UPDATE: I am informed, and it is the case, that the column that looked like it was written by Chris Stedman, which I mention at the bottom of my post, was actually written by Sarah Jones, described as “Communications Associate for Americans United for Separation of Church and State,” and she was talking about the revocation of Hirsi Ali’s honorary degree at Brandeis, not the new incident at Yale. This is given in the column, and I simply overlooked it. I have corrected what I wrote below and apologize to Stedman for my error and for characterizing him as a coward. The short-sightedness I attributed to him belongs instead to Ms. Jones, whose views are an embarrassment to both feminism and secularism. I would, however, like to know Stedman’s views on this issue, or whether he had any role in the Yale Humanist Group’s decision. If he stayed out of the whole thing, or, better yet, fought against their signing the letter, I give him kudos.

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who should be a hero to everyone who respects reason and those who stand up for it, can’t catch a break. First, despite her liberalism, she was forced to get a job with a conservative organization (The American Enterprise Institute) because, given her activism against Islam, no liberal organization would hire her.

Then Brandeis University offered her an honorary degree and, after Muslim-inspired protest, decided to withdraw it.

Now she has been invited to speak at Yale, but there is a terrific outcry and calls for her invitation be withdrawn or her remarks be tempered or balanced with someone who is a fan of Islam.

The story: as reported by The Yale Daily News, Hirsi Ali was was invited to give a talk on Islam versus the West:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali — a Somali-born American activist known for her women’s rights advocacy and critical remarks about Islam — is slated to give a lecture titled “Clash of Civilizations: Islam and the West” on Sep. 15 as part of the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program speaker series.

According to the National Review, the protest began with (of course) the Muslim Students Association, who wrote a letter and got 35 other groups to cosign it. Here is the letter with all the signatories:

From: Yale MSA <yalemsa@gmail.com>

Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2014 at 9:15 AM

Subject: Dear Friends: More Speech, Not Hate Speech

To: Yale MSA <yalemsa@gmail.com>

To the Yale community, and to the Buckley program board and staff,

We write to express our concerns about the speaker that is coming to campus this September 15, 2014. The Buckley Foundation is inviting Ayaan Hirsi Ali to discuss the topic “Clash of Civilizations: Islam and the West.” The level of radical inaccuracy in representing a faith that is part of our community compels all of us, not just Muslims on campus, to act on Yale’s fundamental values of freedom of speech and diversity of thought to express our sentiments. We sympathize with the unfortunate circumstances that Ms. Hirsi Ali faced in her Muslim household as a child and we recognize that such experiences do exist in many countries, including Muslim-majority ones. We condemn such actions and contend that Islam does not promote them. It is important to distinguish Islamic teachings from the practices of some Muslims, which can be based on a variety of sociopolitical reasons and which do exist in other non-Muslim communities around the world. Our concern is that Ms. Hirsi Ali is being invited to speak as an authority on Islam despite the fact that she does not hold the credentials to do so. In the past, under such authority, she has overlooked the complexity of sociopolitical issues in Muslim-majority countries and has purported that Islam promotes a number of violent and inhumane practices. At her worst, Ms. Hirsi Ali has said that Islam is a “destructive nihilistic cult of death” worshiping a “fire-breathing Allah” that, in all of its forms, needs to be “defeated.” While the Muslim community and its allies cannot but believe that the students of the Buckley program care to “promote intellectual diversity” in a respectful and purposeful manner, we do want to reiterate that we feel highly disrespected by the invitation of this speaker. Moreover, it would be more beneficial for someone with representative scholarly qualifications to be speaking if the goal is “to foster open political discussion and intellectual engagement on campus.” The comments Ms. Hirsi Ali has made on Islam have been classified as hate speech and have been considered unprotected libel and slander. She has been condemned for them by national organizations and universities. The Muslim community and its allies are disappointed that our own fellow Yalies would invite such a speaker knowingly and that she would have such a platform in our home. While we have legitimate concerns from what we know, and while we cannot overlook how marginalizing her presence will be to the Muslim community and how uncomfortable it will be for the community’s allies, we are hopeful that the discussion is constructive and that Ms. Hirsi Ali speaks only to her personal experiences and professional expertise. In advancing freedom of speech on campus, we are happy to work together, with the Buckley program and with others, to facilitate representative dialogue about Islam. We are also happy to engage anybody curious about why we feel this way. The Muslim community at Yale is vibrant and its doors are always open to those interested in learning more—not about a perceived clash of civilizations, but about Islam as something that represents a meaningful faith experience for a community of Yalies. We encourage you to reach out to the Coordinator of Muslim Life and to the Muslim Students Association to learn more about Muslim beliefs, practices, experiences, and events. We welcome those interested in honest learning and productive dialogue to visit the musalla in Bingham D or to join us in our next Friday service and lunch at 1:00pm in Dwight Chapel. With peace, The Women’s Center

