such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali
the author of the Infidel as a keynote speaker.,A very important thing I assume
about Baker Peace Conference is its goal to promote peace. Some may ask: How do you promote peace by inviting a controversial figure, such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the author of the Infidel, as a keynote speaker.
I would be the first to jump in defense of the university authorities, should anyone question the wisdom in this choice. First, controversies are part of the human discourse, and intellectual communities such as ours are not insulated from them. They provide the opportunity for the dissenter to stake his or her claim, and more so to defend it with reasoned argument in the hope that there will be some elucidation.
Second, we will be failing not only as an institution, but as a people, if we cannot generate and promote some of these controversies which could hopefully help in waking the conscience of society to some of the evils that plague us today.
If I were asked if the Ayaan keynote address were a success, I would not hesitate to respond in the affirmative. It did not only pass the litmus test of generating the controversies, but it also engendered the platform for dialogue. The effusive passions and energies that were directed toward the speaker told their own stories. And since her departure, one could still hear people discuss her in the library, the coffee shop, the bars and what have you.
I am returning to my two questions I put to the speaker. Ayaan suggested that when things go wrong, people resort to the known labels - racism and Islamophobia - to say that they are treated the way they are treated for those exact reasons. That was exactly what got me on my feet to ask if Ayaan were in denial of racism and Islamophobia, and then the issue of culture and religion. Her response to the question of racism was however forthright. She was not in denial! Imperialism, slavery, racial segregation are historical facts which define the historical contours of this great country.
We continue to live with some of their offshoots, even in the face of greater diversity as we see it today. So denial might imply outright IGNORANCE! Similarly, we cannot deny Islamphobia and find an easy handle to write it off. Though I am not a Muslim, I heard the strained voices of these people after the July 7 bombings in London. I witnessed the aftermath of that incident firsthand; it had its backlash for Muslims. We, therefore, cannot deny Islamophobia ign that sense. I am not by this saying that indeed there are not people out there who would hide behind the cloak of race and Islam to push us all in the wrong directions, for example, I am black and that's why you did that to me; or yes, I am a Muslim that's why you treated me the way you did.
Although Ayaan was very forthright in her bid to be as explicit as she was, she failed to win me, and many others in the audience, over. But by resorting to the audience for a verdict, I knew the response was going to be skewed. It was like bringing the proverbial corn to the rooster's arbitration, as we say in Africa. If I were to visit the Middle East or any predominantly Islamic community to supposedly speak about all the evils of Christianity and Western aggression, and then proceed with similar questions, the response of the audience would certainly be skewed against Christianity and Western civilization. This is against the backdrop of what we know both sides hold so dear. I hope our friends in audience research in the media can be of some help here.
Open-minded as I am, I think that Ayaan has a cause. But I think that cause needs better packaging than what we saw last Friday, especially if she is to win people to rally behind her to push for that cause. Though we all feel strongly about female genital mutilation, the solution is not simply juxtaposing the so-called House of Liberty and house of Islam, and declaring one better than the other.
Prosper Yao Tsikata is a graduate assistant in the Center for International Studies and E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
4
Opinion
Letter to the Editor
