In their pursuit of “religious understanding”, the good folks at the University of Pennsylvania have decided to invite Yvonne Ridley, a former journalist for the London Times and convert to Islam, to address students on the topic of Islam. There’s just one problem: Ms. Ridley is has expressed sympathy for the Taliban and is a supporter of suicide bombing, per Militant Islam Monitor:
While the country is fighting a war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, the question needs to be asked as to why UK citizen Yvonne Ridley, is being allowed into the United States to speak when she is a known supporter of jailed terrorist leader Abu Hamza Al Masri, who called her to offer his congratulations on her conversion to Islam. Ridley has expressed her support for suicide bombings at a forum which included a member of Al Muhajiroun, (a group which was connected to London subway attacks), and has made it her mission to propagandize on behalf of the Taliban, who inspired her conversion to Islam.
Ridley has described jailed terrorist Abu Hamza Al Masri “as a sweet guy” and proudly related that he gave her books on Islam. In an article about her conversion she taunted members of US intelligence agencies as “incompetent spooks” and joked about opening a Madrassah for recruits from my flat in Soho”.
Ms. Ridley, as a journalist in Afghanistan, was once held captive by the Taliban. She was so impressed by her captors that she decided to convert, giving new meaning to the term “Stockholm” syndrome:
“…Several days later I was released unharmed on humanitarian grounds on the orders of Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s one-eyed spiritual leader. My captors had treated me with courtesy and respect and so, in turn, I kept my word and set out to study their religion.”
Ms. Ridley later justified her support for the Taliban by stating that they had received “unfair press.”