Asian American Student Alliance (AASA)

Black Church at Yale (BCAY)

The Slifka Center

Council on Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)

Yale Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA)

Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship

Hindu Student Council (HSC)

St. Thomas More Undergraduate Council

Youth Evangelical Fellowship

The Arab Students Association (ASA)

Black Student Alliance (BSA)

Yale African Student Association (YASA)

Jews and Muslims at Yale (JAM)

Korean American Students at Yale (KASY)

South Asian Society (SAS)

Yale Friends of Turkey

Nepali Association of Yale-Undergraduate Affiliates (NAYA)

Yale Friends of Israel (YFI)

Japanese American Student Union (JASU)

Yalies for Pakistan

Students of Nigeria

Chinese American Student Association (CASA)

Albanian Students at Yale College

Dominican Student Association

Taiwanese American Society (TAS)

Women’s Leadership Initative (WLI)

Students for Syrian Relief

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)

Building Bridges

Survivor’s Inbox

Asian American Political Action and Education Committee (PAEC)

J Street U

Broad Recognition

DisOrient and the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA)

You may object that this is not a call to withdraw her invitation, but that’s precisely its intention. As Breitbart reports:

Although The Yale Daily News says the MSA’s letter to the Buckley Foundation did not ask for the organization to dis-invite Hirsi Ali, Buckley Foundation president Rich Lizardo told Breitbart News on Wednesday that the MSA specifically attempted to get the foundation to withdraw its invitation to Hirsi Ali. “In our meeting the [MSA] student representative, said she would like the Buckley Program to reconsider the invite to [Hirsi Ali]. She said it ‘would be really offensive to many people in my community and we would prefer if she didn’t come on to campus on to our home,'” Lizardo said. “So I immediately said that would be a non-starter for us.”

But on to the letter. First, look at the signatories. It’s stunningly bizarre: women’s groups, ethnic organizations, a group that includes Jews (whom much of the Islamic world would like to see exterminated) and, most embarrassing, the Yale Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics! What were they thinking?

This is a prime example of how Muslims have immunized themselves from criticism—by pleading “offended feelings”—and how other groups, including liberal ones, have fallen for this ploy becaue they hold a double standard: offenses committed by Muslims are not as reprehensible as the same offenses committed by others.

And Muslims feel “disrepected” by Hirsi Ali? Too damn bad, for “disrespected” here means simply “criticized.” College students simply have to learn to listen to criticism about their views, and not live in an echo chamber where all criticism of religion—especially Islam—is considered “disrespectful” and out of bounds. We should not be dupes to the Muslim ploy, so far successful, of fending off criticism by calling it “Islamophobia.” It is a deliberate strategy that is part of their proselytizing.

And the letter is so ridiculous it’s almost laughable. Here’s one part:

Our concern is that Ms. Hirsi Ali is being invited to speak as an authority on Islam despite the fact that she does not hold the credentials to do so.

What? She studied Islam extensively, was a devout Muslim for years, and then realized how dysfunctional it was—and she was a Muslim in Kenya, Somalia, and Saudi Arabia. Her genitals were ripped up as part of her religious initiation. She was oppressed, repressed, terrorized, and then expelled from the Netherlands after she had worked her way up from a penniless immigrant to a member of Parliament (the Dutch later rescinded her expulsion). She has bodyguards all of the time—clearly something that has nothing to do with Islam! Don’t tell me she is not an authority on Islam. She has experienced the bad parts of Islam far more extensively than the privileged students at Yale whose ears are so tender that they can’t abide hearing anything that opposes their preconceived notions.

And this is just a lie:

We sympathize with the unfortunate circumstances that Ms. Hirsi Ali faced in her Muslim household as a child and we recognize that such experiences do exist in many countries, including Muslim-majority ones. We condemn such actions and contend that Islam does not promote them.

Of course Islam promotes horrible actions in many countries: just read Hirsi Ali’s book Infidel (something I suspect most of the signatories have not done). What else is ISIS doing but exactly what these ignoramuses say is not happening? Or, if ISIS seems too extreme, what about Saudi Arabia? Women can’t drive or go out by themselves, and must be veiled. The country is subject to sharia law, and they regularly behead people (8 last month alone, for crimes like adultery, sorcery, and apostasy). That has nothing to do with Islam? Give me a break! What world are those signatories living in?

