The New Chill on Campus

front page magazine ^ | 11 april 2006 | Phyllis Chesler

[unionblue83]

When Brigitte Gabriel recently gave a speech at Memphis University, she was confronted with a familiar sight: an audience so hostile to her message that it had come not to debate but to silence her.

A passionate and powerful speaker who had witnessed Palestinian terrorism and experienced anti-Jewish and anti-Christian propaganda in her native Lebanon, Gabriel had been invited to speak at the Tennessee campus by religious studies professor David Patterson. But the day before Gabriel's speech, Patterson began receiving threatening e-mails.

“Do you honestly think the scheduled lecture will serve any useful purpose other than inflaming the Muslims, insulting them and spilling poison in the community?” one message asked. Another charged that inviting Gabriel to speak was “worse than hosting of the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.” Still another described her as among “the true enemies of Islam.”

The menacing emails proved prescient. When Gabriel and Patterson arrived in the campus auditorium 15 minutes before her scheduled presentation, several rows of seats in the front of the room were already occupied by men and women dressed in distinctive Muslim clothing. Before Gabriel was introduced, a Muslim man who has been a long-term graduate student at the university strode to the front of the room and announced: “We have been told that the speaker will only accept questions written on cards. Everyone who believes this is an un-democratic lecture, raise your hands.” The Muslims in the audience shouted their agreement.

[sgtbono2002]

I guess the Muslims own Memphis University.

[SirJohnBarleycorn]

We could use 100 David Horowitzes.

[FReepaholic]

Our Islamic future?

[Fury]

My belief is that the speaker was going to talk about the Islamic extremists, the jihadis, that want Islam to not only be a religion, but the basis for the governance of a country, etc, etc (e.g. see Afghanistan). And anyone who opposes these jihadis need only wait for a fatwa to be issued by an extremist cleric that says it's OK to use physical violence against those who oppose such plans.

Where I work tomorrow evening is having a discussion on the Muslim world. One of the speakers is an Egyptian Christian. It will be interesting to see what she has to say.

I seriously doubt you will soon see Muslims speaking out against Islamic extremists in great volume, as those speaking out would be considered apostate by said extremists.

[Robert A Cook PE]

But the liberals INSIST that what THEY demand is free speech!

/sarchasm - The gaping canyon between liberal words and liberal action.

[Jack Hammer]

The proliferation of abject dhimmitude around the world - and around the US - seems to have given Moslems everywhere the idea that they'll receive a free pass any time they wish to shout down dissent. Thus it starts; how will it end? Not well, I think.

[Darnright]

Bump for later

[Velveeta]

ping

[SlowBoat407]

Thanks, V! Big things are in the works, in a good way. I'll let you know more as they develop.

[Maceman]

She eventually refused to sell the magazines during her shift, and was fired. So she sued. During her trial, an important question was deliberated: Does the First Amendment right of pornographers override a woman's personal religious beliefs and her rights to on-the-job safety? Does being surrounded by pornographic magazines constitute a “hostile” work environment? . . . My decision to testify on her behalf led some of the usual suspects to question my political sanity and my feminism.

What rubbish. She was hired to do a job. If she feels that doing that job is in conflict with her religious principles, she needs to find another job. She should have been fired. That this author defends her is just looney.

[Velveeta]

I can't wait to hear more!

[SJackson]

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Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking the keyword or topic Israel.

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[Psycho_Bunny]

“We have been told that the speaker will only accept questions written on cards. Everyone who believes this is an un-democratic lecture, raise your hands.” The Muslims in the audience shouted their agreement.

ISLAM:  "NOT HAVING A CLUE SINCE 600 AD"

[SlowBoat407]

Everyone who believes this is an un-democratic lecture, raise your hands

It became an un-democratic lecture the moment the muslims entered the room.

[Theo]

Is that quote from the article? It seems so unrelated to what's excerpted....

[demkicker]

Scary stuff...

[unionblue83]

Ping!

[SlowBoat407]

It irks me the way "democratic" is tossed around as an ideal by the very people who want to destroy the principle. Do they have any semblance of democratic process in the nation that holds the city to which they bow down? Does their religion have any democratic principle embedded in it? If they were in power, would they exercise democratic principles with the dhimmi?

Brigitte was absolutely correct when she told him, in essence, to sit down and shut up. I'd like to have seen his face when he realized a Middle Eastern woman was standing up to him.

[Convert from ECUSA]

Our universities......a choice between Marxism and islam.....some choice!