For the first time in my life, I was ashamed to be a University of Cincinnati student.
When Nonie Darwish came to UC Thursday, Nov. 13, I expected an attentive audience who would listen to Darwish’s presentation politely and raise appropriate and thought-provoking questions.
Instead, Darwish was frequently and rudely interrupted by UC students and professors alike.
Now, I understand having a viewpoint that differs from someone else.
The great thing about America is we’re all different – we come from different backgrounds, with different life experiences and different ways of viewing situations.
Written into our Constitution is the right to freedom of speech. And that guarantee is vitally important, especially with controversial speech.
“[The University of Cincinnati] protected the right of a recognized student organization to invite a speaker of their choosing, regardless of the message that was delivered,” said Mitchel Livingston, vice president for student affairs and chief diversity officer.
“It’s not our role to censure, but to protect the principle of free speech. As an academic institution, the free exchange of ideas and ideals is the heart of our values and mission. I was proud that we were able to manage this event accordingly.”
Even before the event started, seminar attendees were greeted by protesters from the UC Campus Anti-War Network and the Muslim Students Association who opposed Darwish’s categorization of the religion of Islam and its followers.
“Darwish did nothing but dehumanize Muslims and the religion of Islam,” said Sonya Badr, president of the UC Muslim Students Association. “It’s an absolute atrocity that our tuition dollars go towards bringing such speakers, and every student on this campus needs to be aware of that. Muslims deserve a public apology from the organizers, Chabad and the University of Cincinnati.”
I have to disagree with the argument that Darwish came to our campus and equated the religion of Islam with hate. She spoke about her personal experiences growing up in Cairo and Gaza, and how she was taught to hate Israel and to wish she would someday die in a jihad.
UC students and professors took issue with Darwish and exercised their First Amendment right to challenge her assertions.
“In spite of the negativity directed towards the speaker, freedom of expression is a value we protect,” Livingston said. “It has nothing to do with a particular speaker, but the principle that an institution of higher education should protect at all costs.”
Jonathan Dress, a second-year architecture student and president of Chabad, did offer an apology for Darwish’s lecture.
“While many students, like myself, showed up prepared to hear a personal story of how the speaker overcame a corrupted sect of Islam and now courageously advocates human rights, others protested her presentation, believing that she preached hate-speech towards the entire Muslim world,” Dress said. “I hope, however, that out of this provocative event, the UC community can grow stronger, continuing to question everything, and more importantly, seeking a solution for peace, not just within the Middle East, but also throughout the entire world. As a believer of the Jewish faith and a student of the University of Cincinnati, I offer my apologies to the Muslim community and anyone else who was hurt by the words delivered in the presentation,” Dress said. “I hope you will accept my words of remorse, so that we, the diverse UC community, can convene regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, and beliefs and agree on the notion of peace.” (For his full apology, please see his Letter to the Editor below.)
While I commend Jonathan’s quick response to diffuse the tension that emanated from the Darwish lecture, I have to disagree with the demand for an apology.
As one of the students who attended Darwish’s lecture to hear her personal story, I feel like many members of the UC community who attended did not fully grasp that Darwish was on campus to communicate her life experiences.
Darwish made it abundantly clear her comments were geared toward Muslims in the Middle East who follow strict interpretations of Sharia law, which was codified in the 8th and 9th centuries.
“Nonie Darwish advertised her lecture as a search for peace and reconciliation, in fact it was an anti-Islamic tirade,” said Colin McCann, a fourth-year political science student and a member of the Political Science Students Association. “Her swiping generalizations about the complex and factionalized field of Islamic jurisprudence were potentially misleading. Although the lecture and discussions distressed many students, it kicked open a door of opportunity for rapprochement between the Jewish and Muslim student groups of UC.”
While I respectfully disagree with Sonya and Colin, I do hope the UC community takes this opportunity to continue a dialogue – one based on tolerance and mutual respect – which was so woefully lacking at Darwish’s lecture.
2) Give an example of an "inaccurate, disrespectful remark about over 1 billion people"
3) Not enough disclaimers - that's a complaint?
4) If you can refute her facts, please do so.
5) Conversely, you claim to be not Muslim or hateful, yet are an expert in both.