• Has close ties to the Palestine Solidarity Movement
• Endorses American universities' divestment from Israel
• Favors the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention center
• MSA UW's former president believes that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were not carried out by Muslim extremists, but were orchestrated by members of the Bush administration

The University of Wisconsin's Muslim Students Association (MSA UW) describes itself as "a religious, educational, cultural, and social organization" that "seeks to establish a place for students to engage in an Islamic environment and supports its' [sic] members in being Muslim examples in society." "We strive to educate students of all backgrounds about our beautiful religion of Islam," says the group, and to "erase misconceived notions of Islam."

In November 2003, MSA UW co-sponsored the Palestine Solidarity Movement's Third National Solidarity Conference at Ohio State University. This event encouraged its attendees to pressure university administrations nationwide to withdraw any investments they may have held in companies that did business with the Israeli government and army. Among the co-sponsors of this event were various chapters of ActionLA, Al-Awda, the Al-Bireh Palestine Society, the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, BADIL, Code Pink, the Committee for Justice in Palestine, Duke Divest, Friends of Sabeel, the Institute for Policy Studies, Jews Against the Occupation, Jews for a Free Palestine, Left Turn, MADRE, Malia-Collective of Italian American Women, the Middle East Children's Alliance, and SUSTAIN.

In June 2006, Mir Babar Basir, a recent graduate of UW-Madison and a former President of MSA UW, endorsed the ideas of Kevin Barrett, who co-founded the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, an organization which believes that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated not by Muslim extremists but by members of the Bush administration. "This is not just Kevin Barrett's idea," said Basir. "It's legitimate to think that the U.S. government was involved."

In October 2007, MSA UW took exception to a campus appearance by the conservative social commentator David Horowitz, who spoke about the dangers of radical Islam. Horowitz's speech was part of the itinerary for the Terrorism Awareness Project's Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, whose purpose was to educate American college students about the nature of the fanatical religious movement aiming to create a global Muslim empire. Characterizing Muslims as a demographic victimized by Americans' prejudice and intolerance, MSA UW Vice President Sarrah Abulughod said, "We want to explain what it is like to be a minority and face struggles."

In October 2007, MSA UW collaborated with the organization In Your Hands (IYH) to launch a campaign called "86" Gitmo—Shut It Down, a protest against the U.S. government's alleged abuse and torture of Islamic detainees (mostly al Qaeda and Taliban combatants captured by the American military) who were being held in Guantanamo Bay. MSA UW and IYH jointly pledged to hold demonstrations for 86 days, through January 11, 2008 -- the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the first group of detainees in Guantanamo.

In November 2007, MSA UW co-sponsored an appearance by guest lecturer Jamal Badawi, who, in an IslamOnline Internet forum, justified Muslim suicide bombings as a legitimate tactic of jihad. Badawi is a member of the Fiqh Council of North America, the Islamic Society of North America, the Consultative Council of North America, and the Juristic Council of North America. He is also a Board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a former Board of Directors member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States, and a founding incorporator of the Muslim American Society.

At this November 2007 MSA UW event, Badawi told the audience: "Islam is peace through the submission to God and the acceptance of his grace and guidance," and said that those who call Islam inherently violent are guilty of using "the 'cut-and-paste' approach" of selectively citing only examples (i.e., of Muslim terrorism) that seem to support their thesis. According to an International Quran News Agency account of Badawi's speech:

A common misconception is that the term "jihad" translates to "holy war," but Badawi said jihad actually means exerting maximum effort. "Every one of you is engaged with jihad, if you know it or not," Badawi said. . . . [He also] said people need to consider the historical context of Muslims' actions, as there have been instances where Muslims were surrounded by a violent world and needed to use violent means to protect their community. According to Badawi, another myth pervading society today is the claim Muslims are told to kill Jews and Christians. Badawi said there are violent Muslims just as there are violent Christians and violent Jews, but these people do not reflect on the religion as a whole. The Quran has been misquoted, according to Badawi, and nowhere in the book does it tell Muslims to kill nonbelievers.

In the aftermath of Badawi's appearance at the University of Wisconsin, MSA UW President Sabih Khwaja lamented that "45 percent" of Americans view Islam negatively and believe it to be intrinsically violent.

In November 2007, MSA UW protested a scheduled campus appearance (slated for the following month) by Walid Shoebat, a former PLO terrorist who had since renounced Islamo-fascism and its jihadist objectives. According to MMD Newswire, MSA UW expressed concern that Muslims at the university would feel intimidated "by other Americans as a result of Mr. Shoebat's speech and presence."