Judith Weiss has some questions for Brown University, after it rescinded an invitation to a former Muslim speaker that is critical of Islam:

1) Does the Brown Muslim student group have the same compunctions about bringing in a Jewish speaker who criticizes Judaism?

2) If they planned to bring one in and the Jewish students protested, would the Muslim students defer to them?

3) Has a Jew ever been silenced on a college campus for misrepresenting or denigrating Judaism?

4) Is the problem just that Darwish criticizes Islam, or that she compares it unfavorably to Judaism? For example, this appreciation of the self-reflection demanded during the High Holidays, contrasted with the shame/honor imperative of the Islam she grew up with. Is it that Darwish criticizes the Arab Middle East, or that she defends Israel?

5) Is it an acceptable stance at a university supposedly committed to the free flow of ideas for either group to have veto power over the others' invited speakers? Whatever happened to reasoned disagreement? If Darwish is saying things that aren't true or are unfair, let the Muslim students attend her speech and respectfully ask her tough questions.

The double standards and hypocrisy here are astounding, considering the kind of enthusiastic audiences that colleges can get for Palestinians and their sympathizers who criticize Israel and Jews.

Constitutional free speech only provides protection from government persecution. Brown University being a private institution can do whatever they like, regardless of the damage that their idiocy is doing to both the Ivy League system and their own social capital.

This sort of thing is nothing new. More years ago than I care to think, I was on the student committee that brought speakers on campus. At one point we had the opportunity to invite Moshe Dayan to speak. The Muslim students objected, with veiled threats of vioence, and so the conensus was (which by the way, I disagreed with) that Dayan not be invited. It was one of my first exposures to Islamo fascism.

While the concerns raised may be appropriate, they should be placed in context. I don't see why the Jew/Moslem comparison is explored to this extent. The Moslems don't have AIPAC. I wouldn't really worry about the condition of the Jews in America. I would worry more about the White Underclass - the "rednecks" deluded into supporting Bush's vision of America which asures them no gay marriage but precious little else.

Constitutional free speech only provides protection from government persecution. Brown University being a private institution can do whatever they like, regardless of the damage that their idiocy is doing to both the Ivy League system and their own social capital.

What's your point? Who said anything about the Constitution? Brown has a right to do this, and we have a right to call them on it.

While the concerns raised may be appropriate, they should be placed in context. I don't see why the Jew/Moslem comparison is explored to this extent. The Moslems don't have AIPAC.

No, they have CAIR, which the media treats with kid gloves, despite their support of terrorism.

Adrasteia's argument fails in light of Brown's ostensible commitment to free speech. FIRE routinely pursues successful legal action against private universities based on their publicly proclaimed values. Lookee here.

"Enquirer" must be a synonym for "Troll." I see that there is now a White Underclass that's been deluded -- great cover words for racial hatred. Oddly enough, that underclass includes nearly everyone I know who makes more than the median household income. I say "nearly" because it doesn't include me -- I've never been a Bush supporter. I just know better than to believe "liberal" hate speech.

> The Moslems don't have AIPAC.

Does this mean that Repubs, since they lost the election, should feel free to engage in physical violence?

To paraphrase Powerline, the socially acceptable discourse on campus is becoming ever narrower before our eyes. People need to develop some backbone.

First they came for the ROTC groups. Next they came for the Minutemen, then they came for the Zionists. After that,they came for the Pro-Life group then the NRA and soon they'll come for you, but it will be too late.

You have to understand what "free speech" means at many modern universities. You're free to speak any opinion the professors agree with. You're free to criticize conservatives, Israel, or Jews to your heart's content. However, if you dare speak out against liberalism or gasp! criticize Islam, then you're a dangerous bigot who must be silenced.