[Peace-discuss] [Peace] Fwd: Does the "War on Terror" Still Exist. Controversial Speaker at 7pm TONIGHT in Follinger Auditorium!!! PLEASE ATTEND!!!

[David Green]

Respectfully,

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from attending, out of curiosity, outrage, 
or whatever. But what can this accomplish?

Here's how I feel. We have a quiescent campus in regard to Israel-Palestine, 
anti-Long War, and other related issues. We have an addled right-wing economics 
professor, Fred Gottheil, claiming to stand up for women and gays in the Muslim 
world in order to silence criticism of Israel (for those who don't know, this 
was reflected in an article and subsequent letters in the N-G; the DI has 
refused to publish a letter I sent regarding this affair, and has covered it in 
no other way). 


So what does the Women's Resource Center, etc., have to say about all of this? 
There has to be a better way than to simply react to the appearnce of Daniel 
Pipes.

How about this? Let's document the violations to women's rights, gay rights, 
etc.  in the Muslim world that pertain to our wars (and Israel's) against them. 
Put along side that, if you want, a concern with honor killings, suppression of 
gays, etc. Put along side that a concern with the murder of women in this 
country by their husbands. I mean, some context and perspective,  if you want to 
make this about women, gays, or whomever (not that plain old men don't matter). 
Then let's think about a political analysis that makes some sense.

Then how about getting a panel organized to address the various issues raised by 
Islamophobia, Zionism on campus, Gottheil, his targets, etc. Shouldn't be too 
hard to attract an audience. But please, don't make an academic exercise out of 
it. We might address the racism of the institutions supporting this event, 
especially Hillel. Are you up for it? Can you handle being called an 
anti-Semite? It carries a little more wallop than being called a radical 
feminist.

For example, you might want to ask Matti Bunzl, the anthropologist (sic) who is 
head of the Program for Jewish Culture and Society, to talk about being a gay 
man and a Zionist, how that all works together in relation to human rights for 
Palestinians, etc., not to mention academic piety.  Lots to talk about, 
hypocritically or otherwise.

Or, we could just sit and fume at Daniel Pipes, as if this just started 
yesterday, when I've been talking about him for well over a decade, including 
before he visited here in 2003.

David Green




________________________________
From: Rachel Storm <rstorm2 at illinois.edu>
To: Jason C. Romero <jasoncromero at gmail.com>; Teresa Ramos 
<tramosuiuc at gmail.com>; Shantel Martinez <uiuc.martinez at gmail.com>; mister garza 
<mistergarza at gmail.com>; iaah-discussion-list at googlegroups.com; 
hardcore at iresist.org; peace at anti-war.net; Brian Dolinar <briandolinar at gmail.com>
Sent: Wed, October 13, 2010 1:41:18 PM
Subject: [Peace] Fwd: Does the "War on Terror" Still Exist. Controversial 
Speaker at 7pm TONIGHT in Follinger Auditorium!!! PLEASE ATTEND!!!

See below. I don't know much about Daniel Pipes, but he's all over Youtube  and 
and well, Fox News digs him. Anyone want to attend? 




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Campus Antiwar Network [U of I] <can.uiuc at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 1:23 PM
Subject: Does the "War on Terror" Still Exist. Controversial Speaker at 7pm 
TONIGHT in Follinger Auditorium!!! PLEASE ATTEND!!!
To: 


Hello all.  I just was made aware of this event.  Dr. Daniel Pipes is being 
brought here to give a talk tonight at 7pm in Follinger.  It is being 
cosponsored by Hillel, the Åmerican-Israeli Coalition, and other Pro-Israel, 
Islamophobic groups.  Following is more information.  Please join us in making 
sure the hatred and Islamophobic sentiments that will be spread tonight is not 
welcome on our campus!!!


The event is on the Hillel calendar, and also has a Facebook page, on which it 
says this:

"Does the "War on Terror" still exist? Dr. Daniel Pipes, Middle East scholar, 
author, and lecturer, will address this question, and shed light on a tumultuous 
struggle which extends from distant deserts to academic halls, from the sheep 
farm to the metropolis. You won't want to miss this amazing opportunity to hear 
Dr. Pipes' message, and ask him your questions directly!

Dr. Pipes studies, writes, and lectures nationwide on the ...conflict between 
radical Islam and the West. He knows Arabic, and has his doctorate in medieval 
Islamic history; his studies have led him to conclude that "It's a mistake to 
blame Islam, a religion 14 centuries old, for the evil that should be ascribed 
to militant Islam, a totalitarian ideology less than a century old. Militant 
Islam is the problem, but moderate Islam is the solution." He has taught world 
history at the University of Chicago, history at Harvard, and policy strategy at 
the Naval War College, in addition to directing the Foreign Policy Research 
Institute serving at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Today he directs the thinktank 
he founded, the Middle East Forum, and oversees Campus Watch, a project that 
critiques academic literature published by North American Middle East 
departments. His personal website is at www.DanielPipes.org.

This event is cosponsored by Stand With Us, the David Project, the Jewish 
Community Relations Council, the Hillel Foundation at the University of 
Illinois, the Chabad Jewish Center at the University of Illinois & 
Champaign-Urbana, the American-Israeli Student Coalition, Great News Radio 
(WGNN/WGNJ), the Orange and Blue Observer, and the Illini Conservative Union."
 
Certainly, speakers and organizations like this are promoting hate and 
Islamophobia. Hillel should be taken to task for this, let's make that clear. 
Nevertheless, I'm not at all sure what response is merited to what will most 
likely--in this era--be a poorly attended event.

-- 
University of Illinois Campus Antiwar Network
http://www.campusantiwar.net/
http://uiuccan.blogspot.com/



-- 
_____________________________________________Kind regards,

Rachel Storm 
Program Coordinator, Illinois Women's Resources Center
The Women's Resources Center, University of Illinois
Student Affairs--Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations
703 S. Wright Street, Champaign, IL 61820
MC-302
(217) 333-3137 (office phone)
(217) 244-3167 (fax)
(630) 677-7219 (cell)


"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark 
to read." -Groucho Marx


      
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