————————————————-
Islamic Human Rights Commission
————————————————-

27 March 2006

Action Alert: Prophet Muhammad Cartoons to be Displayed at New York University

31st March 2006 – An update from MAC followed by the original alert:

http://muslim-action-committee.blogspot.com/

786
CIVILITY AT NYU
New York University embraced the concept of civility and the Danish cartoons were not shown at the \”Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons\” debate. Proof for Peter Risdon and others that they do not need to be present to have a debate.

The event, titled “Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons,” displayed easels with blank panels instead of the cartoons after NYU demanded that the cartoons be removed from display if the public was admitted. Panelists for the event, sponsored by the Objectivist Club, were Peter Schwartz of the Ayn Rand Institute; Andrew Bostom, who edited \”The Legacy of Jihad\”; Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education; and Jonathan Leaf, the resigned editor of the New York Press.
“Realistically, one can have a discussion on smallpox without actually handing out the the live virus to the audience,” university spokesman John Beckman said. “Any institution has a responsibility that events on its grounds go smoothly and without disruption.”
CAS junior James Ferguson said it was unfair that so much time was spent on attacking Islam.
“To demonize a religion is not going to help anything,” Ferguson said. “When did free speech turn into a hateful generalization of Islam?”
CAS junior Muniba Hassan said the panel will provoke hatred of Islam, which has caused many of her Muslim friends to be afraid to walk home at night.
“They used free speech as a way to hide their xenophobic agenda,” Hassan said.
GSP sophomore Rizvan Moosvi said the panel didn’t fully understand Islam.

We\’d like to congratulate NYU Muslim Chaplin Imam Khalid Latif, Sister Yvonne Ridley, Stop Political Terror and everyone who joined our email campaign to advance Global Civility at NYU.
All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds and may his blessings be upon our beloved Master Muhammad, his family and companions.

posted by Ismaeel at 11:20 AM |

IHRC ALERT: Prophet Muhammad Cartoons to be Displayed at New York University

This Wednesday 29 March 2006, the Objectivist Club at New York University (NYU) will be holding an event to discuss free speech at which the Danish cartoons purporting to depict the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) will be on display.

IHRC calls upon all campaigners to send an email to the President of NYU, John Sexton, and to the Director of Student Activities, Bob Butler, to express concern that the university will allow such Islamophobic cartoons to be shown on campus.

John Sexton: john.sexton@nyu.edu

Bob Butler: bob.butler@nyu.edu

A sample letter can be found below for your convenience.

Dear Sir,

Re: Islamophobia at NYU

I am deeply concerned about an event taking place at NYU this Wednesday 29 March at 7pm. The event, \’Unveiling the Danish Cartoons\’, is being organised by the Objectivist Club at NYU.

I have no objections about the event itself taking place to discuss the issues surrounding the cartoons – these are to be encouraged for dialogue and debate to take place. However, these cartoons are inherently racist and Islamophobic and offer no contribution whatsoever to the discussion. Their only purpose is to insult Islam and incite hatred against Muslims.

I doubt that NYU would ever want to be associated with anti-Semitic caricatures mocking Jews and Judaism or racist caricatures mocking black people. I am concerned that if these anti-Islamic cartoons are displayed, NYU will become associated with Islamophobia. This is of particular concern to Muslim students and staff on campus who have expressed fear over the chances of increased Islamophobia if the cartoons are displayed.

I look forward to hearing from you soon about this urgent matter.

Yours Faithfully,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]

————————————————————————————————————
If you are reusing this alert, please cite the source.
———————————————————————————————————–
For more information, please contact the office on the numbers or email below.
————————————————————————————————————
If you want to subscribe to the IHRC list please send an email to subscribe@ihrc.org

If you want to unsubscribe from the IHRC list please send an email from your subscribed email address to unsubscribe@ihrc.org
————————————————————————————————————

\”And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.\”

Holy Qur\’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75

Join the Struggle for Justice. Join IHRC.

Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org

,