AMP media director connects with students, activists in northern California

UC Berkeley MSA
Kristin Szremski, AMP director of media and communications, participated in several events in Sacramento and Berkeley, Calif., this past weekend.

“Creeping Normalcy,” was the urgent topic Szremski brought to the Muslim Student Association at the University of California, Berkeley, on Thursday, March 15. Creeping Normalcy is the systematic tactic Zionist organizations use to normalize Israel’s occupation of Palestine by co-opting faith-based and student groups with so-called interfaith cooperation.

While stressing that the American Muslims for Palestine support legitimate interfaith cooperation and also working with broad-based and diverse groups, Szremski did warn that some programs that appear sincere on the surface actually have a Zionist agenda, which works to stifle any discourse about the occupation.

“Some Jewish organizations, which are Zionist at heart, will suggest working together to show Jews and Muslims can get along despite ‘thousands of years of tensions,’” Szremski told the audience. “But the truth is, tensions never existed between Jews and Muslims before. The tensions that exist today are not religious ones. They are political and they stem directly from Israel’s occupation of Palestine.”

An interactive discussion between Szremski and the more than 60 members of the audience probed ways to combat Creeping Normalcy and effective strategies to use when approached for interfaith cooperation. The event was so productive, the audience asked Szremski to remain for an extra 30 minutes.

Al-Arqam Islamic School
AMP Media Director Kristin Szremski conducted a brief school training on the Islamic significance of Palestine and facts on the ground with students at the Al-Arqam Islamic School in Sacramento, Calif. At least 100 students from sixth through 12^th grade participated in a discussion about why Palestine is important to Muslims. In addition to what they have learned in school, students were happy to hear that Palestinian Christians travelled from the Holy Land to Makkah to visit Muhammad, (pbuh), where they converted to Islam. The delegation then travelled back to their home in Hebron, where their descendants still live.

After learning about the occupation and current facts on the ground, the students had several questions, most notably, what benefit does the United States get from its unconditional support of Israel.

AMP-Sacramento
AMP Media Director spent an evening with members of AMP’s Sacramento chapter, discussing her conversion to Islam and how she became involved in the cause of Palestine on Friday, March 16.

“I am so impressed with our Sacramento chapter,” Szremski said. “They are extremely active and already have a great relationship with a number of diverse social justice groups.”

Last weekend, AMP-Sacramento sponsored the Al-Arqam school training, an Islamic Relief fundraiser for Palestine and the Sabeel conference.