Amid controversy, DePaul hosts programs on Islam and terrorism 

By Jean Lachowicz 

The DePaul Conservative Alliance (DCA) sponsored Terrorism Awareness Week Oct. 22 through 26 in partnership with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org. Organizers presented a forum, War with Iran?, and screened the film Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.

            The resulting debate spotlighted the divergent opinions of the “liberal left” and the “conservative right” on campus and nationally, as national organizations on both sides of the political fence aligned with student groups on the issues.

            The DCA indicated the week’s programs were affiliated loosely with Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, a nationally recognized week designated to call attention to political issues involving the Middle East, Islam, and international terrorism.

            Nicholas Hahn, DCA president and a DePaul junior majoring in political science, said, “We did exactly what we set out to do, and that is to encourage a campus-wide discussion of Islamist terrorism. Discussion has to happen at a university because a university is a marketplace of ideas and should never shy away from ideas that are politically incorrect. It’s important that we got the discussion going.”

            DCA created the events “to educate students and other Americans about the cadre of Islamic terrorists who have declared Holy War on the U.S.,” according to the Terrorism Awareness Project, sponsor of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week activities on 200 campuses around the country. DePaul was the only campus in the Chicago area, and one of only two in Illinois, listed as participants.

            The War with Iran? forum featured DePaul political science professor Scott Hibbard and author Robert Spencer, whose latest book is entitled Religion of Peace: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t. Hahn was pleased the event drew a standing room only crowd of more than 200.

            David Ellis, a freshman international studies student at DePaul who attended the forum, was disappointed in the event in general and Spencer in particular. “I thought this [would be] a credible event meant to educate the students on a possible outcome, not a one-sided sermon bashing Islam as a ‘violent religion.’ He [Spencer] encouraged a war with Iran,” Ellis said.

            Spencer’s question and answer session became acrimonious. Ellis described Spencer as ignoring some students’ questions, calling them “poorly conceived” or “misguided.” Ellis said, “One Muslim student pointed out passages from the Koran that asserted it was indeed a religion of peace. When the DePaul student asked Spencer’s interpretation of these passages, the speaker retorted ‘I can read.’”

            When another student exceeded the 30 seconds allowed to ask a question, Spencer’s private security guards, who call themselves “the Minute Men,” gripped the student by the arms and forced him out of the lecture hall, according to Ellis.

            “I’m glad Professor Hibbard attempted to provide some balance against the combined bias of the student from Iran, Spencer, and the moderator,” Ellis said.

            Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West also attracted a standing room only crowd. Hahn noted, “After the hour-long film, we had a discussion that lasted two and a half hours. The DePaul community is very interested in this issue.”

            An ad hoc student group called the Committee to Resist Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week presented an alternate event called Critical Perspectives on U.S. Foreign Policy—The Global War on Terror and Its Implications for Critical Thinking featuring John K. Wilson, author of Patriotic Correctness: Academic Freedom and Its Enemies; Raymond Lotta, political economist and author of Dissecting the Bush Doctrine; student speakers; and discussion and debate. DePaul political science professors Khalil Marrar and Scott Hibbard also spoke at the event, which about 100 students attended.

            The Project to Defend Dissent and Critical Thinking in Academia, www.defendcriticalthinking.org, supported the DePaul ad hoc student group’s event and similar events at campuses across the country, calling on them to “expose and defeat this reactionary offensive” of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.

            The DCA, www.depaulca.org, founded in 2005, is a nonpartisan organization that describes itself as welcoming and promoting “all flavors of conservatism.” Mick Paskiewicz, DCA vice president, said, “In years past, through the efforts of our members, our conservative voice has reached the DePaul community. Last year our voice was heard; our goal now is for it to be understood."

            November 5 through 9 was DCA’s Freedom Week, which included a Support the Troops rally to honor Veteran’s Day and a commemoration of the 18th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall featuring three Chicagoans, formerly living in the Soviet bloc, speaking about their experiences living under communism and what the destruction of the Berlin Wall meant to their lives and their countries. DCA’s Freedom Week is a project of the Young America’s Foundation.