The union has claimed
Student Rights has more on Warwick University Student Union’s cancellation of its Atheists, Secularists and Humanists’ Society’s invitation to Maryam Namazie to speak October 28.
In an email published by Namazie, the union has claimed: “a number of articles written both by the speaker and by others…indicate that she is highly inflammatory, and could incite hatred on campus”.
But you could say that about anyone, or almost anyone. People who give talks on how to make cookies or how to plant a garden are unlikely to incite hatred on campus…but frankly they’re unlikely to be invited to give talks, too, because why bother? It’s pretty dishonest, not to mention prejudicial and even somewhat threatening to call Maryam “highly inflammatory.” It’s as if they want to inflame people against her.
This decision is all the more absurd given that the Student Union gave permission for Ken O’Keefe to speak on-campus in March this year.
Even the most cursory online search reveals that O’Keefe is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist, who was condemned by a number of student Palestine Societies in 2012 after he claimed that “Israel and Mossad were directly involved in 9/11”.
In response to this criticism, he suggested he was being attacked for standing against “the Jewish supremacism that is of dire consequence to our world” and claimed:
“Israeli Mossad worked with high treason traitors in the US government to set explosives in the twin towers and building 7 on 9/11“.
So the Student Union is ok with that but not with Maryam. That’s twisted.
That a principled anti-racist campaigner with a history of opposing extremism should be barred from campus, but the above speakers were waved through is astonishing.
List of shame, Warwick University SU.
Indeed.
Also of note – she’s a woman.
So, they’ve bought into the notion that a woman with an opinion is ipso facto dangerous.
Appalling that Warwick uni. would cpaitulate and treat Maryam Namazie liekthat. Sahme onthem inded -and sad and disgusting that they allow blatant anti-Semites who are much more “highly inflammatory” a platform to spew their hate as well.
Maryam Nazamazie has a blog post on this here :
http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2015/09/25/warwick-university-student-union-the-islamists-incite-hatred-not-us/
If folks want to read her statements on this directly.
(Hope its okay to link this FTB one – note her blog is one of the many good ones there in my view. I do know that there have been issues with some bloggers & commenters there attacking Ophelia Benson in frankly appalling and outrageous ways in past months.)
Typos fix, sorry. Make that first line :
“Appalling that Warwick uni. would capitulate to the haters and extremists and treat Maryam Namazie like that. Shame on them indeed.”
Mea culpa. (Wish we could edit here, should’ve previewed I know.)
PS. Note from the conclusion of that Namazie link : “By the way Warwick, in case you’re wondering, I will speak at your university – as I will be soon at Trinity College Dublin despite my initial talk being cancelled by organisers.”
Hmm.. not sure what that means or what’s happening there beyond those words actually. (Can’t see or post comments there either,maybe a computer issue at my end?)