The pro-Palestine student protests in the US are an indicator of a pivotal shift in American public consciousness, particularly among the younger generation, and will have long-lasting impacts on the future, according to American Muslim scholar Yasir Qadhi.
“One of the most optimistic signs of change in America is that in over 100 campuses, we are seeing protests take place against the Israeli occupation and the bombing of Gaza,” Qadhi said in an interview with Anadolu.
A key point, he emphasized, is that “the majority are non-Muslims who are protesting.”
“This is a change in the mindset and mentality. What is happening, the next generation is now seeing the reality of what is happening in Palestine,” said Qadhi, who is the dean of The Islamic Seminary of America.
“The older generation is the same, but the new generation, they are understanding.”
On the major demands of the protesters, he said the students want an end to links with Israel at all levels, from monetary ties of billions of dollars to technology and research.
Sharing his firsthand experience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he said the students came out because “MIT has a relationship with the IDF.”
“The students said they don't want to do research for a genocidal regime or do research for an enabler of murder, pillaging and killing,” he said.
- Student protests changed history
Qadhi pointed to the defining impact that student-led movements have had at various points in global and American history.
He stressed that the current protests mirror the student movements that brought about significant social and political change, such as those against the Vietnam war and South African apartheid.
“America was involved completely in Vietnam and who changed it? The student protests. Civil rights movement in US … who changed it? The students. In the 1980s, South Africa was an ally of America and Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist. Who changed it? Student protests,” he said.
“These student protests were in the same Columbia, Yale and Princeton, all of these places, so they never learned from history.”
On the violent crackdown on student protests in the US, where thousands have been arrested over the past few weeks, Qadhi said it was an indicator of the thinking still prevalent among “the elders and the politicians.”
“In my city Dallas, we have a governor who is very anti-Muslim, anti-Palestine, and very, very pro-Zionist. He sent in the troops … the army against the students,” he said.
“Even if the students are wrong, you do not send in the army against the students, right? … Over 40 students were arrested for doing what? For protesting, for holding a peace sign.”
Despite the current bleak outlook, Qadhi is optimistic about impending change in the US.
“In one generation, if not faster, the tide of America will change,” he said.
“What's going to happen in 10 years is that these students are going to be CEOs, politicians, congressmen or senators.”
- ‘The future is bright'
In his speeches at various universities, Qadhi has repeatedly emphasized the need for Muslims to take a leading role in social justice movements across the US, as well as the importance of education and advocacy.
“The future is bright. We as Muslims have to be involved. We have to be at the forefront. We have to encourage and teach and educate, we have to motivate,” he said.
Qadhi said his main message to the protesters is for them to remember that they are on the “right side of history” and their efforts will eventually lead to significant changes in American policy and public opinion.
“My message to my fellow Americans … is why should our tax dollars go anywhere else?” he said.
“Let's take our tax dollars and spend them on education. Spend them on housing. Let's stop funding wars overseas. Let's stop bombing and pillaging.”
