Nonie Darwish grew up as a Muslim girl in Egypt and wants to tell American university students what Sharia law is really like.
A lot of them don’t care to hear about it and don’t even think Darwish should have the freedom of speech to tell her side of the story — including some of the Georgetown University College Republicans (GUCR) who invited her to speak at their academy Tuesday night.
According to Campus Reform, her presentation at Georgetown University this week prompted a torrent of angry student voices who called Darwish’s condemnation of Sharia law “hate speech.”
The lecture was co-sponsored by the GUCR and the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute. Just days before Darwish was scheduled to appear, The Georgetown Voice published an article by undergrad student Aly Panjwani warning that the university would become a vehicle for the “hateful and violent views” that Darwish allegedly espouses.
Panjwani also suggested that the university had grievously offended Muslims by inviting Asra Nomani to speak, who is a Muslim woman and former Georgetown professor who happened to vote for President Donald Trump.
Without a hint of irony, Panjwani claimed, “My critique of these speakers is not an effort to silence free speech,” but only that “these speakers are not exercising free speech, they are exercising hate speech, a speech of the kind that no organization, especially at Georgetown, should endorse or give a platform to.”
Her appeal was supposedly supported by dozens of emails to the college republicans from the Muslim Students Association at Georgetown, prompting college republican secretary Javon Price to resign, stating on his Facebook page that Darwish should never have been invited because of the “clear distinction between free speech and hate speech.”
“I for one, reject and condemn any organization that hides behind the righteous principles of free speech,” wrote Price. “I implore the College Republicans to cancel this event. If not, we not only choose to ignore the voices of our fellow Hoyas, but to maliciously offend them and their beliefs.”
Falling on his sword earned Price the hearty congratulations of the The Georgetown University College Democrats, who concurred with his designation of the lecture as hate speech, as they threw in a little “Islamophobia” for good measure.
“Islamophobia and bigotry will not be tolerated in any form on Georgetown’s campus, especially not under the guise of conservatism.”
“Islamophobia” advocates organized their own event to compete with Darwish’s lecture, entitled “Muslim Responses to Islamophobia.”
Darwish faced her critics head-on when she answered questions following her presentation, saying she respects the right of anyone to disagree with her but, if so, they might at least come to the event and “ask questions.”
She told Campus Reform that her experience has demonstrated a dangerous double-standard towards religion on college campuses, where students are afraid to be critical of Islam but heap abuse on Christianity.
“This is scary to me,” said Darwish. “I want to kiss [the floor of America] because it gave me dignity as a woman, and I am speaking because I want to save you from making any ideology, not just Islam, above criticism. I beg you consider that.”
