The site of Nonie Darwish’s address had to be changed, but it went on as scheduled. The student who organized the event, and others as well, strongly suspected that the arson was connected to Nonie’s appearance on campus, as you can see from the letter below.
This indicates an increasing desperation on the part of the campus Left and its Islamic supremacist allies. They cannot refute the truths about jihad and Islamic supremacism that speakers like Nonie Darwish reveal, so they increasingly resort to thuggery: cancellations based on smears. Pie-throwing. Libelous email campaigns.
The one thing they do not do, and cannot do, is prove false what we are saying in defense of freedom against the global jihad. Generally they do not make the attempt, and when they do, only spin out ridiculous farragos full of tu quoque and other detours. More often, they attempt to silence and marginalize us in Alinskyite fashion — thereby revealing their abject intellectual bankruptcy.
Here is the student organizer’s letter to Nonie Darwish:
Dear Mrs. Darwish,
I just wanted to thank you for speaking at Boston University yesterday. I would like to apologize again for the confusion regarding the location of the event because of the fire. So far we know the fire was intentionally set in one of the bathrooms on the second floor of the building. It is still under investigation and I will let you know if any more updates come out. I was not the only person to think that the fire could have been set because you were scheduled to speak but I will inform you of any more developments. Once again thank you so much for coming to Boston University and I speak for everyone who attended the event when I say what you had to say was not only extremely important but a pleasure hearing.
The same student sent along an article about Nonie’s speech. “Activist: Arab-Israeli conflict rooted in Islamic law,” by Ciera Sadé Wade for the Daily Free Press, December 3:
The Arab-Israeli conflict will not be resolved unless the Middle East stops enforcing restrictive Islamic Laws on society, a writer and human rights activist said.
Nonie Darwish, author of several books including, “Cruel and Unusual [actually, it’s “Usual”] Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law,” spoke about human and women’s rights in the Middle East at Hillel House on Wednesday to an audience of 15.
Darwish said finger pointing is a problem in the Arab culture.
“Part of the Arab culture that is standing in the way of reformation is a lack of self-criticism,” she said.
Darwish, who grew up in Cairo, Egypt, said her Gaza elementary school subjected her to “intense hate speech” and peace was never an option.
“A lot of what Arabs understand is really fabrication,” she said.
Darwish said she started speaking after 9/11 when she discovered the terrorist leader was from her hometown. Mohamed Atta, a 9/11 terrorist, is from Cairo.
“I called a lot of people in Egypt, and they said ‘How dare you say this? This is a Jewish conspiracy,'” she said. “My heart was broken, and I sincerely cried.”
Darwish said her country is not seeing the reality of today’s world
“The truth is the only thing that will save them,” she said.
In addition, she said, Islam has wounded women. For example, men can have four wives and beat them for disobedience.
“A woman under Islamic law cannot get a divorce,” she said. “However, men can divorce his wife verbally under Islamic law . . . Wife killing is a phenomenon in Muslim countries.”
Women must have four male witnesses to prove rape, Darwish said. And women have to be virgins when they marry or they are killed.
“She has committed adultery unless there are four male witnesses,” she said. “Women are in prison for sexual violations.”
Darwish also discussed the rights of non-Muslims in Islamic countries.
“Under Islamic law, Jews and Christians can live in an Islamic country only if they live as inferior, pay taxes and give money to the Muslim state,” she said.
Darwish said she believes these laws are the root of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“The root of the conflict is seventh-century laws that are still practiced today, and no one wants to end these laws,” she said. “It’s still on books and taken seriously.”…