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Muslim Students Occupy Newspaper Office
BERKELEY, Calif., Sept 19 (News Agencies) - More than 100 Muslim students at the University of California-Berkeley, and their supporters, staged a sit-in protest at the university's student newspaper office for publishing an offensive cartoon.
The protestors occupied the offices of The Daily Californian Tuesday night and demanded that an apology be published in Wednesday's issue of the newspaper.
An editorial cartoon by cartoonist Darin Bell, printed in the September 18th issue, shows two men with flowing beards, turbans and robes standing in a long-nailed hand
(explicitly referring to the Devil's hand) surrounded by flames. One man is saying, "We made it to paradise! Now we will meet Allah, and be fed grapes, and be serviced by 70 virgin women, and..." The other man is shown dropping a book with the words "Flight Manual" on the cover.
William Youmans, a Boalt Law School student and member of Students for Justice in Palestine said: "Look on page 5 of Tuesday's Daily Californian. You will see the most vile form of ethnic characterization because it comes during a time when many people are suffering a severe backlash."
Several other students also accused the newspaper for inflaming religious hatred and presenting a false portrayal of Islam and Muslims.
"We set an example to the whole nation, and if our own paper does this, what do we expect from the rest of the nation?" asked Basim Elkarra, president of UC Berkeley's Muslim Student Association.
Wajahat Ali, also a MSA member, said, "They have to be held accountable. The false representation by the media is directly responsible for the current hostile, angry and fearful attitude of average Americans toward Muslims and Arabs, and this is unacceptable."
Sikh students also expressed that the offensive cartoon might also put the security of their community in jeopardy as well.
Sikh Student Association member Jaspreet Saini said, "Followers of the Sikh religion wear turbans and have long beards and have faced about as much hate as the Arabs and Muslims."
The senior editorial board of the newspaper, staffed by student editors, has so far been unrepentant and said that it "will not issue an apology for the cartoon," which according to the board, "in no way reflects the views and opinions of
The Daily Californian." Wednesday's issue did not publish any apology.
Vice Chancellor Horace Mitchell, Dean of Students Karen Kenney, UC police chief Victoria Harrison and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor John Cummins, are currently working to resolve the controversy.
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