Ohio College Explains Appearance by Radical Islamist
May 16, 2008
As planned, Sinclair Community College will be playing host to the radical cleric Sheikh Khalid Yasin tonight. As I wrote on Tuesday, Yasin is notorious (across several continents, no less) for his anti-Semitic, anti-American views and his support of wife beating and the murder of homosexuals. His appearance is being sponsored by a local mosque, Masjid at-Taqwa. I contacted the mosque via phone and e-mail for an explanation as to why they would sponsor someone like Yasin. I didn't receive a response. Of course, given my previous experiences with extremism in some U.S. mosques (see here, here and here for starters), the Yasin endorsement, sadly, comes as no surprise.
But what about Sinclair Community College? I contacted the school's Director of College Relations, Natasha Baker, to find out why Sinclair would allow Yasin to speak on campus. Here was her e-mail response:
The Sinclair Conference Center is a full-service conference center providing fee-based meeting space and related services to businesses and organizations throughout the community in support of the college's educational mission. The Masjid Taqwa contracted with the Sinclair Center for the use of Smith Auditorium at 7 pm on Friday, May 16, for a community development event. This is not a college sponsored event. Any questions about the speaker or contents of the presentation should be directed to the event organizers.
Fair enough. Here were my follow-up questtions for Ms. Baker:
1) Does Sinclair consider an event featuring someone like Yasin "in support of the college's educational mission?" If yes, how so?
2) How much information did Sinclair have about the event before contracting the space out to Masjid at-Taqwa? Did Sinclair realize that Yasin would be the focus of the event before it granted the space? How much due diligence is done by Sinclair before it contracts out space to organizations?
3) Are there any circumstances under which Sinclair would deny a request for auditorium space? For example, if the KKK requested to use Sinclair's auditorium, would the college grant their request? Looking at Yasin's track record of statements and associations, the parallel here is not far-fetched.
Ms. Baker did not respond to my follow-up e-mails, but I was able to reach her this morning by phone. These were her main points:
--Sinclair considers the auditorium in which Yasin will speak "rented space, just like any other convention center."
--Sinclair did not have a hand in organizing the event, nor did it encourage students to attend. The event is not endorsed or sponsored by the college in any way.
--Masjid at-Taqwa requested the space for a "community development event." Sinclair did not inquire as to who the speakers would be before renting the space.
--When asked if Sinclair had any plans to drop the event due to Yasin's radical track record (which it was admittedly unaware of before contracting out the space), Baker replied, "No."
--I asked if Sinclair would be more closely vetting prospective groups and speakers in the future before allowing them to appear on campus. She replied, "We'd get in trouble if we did that. We'd be violating first amendment rights."
What do you think of the college's explanation? Does it fly? E-mail me at erick.stakelbeck@cbn.org with your thoughts.
STAKELBECK ON TERROR Main Page >>
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
