<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The pro-Palestine student protests in the US are an indicator of a pivotal shift in American public consciousness, particularly among the younger generation, and will have long-lasting impacts on the future, according to American Muslim scholar Yasir Qadhi.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“One of the most optimistic signs of change in America is that in over 100 campuses, we are seeing protests take place against the Israeli occupation and the bombing of Gaza,” Qadhi said in an interview with Anadolu.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A key point, he emphasized, is that “the majority are non-Muslims who are protesting.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“This is a change in the mindset and mentality. What is happening, the next generation is now seeing the reality of what is happening in Palestine,” said Qadhi, who is the dean of The Islamic Seminary of America.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The older generation is the same, but the new generation, they are understanding.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the major demands of the protesters, he said the students want an end to links with Israel at all levels, from monetary ties of billions of dollars to technology and research.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sharing his firsthand experience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he said the students came out because “MIT has a relationship with the IDF.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The students said they don’t want to do research for a genocidal regime or do research for an enabler of murder, pillaging and killing,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Student protests changed history</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Qadhi pointed to the defining impact that student-led movements have had at various points in global and American history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He stressed that the current protests mirror the student movements that brought about significant social and political change, such as those against the Vietnam war and South African apartheid.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“America was involved completely in Vietnam and who changed it? The student protests. Civil rights movement in US, who changed it? The students. In the 1980s, South Africa was an ally of America and Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist. Who changed it? Student protests,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“These student protests were in the same Columbia, Yale and Princeton, all of these places, so they never learned from history.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the violent crackdown on student protests in the US, where thousands have been arrested over the past few weeks, Qadhi said it was an indicator of the thinking still prevalent among “the elders and the politicians.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“In my city Dallas, we have a governor who is very anti-Muslim, anti-Palestine, and very, very pro-Zionist. He sent in the troops, the army against the students,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Even if the students are wrong, you do not send in the army against the students, right? … Over 40 students were arrested for doing what? For protesting, for holding a peace sign.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the current bleak outlook, Qadhi is optimistic about impending change in the US.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“In one generation, if not faster, the tide of America will change,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“What’s going to happen in 10 years is that these students are going to be CEOs, politicians, congressmen or senators.”&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">‘The future is bright’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his speeches at various universities, Qadhi has repeatedly emphasized the need for Muslims to take a leading role in social justice movements across the US, as well as the importance of education and advocacy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The future is bright. We as Muslims have to be involved. We have to be at the forefront. We have to encourage and teach and educate, we have to motivate,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Qadhi said his main message to the protesters is for them to remember that they are on the “right side of history” and their efforts will eventually lead to significant changes in American policy and public opinion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“My message to my fellow Americans, is why should our tax dollars go anywhere else?” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Let’s take our tax dollars and spend them on education. Spend them on housing. Let’s stop funding wars overseas. Let’s stop bombing and pillaging.” - Anadolu Agency&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>