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Brandeis withdraws honorary degree it was going to award critic of Islam
By adamg on Wed, 04/09/2014 - 6:20pm
Apparently, the people at Brandeis who decide these things haven't heard of Google and only decided not to give Ayaan Hirsi Ali an honorary degree after getting protests about the way she's described Islam as "a destructive, nihilistic cult of death."
Ali responded with a statement accusing the Jewish-founded university of turning its back on its own ideals:
More deplorable is that an institution set up on the basis of religious freedom should today so deeply betray its own founding principles.
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Comments
She's half right
Ali's comments are true about cultures that happen to be Muslim, but not Islamic culture. The fact that she takes such a combatative stance against a whole huge faith makes me not want to even hear what she has to say.
Also, deciding to not give you an honorary degree because most people see you as crazy has nothing to do with religious freedom. A lot of muslin students attend Brandeis, and find the community more than supportive of their faith and lifestyle.
TL;DR No one cares about her.
She's kind of a big deal.
She's kind of a big deal. People do care about her. Hence the fame, death threats, and book tours.
I see no issue
with her description. Again this is America, and everyone is entitle to their opinion.
Of course
But that doesn't mean Brandeis should honor her with a degree any more than they should have done for Jeanne Kirkpatrick in the early '90s. And like Kirkpatrick, everyone wins here. The students get to feel like they did something. The University gets to play this up with certain donors. And Ms. Ali gets a few days of free publicity without even having to leave home.
Gott bentsch America!
This is racism straight up.
This is racism straight up. She's a woman of color.
If they rescinded an invite to Al Sharpton or Dianne Wilkerson
Would you be so very upset?
There are a
couple of local "Reverends" that are going to bill you $105K for that comment.
discriminating against a
discriminating against a lesbian of color actually
Ali is absolutely right and Brandeis knows it.
This is typical of liberal universities. They are tolerant of all views unless those views differ from theirs. Ms Ali spoke out against radical Islam's brutal treatment of women and she is absolutely right, Brandies knows it to be true but has neither the courage nor the character needed to speak out against it. I hope the alumni donations that support much of that school dry up. Brandies doesn't deserve a penny more after this blatant display of cowardice and pandering.
It is spelled "Brandeis"
And you could say much of the same things about Christians that she says about Muslims, given their behavior over the last couple of millennia (how many Martyrs, Saints, and Relics, again???). Possibly about the State of Israel, too.
You would probably have no disagreement with barring her if she generalized to all large organized religions, though.
Please
Swirly you know damn well that bashing Christianity in America does not get anyone criticized.
For Christsakes
relax Bill O.
Silly Swirly
Swirly, really, when was the last time in the last 700 years you heard of Christians, in the name of Jesus beheading, beating and raping women for not obeying religious rules? This is common practice today for radical Islam and it's also common knowledge. Do you really believe the stuff you say in some of these posts toy send in or do you just enjoy being part of the conversation; whether you make any sense or not?
People who don't know history ...
Maybe shouldn't make such sweeping claims. 700 years? Really?
Go look up Mary Dyer. Read up on how the Salem witch trials ended. And those are just local examples.
Ever hear of the Spanish Inquisition? It's not just a Monty Python skit. Maybe spend some time considering what happened to Jews during pogroms.
Isn't there a "Brandie's Donuts" on the North Shore?
If not, it sounds like a thing that ought to exist
Maybe if she were a bomber
Maybe if she were a bomber she would get the honorary degree?
http://innermostparts.org/2009/04/24/liza-debates-michael-graham-from-wtkk/
"Finally, to answer Michael Graham’s question, no amount of bombs should revoke an individual’s freedom of speech."
Winston Churchill, Abe
Lincoln, Michael Graham. Where is my crack pipe.
Her affiliation with the AEI alone
Brandeis should have known better based on her affiliation with the AEI alone. These are the people that brought you the Iraq war. They have offered money to people to try and undermine the international global warming reports. They believe water isn't a public resource but should be a privatized market. They have members like John Yoo, the guy who attempted to legally justified torture for the Bush administration. They are a Who's Who of the worst corporate shills combined with the ugliest neo-conservatives. It should have been very telling that she would choose to associate with them.
That doesn't invalidate her opinions on how many Islamic cultures choose to treat women. However, she has become a banner carrier for their natural extensions of that (kill anything Islamic). It's an offensive stance to take to say Islam is the antithesis of democracy when people like Keith Ellison are living proof of the opposite.
If she'd gotten the honorary degree and Brandeis had focused the conversation on "international women's abuse", maybe it could have been fine. If she doesn't because they have focused the conversation on her anti-Islamic views, it's also acceptable. She, like a lot of us, brings goods with bads...however, her choice to get paid for her bads by groups like the AEI are not helping her cause.
Intellectual diversity and
Intellectual diversity and open debate on a college campus? /Sooooo overrated.
Your point is missing
Part of their discussion with her about revoking their offer of an honorary degree was an offer to speak on their campus. Intellectual diversity and open debate is alive and well. However, the university has no requirement to attach their name to someone via an honorary degree for that to be true.