No room for Holocaust denial in Muslim faith

When I was a student at Rhodes Junior High in Mesa, Arizona, I had the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivors who shared their experiences from camps in Poland. Later at the UA, I had the opportunity to study abroad and in live in Heidelberg, Germany. Adjacent to my dormitory at the University of Heidelberg is a small memorial park called Synagogueplatz (Synagogue Place).

Before the Nazi takeover of Germany, there was a blossoming community of Jewish scholars at this world renowned university. To Muslims, Jews and Christians are known as Ahley Kitab or “”People of Scripture.”” I felt sick to my stomach knowing that there once was a house of a creator (the God of Abraham, of Jews, of Christians and Muslims) that was wiped out along with those that worshipped in that house. Later I visited Dachau and saw the real horrors what most history students in the US only read in books like “”The Diary of Anne Frank”” and see in movies like “”Escape from Sobibor.””

I feel that whenever a person denies the Holocaust, that person is spitting on all of humanity. Whenever a Muslim denies the Holocaust, he is not only insulting Jews, but also Libyan Arabs who died under Benito Mussolini, Bosnians and Kosovars who died under Milosevic’s rule.

It is time that all Muslim organizations in the U.S., including the Council of Islamic Relations, condemn Iran’s government of mocking and denying the Holocaust. Instead of wasting money on a useless and baseless “”Holocaust denial”” conference in Tehran, they can at least send such funds to buy food and medicine for the Darfuri people.

In Sudan, millions of Dafuri men and women are being persecuted, raped and killed by the Jenjawid. Muslims are killing Muslims – and the Muslim world, including Iran, is silent. We must learn to respect, appreciate and protect people of all backgrounds. There is no room for hatred in Islam.

Ahmad Saad Nasim
UA alumnus

Alternate stem cell research shows greater promise

The current debate regarding embryonic stem cell research has been one of the past year’s hottest issues. So hot that this issue contributed to a shift in political party loyalty at the polls. Dedicated support of this research has been publicly affirmed by a popular entertainer with advanced Parkinson’s disease and members of a former president’s family.

Less known, however, are alternatives to using embryonic stem cells that sidestep the heated morality issue and have a greater proven track record. Organizations in the know, such as the International Society of Stem Cell Research, The Muscular Dystrophy Association and the National Institute of Health have all supported studies that conclude a huge majority of successful research toward finding cures for diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis, has been done by using adult and post-natal stem cells. For this reason – and because embryonic cells are more volatile than originally thought – most private funding dollars already go toward this type of research.

These facts, long known by the scientific community, should garner the media attention given to the more controversial research. That is where the greater hope lies.

Todd Graham
undeclared freshman

Plan B contraceptive should be readily available

When reading articles regarding the Plan B pill, I am appalled that the pill hasn’t been released for over-the-counter use earlier. I think that by allowing the pill to be made more accessible, more women will use it. With the amount of rapes that have been raging trough campus I feel that the Plan B pill should be made easily available.

The University of Arizona Police Department claims women are scared to inform authorities of these sexual assaults. What makes the women any more brave to tell a doctor of the events in order to be prescribed the pill? This affects not only rape victims but also busy college students. In order for females to get the pill, they need an appointment ð- and for a student who works and goes to school, finding the time so unexpectedly is not easy. I think by allowing Plan B to be sold over the counter, it will greatly reduce the number of abortions. If women are given a convenient way to terminate their possible pregnancy, even if it’s just a sliver of a thought they conceived, they would. As a woman I would like the right to not only purchase the pill, but to do so conveniently.

Samantha Crosson
undeclared freshman

Procrastination reaps no rewards

I would like to address all the current students who are attending the University of Arizona. I want to give a warning to those who are thinking that they can get away with procrastination.

Since I graduated in 1990, I have been “”in college”” for fifteen-plus years. I attended a local junior college for the first half of my “”time”” then came to the UA. Later I was disqualified from attending the UA and attended a trade school to get the necessary credits to attempt to get back into the UA. I succeeded at being readmitted, but finally failed at completing a degree.

Throughout all this, I kept telling myself that I would change. I would make the goal of getting that Fine Art degree that I told everyone I knew that I would achieve. But I also told myself that I would not do the work right away. I would always put it off till the last minute and get sloppy results. I even made myself believe that I was a better person “”under pressure””.

But now I have succumbed to all that I have not done and am beginning to pay for all the mistakes. This is my situation now: my student loans are due, I have back payments on utilities, I do not have a phone, I do not have cable or high speed internet, I am late on my car payment and to top it all off, I have put my relatives into a bind because I have let them bail me out too many times.

With all of this, I must say: Do not spoil the chances you are given. You are attending an institution that is great and grand. When your instructors tell you that you should use the resources that are available, do not pass it off as irrelevant. They speak the truth. You are a college student. You have proven to society that you have potential to do great things.

Do not let the thought prevail that you will have the time later to make up what you will miss right now. I am proof that you don’t.

Andrew Reimisch
UA alumnus