Two UCLA student groups held opposing events Friday evening
debating the cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammed and
sparked international controversy since they were originally
published in a Danish newspaper.
The later event, during which the student group L.O.G.I.C.
hosted a panel discussion and displayed the cartoons, aimed to
provide an intellectual discourse on the freedom of speech issues
surrounding the debate. A Muslim Students Association event had
been held earlier to denounce displays of the cartoons.
Taking precautions due to protests and confrontations at a
similar UC Irvine event last week and recent violence overseas
instigated by the cartoon’s exposure, university police put
in place safety measures that included security check-ins and bag
searches upon entrance to the later event.
The debate, which was held in a Dodd lecture hall, was attended
by an estimated 180 people, according to university police. Though
the debate between the panelists became heated at times, the event
was relatively subdued and did not have the verbal and physical
confrontations between attendees and organizers that occurred at
the Irvine event.
Representing different religious and political ideologies, the
panel consisted of four people, including Yaron Brook, the
president an executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute; Kevin
James, a KABC radio talk show host; Avi Davis, a journalist,
commentator and documentarian on the Middle East; and Khaleel
Mohammed, an assistant professor of religion at San Diego State
University.
After revealing the controversial cartoons, the panel was given
eight minutes to speak about their opinions on free speech within
the context of the images, and was given an additional two minutes
to respond to questions posed from the moderator.
“You don’t have the right to call to (for the)
murder of cartoonists, to incite violence,” Brook said,
adding that violent reactions against free speech are wrong,
regardless of the content.
Providing a differing perspective, Mohammed said he believes it
is not a question of whether the cartoons illustrated the image of
the prophet, which violates an Islamic principle, but rather that a
religious leader was portrayed in a demeaning manner.
“The issues is of how someone is depicted, not that of
depiction,” Mohammed said.
The MSA event, held earlier in the evening in lieu of a protest,
focused on the premise that the real world requires restrictions on
freedom of speech and expression, said Naem Abdulwali, the MSA
speaker who co-founded Al-Kawther, an American institute of
traditional Islamic studies.
While the L.O.G.I.C. event required advance ticket reservations
and bag checks, the MSA program featured a more minimalist
approach. With 100 people in attendence, Abdulwali was the only one
there to speak.
Abdulwali said that Islamic law provides for freedom of speech,
but that freedom must be curbed by mutual respect, and should be
regulated when offending the image of religious icons.
Read the Daily Bruin on Monday for complete coverage of
Friday’s events.