Education

SDSU College Republicans Labeled Islamophobic Hate Group By Social Justice Activists

REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker

Ian Miles Cheong Contributor
Font Size:

The College Republicans in San Diego State University are being targeted as an Islamophobic hate group by campus activists following a letter to the college’s Muslim Student Association to condemn terrorism. Its chairman has received threats of violence over the letter.

Written by the SDSU College Republicans and signed by its chairman Brandon Jones last week, the letter called on the Muslim Student Association to disavow the radical Islamic terrorist act in Barcelona on the same day of the attack, which left 14 dead and scores injured.

The letter stated in part that “until radical Islamic terrorism is disavowed by the Muslim Student Organization at SDSU, we cannot move forward in creating an inclusive environment for all students on campus.”

According to a College Fix report published Wednesday, the letter called on the leadership of the Muslim group to resign if they chose not to disavow Islamic terrorism.

The national Muslim Student Association called the College Republicans’ letter “ignorance and hate” and expressed support for the SDSU chapter of their organization.

Other groups, including the Young Democratic Socialists of SDSU and Transfrontierizo Alliance Student Organization condemned the College Republicans, and demanded an apology for offending the Muslim community.

“We demand a safe and inclusive campus environment for all San Diego State University students and will not tolerate further racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic letters by the San Diego State College Republicans toward any other student group or campus community,” wrote Transfrontierizo in a Facebook statement on August 22.

The strongly-worded condemnation also highlighted the events at Charlottesville, referring to it as “the recent upsurge of white supremacist rallies and racially motivated extremism,” and called on Brandon Jones to apologize and resign for this letter and several others the College Republicans issued in the past.

The student group took offense at Jones’ opposition to turning SDSU into a sanctuary campus for illegal immigrants, and for calling on others to join him in “efforts to combat left-wing indoctrination.”

Speaking to The College Fix, Jones — who has received death threats and an email warning him that SDSU would be turned into “the war zone against you inhumane rats” — denied that he was trolling anyone with his letter.

“We were looking for them to condemn the radical Islamic terrorist attacks much like my organization condemned the acts of white supremacy and neo-nazism in Charlottesville,” he said. “The San Diego State College Republicans are standing by our statement we sent to the SDSU Muslim Student Association.”

“As far as the distaste that some students have expressed towards me personally, I am baffled by the hypocrisy that comes from the left,” he added. “They have shown their true colors and have exposed their own double standard.”

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.