Over the Edge + February 22, 2006

Supplement 9

ALL PHOTOS BY ALEX DOBROTA (CUP)
~ The February 10, 2006 protest in Montreal. From top: (1) Muslim protest-
ers rallied downtown against the publication of cartoons depicting Prophet
Muhammad. (2) Michel Brunelle (right) argues with protesters, (3) Amine
Bakas (right) holds a copy of the Qur'an. (4) Imam Said Jaziri of the Al-Qods
Mosque talks to the media during the protest he organized to decry the publi-
cation of cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad.

tlantic universities struggle to

proliferation

Protesters call for dismissal of professor,
newspaper pulled from racks

BY WILLIAM WOLFE-WYLIE
CUP ATLANTIC BUREAU CHIEF

SACKVILLE, N.B. (CUP) Uni-
versities in Halifax and Charlottetown
are the focus of a barrage of media at-
tention this week as they hurry to con-
trol the fallout from the publication,
posting, and protests against cartoons
featuring the prophet Mohammed,
most recently causing protests on the
campuses of Dalhousie and St. Mary's
University.

The Cadre, the student newspaper at
the University of Prince Edward Island,
and Peter March, associate professor
of philosophy at St. Mary's Univer-
sity, were both the target of decisions
by their universities’ administrations
to remove copies of the cartoons from
the campuses, Then; on Thursday, an
outdoor demonstration organized by
students against the cartoons hit the
Dalhousie University and St. Mary's
campuses.

St. Mary's University in Halifax was
the first to cause controversy over the
cartoons in Atlantic Canada when
professor of philosophy Peter March
posted the cartoons on his office door.
Several students requested an apology
from March and the University or-
dered him to remove the cartoons from
his door.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. on
Thursday, 4 group of about 100 stu-
dents gathered outside the student
union building at Dalhousie Univer-
sity and marched to the Saint Mary's
University Student Union building
by around 1:30 p.m. The march was
organized by a Saint Mary's student

group, Palestine Solidarity Students ,

Society. The organization is calling for
Marchss dismissal following his refusal
to apologize for posting the cartoons
on his office door.

“He shouldnt be teaching at the
school anymore,’ said Nour Afani, head
of the Palestine Solidarity Students
Society. “I can't bein a university with a

professor who doesn't respect me,’ she
said. “I dont think he knows anything
about this religion”

According to Afani, March attended
the demonstration and spoke with
students, But when confronted about
why he posted the cartoons, Afani said
students were not satisfied with his an-
swers.

“He had no answers. He had noth-
ing,’ she said. ;

“At approximately 12:30
p-m. on thursday, a group
of about 100 students
gathered outside the
student union building,
at Dalhousie University
and marched to the Sait
Marys University Stu-
dent Union buliding by
around 1:30 p.m.”

“All St. Mary's is behind -us,’ said
Afani, noting that a number of. St.
Mary's faculty were present at their
meetings on Wednesday and Thurs-
day.

According to Zachariah Churchill,
president of the Saint Mary's Students
Association, a number of complaints
have been received and the union sup-
ports the decision to demonstrate.

“We represent all students on cam-
pus and have a responsibility to be free
from discrimination and provocation,’
said Churchill, “We support the stance
[Palestine Solidarity Students Society]
have taken.’

The next step for both the student
union and the Palestine Solidarity Stu-
dents Society is with the university ad-
ministration. The SUPSS has drafted
a letter to the university president ex-
pressing their concerns and will await a
response before considering further ac-
tion. In response to the protest the uni-

control fallout of cartoons’

vetsity and the student union will be
speaking with Match about academic
freedom and the public display of the
cartoons.

The University of Prince Edward
Island also felt the sting of the cartoons
effect recently. The Cadre, the univer-
sity's student newspaper, reprinted all
twelve of the contentious cartoons in
it's Feb. 8 edition.

The UPEI administration ordered se-
curity to remove all copies of the Cadre
which contained the cartoons from
circulation. According to a statement
released by the University, the issue of
the Cadre was banned on campus “on
grounds that publication of the carica-
tures represents a reckless invitation to
public disorder and humiliation.’

Student reaction to the publication
of the cartoons has been mixed, While
some approve of the measures to make
the cartoons more visible and better
understand the debate, others feel that
freedom of speech only goes so far.

According to Cadre Editor-in-Chief
Ray Keating, reaction to the publica-
tion of the cartoons in that newspaper
has been “split” and that some Muslim
students he's spoken to “couldn't care
less.’ But the president of the UPEI
Students’ Union disagrees.

“We've been getting it with both bar-
rels,’ said Ryan Gallant, president of
the UPEI student union. His impres-
sion is that a lot of students disagreed
with the paper's decision to publish the
cartoons and that those students be-
lieve “there are some limits to freedom
of the press.”

A small group of muslim students
met with Gallant on Thursday to dis-
cuss their concerns. Gallant said the
the Students’ Union is considering set-
ting up an open forum to discuss the
cartoons, their publication, and Cadre
editorial policy with interested stu-
dents.

“We're hoping for some level of
homeostasis for the next day or so,’

said Gallant.

Islamophobia on the rise:
Wilfrid Laurier University professor

BY DAN POLISCHUK
THE CORD WEEKLY (WILFRID LAURIER
UNIVERSITY)

WATERLOO, ON. (CUP) The
illustrations in a Danish depicting
the prophet Mohammed , with one
showing the prophet wearing a bomb-
shaped turban, are “an example of the
increasing Islamophobia in Europe,’
stated Wilfrid Laurier Univeristy Is-
lamic studies lecturer Ruth Mas.

Mas went on to add that upon seeing
the caricatures, she believed that they

provide “an example of the systemic
post-Sept. 11 association of Muslims
with terrorism, as incitement to hatred
and as an attempt to bait Muslims.”

Arabic and Mediterranean stud-
ies professor Abderrahman Beggar
believes that the violent backlash is
deeply rooted in history and, even now,
European society is very judgmental of
Muslim immigrants.

“In Europe, they are not considered
100 per cent citizen. They are attacked
in their beliefs and their identity. They

are not accepted,” said Beggar.

Beggar also sees the riots as an exten-
sion. of what is happening with Mus-
lims in that region of the world, spe-
cifically in Iran, Iraq and Syria, while
stating that “the problem is not only in
Denmark, but it’s spread everywhere.’

‘All this is symptomatic to how this
minority is treated in the European
community, he offered.

To reach a solution, Mas feels that
“governments and citizens need to ac-
cept that. without justice. for all there
will never be peace.’

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