Faithfully Muslim, defiantly American: University of California - Irvine's Muslim Student Union after the Irvine 11 case

In early 2010, 11 Muslim college students were arrested for shouting down Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California – Irvine in protest of what they saw as Israel's unjust treatment of Palestinians. A year later, the students would be charged with plotting to and disrupting a meeting, and finally, in September 2011, a jury found 10 of the students guilty. ❧ The case gave rise to a national conversation about the freedom of speech for student activists in general and of Muslim students in particular. While critics of the Irvine 11, as the students became known, argued that they violated the First Amendment rights of Oren and his audience, supporters saw the case as a result of Islamophobia. The students were convicted for the protest because they were Muslims, many said. ❧ The UC-Irvine Muslim Student Union, which is under university probation until December 2012, has been under scrutiny due to the case, just as the entire Muslim American community has been since September 11. In the wake of the conviction, the MSU has embraced activism to define themselves as both Muslim and American. They defend their right to protest as American citizens and their political engagement is rooted in Islam's calls for justice. Their response represents one possible path for Muslim Americans striving for acceptance in American culture.