Latest news with #Bazian
Memri
6 days ago
- Politics
- Memri
AMP Chairman Hatem Bazian in California Friday Sermon: Kashmir and Palestine Are Battlegrounds for Identity; Zionists Came from Ukraine and Poland, Changed Their Names to Appear Indigenous
In a May 16, 2025 Friday sermon at the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, CA, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) National Chairman Hatem Bazian drew parallels between the conflicts in Palestine and Kashmir, framing both as struggles over identity and land driven by religious nationalism. Bazian said that in Palestine, the land is being claimed under the pretext of a divine promise tied to Judeo-Christian civilization, while in Kashmir, he argued, the region is being framed as a 'pure land of the Hindu gods' in service of building a Hindu nation-state. Bazian rejected the notion that Palestine belongs to those who claim a divine promise tied to Judeo-Christian civilization, saying it does not belong to those who came from Ukraine or Poland and changed their last names to appear indigenous. He emphasized that the Canaanites were the original inhabitants of the land and said that they were of Arab origin. Bazian argued that the promise to Abraham was not a bloodline promise but one based on belief, citing a Quranic verse in which God tells Abraham that transgressors from his lineage are not included in the promise.
Memri
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Memri
American Muslims For Palestine (AMP) Chair Hatem Bazian At 2023 Muslim American Society (MAS) Conference: Atheists Like 'Islamophobic Bully' And 'Coward' Bill Maher And Author Sam Harris Mock Oppresse
Dr. Hatem Bazian, National Chair of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), slammed comedian and talk show host Bill Maher for creating comedy "on the back" of "those who are being afflicted with Islamophobia." Speaking at the annual MAS-ICNA (Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America) convention in Chicago on December 30, 2023, Bazian criticized Maher for hosting atheist neuroscientist and author Sam Harris, where the two engaged in what he called "'sophisticated' racist talk about Muslims." "It is not satire, it is not comedy, it is not funny when you pile on those who are being beaten down," Bazian said. He emphasized that "satire, comedy, and funny is to punch up to those in power," not "pile down on those who are being beaten down, stepped upon, and bombed." Bazian concluded: "Bill Maher, you are a coward" and "an Islamophobic bully." Hatem Bazian: "Some parts of the political left, or what we call the interventionist left, or the atheist movement, that is represented by Bill Maher, as one of the figures that never misses an opportunity to be an Islamophobe. He brings with him often on his HBO show that is beamed to people... He brings Sam Harris. They think that they are two white men engaging in 'sophisticated' racist talk about Muslims. "We need to say that there is no way for you to have a comedy [show] on the back of the dispossessed, on the back of those who are being afflicted with Islamophobia. Now let me be very clear. It is not satire, it is not comedy, it is not funny when you pile on those who are being beaten down. "You are not actually funny or satirical if you are punching down on those who are being stepped upon and bombed. It is not funny nor satirical to go after individuals who are marginalized in society. Satire, comedy, and funny is to punch up to those in power. Bill Maher, you are a coward, because you are piling on those who are being oppressed. There is nothing funny in amplifying Islamophobia. "There is nothing funny about thinking that you make satire of those who have faced 60,000 tons of bombing in Gaza. You think [you're] funny? Look at yourself in the mirror. I challenge you to punch up and speak truth to power, if you are satirical, rather than punching down to those who are being dispossessed and marginalized. This is what we call: Bill Maher, you are an Islamophobic bully. Bill Maher, you are an Islamophobic bully. We need to understand that."
Memri
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Memri
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) Chair Dr. Hatem Bazian at UC San Diego in May 2024: Our Fight for a Free Palestine Is a Fight Against Racism, Islamophobia, and Antisemitism; Those Who Threaten th
Dr. Hatem Bazian, the national chairman of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and a professor at UC Berkeley, said that 'Those making threats against the ICJ are 'on the take' of ADL' and have received 'close to six million dollars from AIPAC.' Speaking at the University of California San Diego in a speech uploaded to his YouTube channel on May 9, 2024, Dr. Bazian said that it was Europe, not Muslim society, that 'is racist, was racist, continues to be racist and has not recovered from its racism.' Dr. Bazian, who is a co-founder of Students for Justice in Palestine, further said that 'Our fight for a free Palestine is a fight against racism, against Islamophobia, against antisemitism as it has been articulated, and not according to ADL, Netanyahu, Biden, and European racism' and that 'what we are seeing today is a dying colonialism.' Two members of AMP's board, Osama Abuirshaid and Salah Sarsour, are connected to the Holy Land Foundation, which has been investigated for funneling funds to Hamas, and five of its members served prison sentences for their terror-linked activity.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate HELP Committee launches probe of American Muslims for Palestine
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has launched an investigation into American Muslims for Palestine and its activities on college campuses, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced on Thursday. Cassidy, the HELP committee's chairman, revealed the probe while delivering his opening statement at the panel's hearing on campus antisemitism. The news marks the first time the Senate has investigated the organization. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is an anti-Israel nonprofit that bolsters National Students for Justice in Palestine, which in turn supports SJP groups on campuses nationwide. 'Today, as chair of the HELP committee, I launched an investigation into the American Muslims for Palestine, demanding answers about their activities on college campuses. This group's leaders have ties to Hamas and helped create the group Students for Justice in Palestine. I also requested information from the Justice Department and several universities on these groups. We must continue to build upon these efforts,' Cassidy said. The Louisiana senator sent letters on Wednesday evening to AMP Chairman Hatem Bazian, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. In his letter to Patel and Bondi, Cassidy requested answers on what their respective agencies were doing to 'investigate and address threats posed by outside groups to safety on college campuses.' His letter to Bazian asks for clarification about AMP's 'past or present ties to groups associated with the Foreign Terrorist Organization Hamas.' Members of AMP's leadership, including Bazian, have faced scrutiny over their ties to now-defunct charities including the Islamic Association for Palestine and the Holy Land Foundation, which were shut down after the federal government found they had provided financial support to Hamas. Bazian, critics note, was a frequent speaker at Islamic Association for Palestine conferences. He also founded National SJP. As part of the investigation, Cassidy also sent letters to the presidents of The George Washington University, University of California Los Angeles, Columbia University and its affiliate Barnard College requesting information about SJP and AMP activities on their campuses. In the previous Congress, the House Ways and Means Committee probed AMP and urged the Internal Revenue Service to revoke its tax-exempt status. The Virginia attorney generalis also investigating AMP and seeking to uncover its private donor list. AAMP is also facing an ongoing lawsuit by the family of David Boim, an American killed in a Hamas terrorist attack in the West Bank in 1996. Another civil suit filed last year accuses the group of providing material support for Hamas in violation of federal law. The Boim case alleges that AMP is an 'alter ego' of the Islamic Association for Palestine and the Holy Land Foundation and is responsible for the civil judgement against them.
