BOSTON -- After taking heat from some of its own over a decision to grant an honorary
degree to an advocate for Muslim women who has made comments critical of Islam,
Brandeis University withdrew the honor Tuesday night.
The university said in a statement that Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali would no longer
receive the honorary degree, which it had planned to award her at the May 18
commencement.
Ali, a member of the Dutch Parliament from 2003 to 2006, has been quoted as making
comments critical of Islam. That includes a 2007 interview with Reason Magazine in
which she said of the religion: "Once it's defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful.
It's very difficult to even talk about peace now. They're not interested in peace. I think
that we are at war with Islam. And there's no middle ground in wars."
Brandeis, outside Boston in Waltham, Mass., said it was not aware of Ali's statements
earlier.
"She is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights, and we respect and
appreciate her work to protect and defend the rights of women and girls throughout the
world," said the university's statement. "That said, we cannot overlook certain of her
past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values."
Even though the university withdrawing the honorary degree, "Ali is welcome to join us
on campus in the future to engage in a dialogue about these important issues," the
statement said.
Ali was raised in a strict Muslim family, but after surviving a civil war, genital mutilation,
beatings and an arranged marriage, she renounced the faith in her 30s. She declined to
comment this week to The Associated Press.
In 2007, Ali helped establish the AHA Foundation, which works to protect and defend the
rights of women in the West from oppression justified by religion and culture, according
to its website. The foundation also strives to protect basic rights and freedoms of women
and girls. This includes control of their own bodies, access to an education and the
ability to work outside the home and control their own income, the website says.
More than 85 of about 350 faculty members at Brandeis signed a letter asking for Ali to be
booted off the list of honorary degree recipients. And an online petition created Monday by
students at the school of 5,800 had gathered thousands of signatures from inside and
outside the university as of Tuesday afternoon.
"This is a real slap in the face to Muslim students," senior Sarah Fahmy, a member of
the Muslim Student Association who created the petition, said of the honor before the
university withdrew it.
Bernard Macy, a 1979 Brandeis graduate, sent an email this week to university
President Frederick Lawrence and several members of the faculty saying, "Thank you
for recognizing Ayaan Hirsi Ali for defending Muslim women against Islamist honor
violence."
But Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the
nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, said, "It is unconscionable that such a
prestigious university would honor someone with such openly hateful views."
The organization sent a letter to Lawrence on Tuesday requesting that it drop its plans
to honor Ali.
"This makes Muslim students feel very uneasy," Joseph Lumbard, chairman of Islamic
and Middle Eastern studies, said in an earlier interview. "They feel unwelcome here."
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/08/4048176/brandeis-u-decides-against-honor.html#storylink=cpy
Just a stranger on the bus
