Imam Amir Abdel Malik Ali, a guest speaker invited by the Muslim Student Association of the University of California, Irvine for Israel Apartheid Week last Thursday called Jews the "new Nazis"
When asked by a member of the crowd about why he is opposed to discussion with anyone supporting Israel, Ali responded that "You Jews, with all due respect, you wouldn't sit down with Nazis for tea and cake [...] You're the new Nazis!" The statement drew cheers and applause from the crowd.
Earlier in the same speech, he said that "the Jews control the media" and gave News Corporation-owner Rupert Murdoch, whom he named a "Zionist Jew", as an example despite the fact that Murdoch is a born again Christian. Ali also affirmed his support for Hamas, Hizbullah and other terrorist organizations in the speech.
Without naming Ali, who has been invited by the MSU annually since 2002, UC Irvine chanellor Michael Drake said in an email to the student body that "we condemn the speaker's endorsement of terrorism. We are an educational institution that promotes, practices and teaches tolerance; these remarks supporting terrorism were deplorable."
While Drake's email said nothing of the anti-Semitic remarks, he defended Ali's speech, funded by the university through its Multicultural Programs Committee, by saying that it is "incumbent on us to protect the freedom of speech of those who visit our campus to express their views."
Malik Ali has made controversial statements before on his speeches at UC Irvine. On previous visits, the Oakland-based Imam has repeatedly claimed that Jews were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and has stood behind a podium adorned with a banner reading "Israel, the 4th Reich". In that May 2006 appearance, he said "You Jews, your days are numbered. We will fight you. We will fight you until we are either dead or until we are victorious."
At a speech at Long Beach State University, Malik Ali also claimed that "Zionist Jews" were behind the Danish catoon controvery, hinting that the surname of cartoonish Flemming Rose serves as proof.
Ali is the leader of the Oakland-branch of Muslim organization As-Sabiqun, which the Anti-Defamation League has described as an "anti-Semitic Muslim group that advocates for the creation of a global Islamic state" and expressed concerns that its leaders use their recent popularity as campus-speakers to promote hostility towards Israel and American Jews.
UC Irvine chancellor Drake and the Muslim Student Union of UC Irvine were unavailable for comment
