Brandeis University administration recently reversed their decision to award an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a fierce Somali-born women’s rights activist.
Administration of the Massachusetts-based university were quick to note that while they support her efforts to further women’s rights, they were unaware of Ali’s past inflammatory and extremely critical statements about Islam.
“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,” the university said. “That said, we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.”
Ali endured genital mutilation, beatings, multiple attempts at an arranged marriage and a civil war while she was raised in a strict Muslim family, and renounced her faith in her 30s. Ever since, Ali has garnered a reputation for being one of Islam’s most polarizing critics – even described as “hateful” and an “Islamophobe.”
In the New York Times article “Brandeis Cancels Plan to Give Honorary Degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Critic of Islam,” Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute expressed her dismay at Brandeis’ initial offer of an honorary degree.
“She has her very real personal story, she has her views, and she’s free to say what she’d like to say,” Berry said. “But for an institution like Brandeis to choose to honor someone like this is really disappointing.”
The media firestorm that emerged around Brandeis’ withdrawal has been small but fierce – however, all of this could have been avoided if Brandeis had done their homework. The withdrawal is obviously to avoid supporting Ali’s past statements, but the honorary degree itself was for her work in women’s rights.
So one woman’s views on a religion – strongly worded and in all honesty, understandably hateful considering what she has gone through – were strong enough to result in a university going through the public embarrassment of having to withdraw an offer for an honorary doctorate in response to public backlash.
I do not support nor condone Ali’s statements concerning Islam, but write to point out the simple truth some seem to be missing – the power of political correctness.
Let me be clear: I support Brandeis University’s decision to withdraw their offer of an honorary degree, because they do not and cannot agree with some of Ali’s stances – if her opinions disagree with their core values, are they not doing the same thing Ali does when she speaks on Islam? Upon the retraction, they invited her to the campus in the future to engage in a dialogue as a speaker, a decision I believe was wise. You can invite someone to speak on your campus and still not agree with what they are saying – the whole point of a dialogue, after all, is the interplay of differing ideas.
But to be frank, people are getting worked up over her opinions because she was not being politically correct. In taking a hardliner stance, the public seems to believe she should be reprimanded for her beliefs offending peoples’ delicate constitutions.
I may not agree with her, but I respect her for standing up for her beliefs. If the university wanted to officially honor her with an award, they should have been prepared to understand that modern society is intolerant of intolerance. Should a public figure actively and vocally profess to truly hate something, they are quickly smote down as if to say “the audacity! Who dares to have an offensive opinion and share it with others!”
Can we no longer voice our own opinions without someone crying foul? Where was the public outcry in instances where vicious critics of Christianity, or Judaism or Atheism spoke up? The world’s growing obsession with being careful to not offend anyone will blow up in our face if we don’t start toughening up – just because someone holds a contrary opinion to ours and voices it doesn’t give us the right to be a victim.
John Stuart Mill once gave voice to the thought that in the marketplace of ideas, differing opinions and methods all colliding would give birth to truth, rising from the competition to stand objectively, having endured both sides. I fear the public outcry that forced Brandeis’ withdrawal is simply another symptom of that marketplace drying up.
If all we hear is the opinion we agree with all the time, who is left to tell us we might be wrong?
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