The editor of a student journal seeking Muslim viewpoints runs into wall of political correctness. Julia Bertelsmann describes the stifling of Harvard debate:
Many Muslim and Arab students preferred not to publish their views, fearing the threat of reprisal.
An Iranian student who had privately expressed opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declined to write, saying he preferred to “lay low” for fear of political consequences back home.
Another Iranian-American student backed out after sending me several articles about Iranian academics based in the U.S. who had been arrested on visits to Tehran. One such academic, Haleh Esfandiari, on a visit to her elderly mother, was detained for eight months and charged with crimes against “national security.” The student told me he feared the same fate and worried about what would become of his family if he ever expressed his views about Iran’s theocratic regime.
Similarly, an Arab student who was approached to speak about the situation in Darfur refused, saying that he was certain some of his compatriots at Harvard would report back home about his activities abroad and that he feared being arrested or harassed by his country’s security services. . . .
As an editor, I have yet to encounter a student—Jewish, Muslim, Christian or otherwise—who is the least bit afraid of criticizing Israel in public or in print.
Not everyone at Harvard experiences such problems. One professor’s view was stifled up to 20th place on the NY Times best seller list a month ago.
