At What Point Can Mohammed Cartoon Displays Still Be Controversial?
7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Panel discussion on the Danish cartoon controversy; panelists include Jonathan Leaf, former New York Press editor who resigned over his paper’s decision not to publish the cartoons, and Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education; New York University, 60 Washington Square South at NYU Kimmel Center, Eisner and Lubin Auditorium, 4th floor.
–Note: Organizers plan to display Danish cartoons depicting Muhammad.
That display has become very controversial within NYU, which should be a surprise: this is an academic discussion of the cartoons, after all. An example of the protest circulating is the from from an e-mail by any NYU alum:
One of the cartoons depicts our prophet (peace be upon him) with a turban shaped like a bomb, making it seem as if Islam should be equated with terrorism. If these ideas themselves are not a deterrent for putting up the pictures, then the possibility of the tension and problems they might cause should serve as a reason to stop the displaying of the cartoons.
I’m an alumni now, but my heart is still deeply attached to NYU and especially so to the Islamic Center. I do not want the students who go there now to feel safe and feel as though they are being attacked by the NYU community. This is reminiscent of the days after 9-11 when many students, including myself, were fearful of traveling home alone, and many students shaved their beards and removed their headscarves because their parents wanted them to “blend in” and not be noticed as muslims. NYU and New York City itself is a vibrant, dynamic place with people from all backgrounds and faiths. In addition, NYU’s location would subject such an event to massive worldwide media attention. In the long run, no one will remember that a small club with only 20 or so members showed the cartoons, but rather it will be said that NYU allowed such an event to take place, making NYU look bad across the world, as NYU does have facilities across the globe, including parts of the world heavily populated by muslims.
And now, NYU has banned the display, if event organizers want to have off-campus attendees.
UPDATE: A notice just went out over the AP that the event tonight is closed to the press. I called FIRE to ask what happened, and they said that NYU was closing the event to anyone who didn’t register before noon yesterday. That is essentially shutting out the press, as in all likelihood few even heard of the event until yesterday afternoon. As anyone covering the City knows, even an appearance by Bill Clinton requires a pre-registration of at most a few hours.