Here’s some further dissimulation:

While the Muslim community and its allies cannot but believe that the students of the Buckley program care to “promote intellectual diversity” in a respectful and purposeful manner, we do want to reiterate that we feel highly disrespected by the invitation of this speaker. Moreover, it would be more beneficial for someone with representative scholarly qualifications to be speaking if the goal is “to foster open political discussion and intellectual engagement on campus.”

Translation: “The only speaker acceptable to us is one who does not criticize Islam.”

As for her “hate speech,” she has indeed made several strong remarks, but remember that what Muslims consider “inflammatory” is basically anything critical of their faith. Perhaps she went overboard in a few remarks, but consider her entire history, her speeches, and her record. Regardless, what she said does not rise to the level of “hate speech,” but is merely passionate criticism of Islam. Hatred of the faith, perhaps, but not of its adherents. Saying “Islam must be defeated” is not hate speech, but an opinion, one regularly rendered by Christopher Hitchens. “Defeated” does not mean “all Muslims should be killed,” but “defeated by fighting against Islam’s tenets.” As for her talk’s title, I do see this as a clash of civilizations. And as for Islam being a “nihilistic cult of death,” well, no, it’s not nihilistic, but the jihadis are certainly part of a cult of death. This is just quibbling over words: what the Yale groups really don’t like is that Hirsi Ali simply criticizes Islam, loudly and effectively. She is “Islamophobic.” She is “disrepecting” another “culture.” And so they pick a few ambiguous phrases to devalue her entire life’s work.

Fortunately, Yale (the sponsor is another conservative group, the Buckley Foundation) is not going to withdraw her invitation. But you can be sure there will be death threats and lots of security.

Among others who have criticized Hirsi Ali is, disappointingly, the “faitheist” Chris Stedman, now a humanist leader at Yale , Sarah Jones (Communications Associate for Americans United for Separation of Church and State) who, in a piece at the Religion News Service, joins the chorus in characterizing Hirsi Ali as an Islamophobe (her piece is about the Brandeis incident). At least she doesn’t explicitly call for a boycott:

In a social climate like this, Hirsi Ali’s prejudice isn’t merely offensive—it’s potentially dangerous. Please defend her right to speak. But you should also denounce her views for what they are: hateful. Any other position amounts to apologetics for prejudice—and there’s nothing rational about that.

Yes, I’ll defend Hirsi Ali’s right to speak, but I’ll also defend her criticism of Islam as a divisive and often hateful religion, one that is, perhaps, the world’s most dangerous faith. To hear Hirsi Ali, once a devout Muslim, characterized as being “prejudiced” against Islam is risible. According to my online dictionary, “prejudice” means “a preconceived opinion not based on reason or actual experience.” Well, Hirsi Ali had lots of experience with Islam, and in several countries. She is the target of death threats, and has been tremendously brave to keep on with her criticism of Islam, especially after her colleague Theo van Gogh was killed by Muslims who didn’t like the movie the two of them made. (Have a look at what brought on his death.)

The cowards are the people like Jones and the signatories of the letter above, including the Yale Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics, who are shudder at the thought of having their tender ears exposed to the realities of the world’s most dysfunctional faith, or their tender necks exposed to the swords of Islamic revenge-mongers (remember the Danish cartoons?).

And the signers of the letter, most of whom surely have never read Hirsi Ali’s books, are not just cowards, but deeply misguided. Their views are inimical to the freedom of expression that is one of our major guarantors of freedom. If they don’t want to hear her, they don’t have to go to her talk. Or they are perfectly free to counter her speech with other speech.

Finally, recall this passage from the letter (my emphasis).

We sympathize with the unfortunate circumstances that Ms. Hirsi Ali faced in her Muslim household as a child and we recognize that such experiences do exist in many countries, including Muslim-majority ones. We condemn such actions and contend that Islam does not promote them.

By characterizing Hirsi Ali as “prejudiced” and “hateful,” Jones, the Muslim Students’ Association, and all the signatories of the letters are in effect excusing or overlooking the terrible oppression of women, the medieval brutality of sharia law, the beheading and crucifying of infidels, the fatwas against writers, the death threats against cartoonists and those who dare name a teddy bear after the Prophet, the calls for a return of the Holocaust—all the malfeasance and horror associated with many strains of Islam. And those acts are “not promoted by Islam”? Those who say such things brand themselves as willfully ignorant. In the end, it is they who, by pretending that religion has nothing to do with anything bad, are the true enablers of hatred and brutality on this planet. They need to learn that hating beliefs is not the same as hating believers.