said he attended a Sudan "camp" and is the youth leader for the Queens, New York City office of Al-Muhajiroun. The truth, Samad said, is that Yousuf was born in Sudan but grew up in New York. The author of the article could not be reached for comment.
Samad said Yousuf is a very charismatic and effective speaker. The Muslim Student Association wanted a younger speaker that Oswego students would be able to relate to, Samad said.
Abu Yousuf will speak Saturday at the State University of New York at Oswego, but the university's Muslim Student Association, which is sponsoring the event, did not obtain the funding easily.
Some members of SUNY Oswego's Student Association were concerned about claims in an Internet article claiming Yousuf has ties to Al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Islam group that has been linked to terrorist activity in other countries.
Fahad Samad, president of SUNY Oswego's Muslim Student Association, said the claims are false.
"Those are straight-forward lies," Samad said. "Those are accusations."
The Muslim Student Association defended Yousuf at the SUNY Oswego Student Association meeting Tuesday, and after some debate, the SA eventually gave the organization $800 to bring Yousuf to campus, said Alan Hershkowitz, a SUNY Oswego junior and SA senator.
Hershkowitz acknowledged there was initial confusion surrounding the speaker's identity.
"There was some stuff on the Internet about him, but we weren't sure if it was the same person. Abu Yousuf is a common name," he said.
SA passed the funding request because the allegation could not be verified, Hershkowitz said.
"There's no proof beyond one rumor on the Internet, and not necessarily from a credible source," he said. "Had there been proof, there would have been problems. But there really is no proof."
While the article, written for WorldNetDaily.com, does not directly accuse Yousuf of terrorist activity, it reports Yousuf said he attended a Sudan "camp" and is the youth leader for the Queens, New York City office of Al-Muhajiroun. The truth, Samad said, is that Yousuf was born in Sudan but grew up in New York. The author of the article could not be reached for comment.
Samad said Yousuf is a very charismatic and effective speaker. The Muslim Student Association wanted a younger speaker that Oswego students would be able to relate to, Samad said.
