UCI event gets heated

Hundreds gathered, security was tight and tempers flared Tuesday at a UC Irvine discussion that displayed political cartoons that have set off demonstrations in Europe and the Middle East.

Inside the student center, the UCI chapter of the College Republicans and the United American Committee held a panel discussion about several cartoons and about whether American Muslims are doing enough to repudiate terrorism.

Among the cartoons was one from a Danish newspaper that depicts the prophet Muhammad wearing a turban with a bomb’s lighted fuse coming out of it.

Outside, the school’s Muslim Student Union organized a protest. The group had asked that the cartoons not be shown, fearing it would generate hatred against Muslims.

A crowd of several hundred people shouted in unison, criticizing Republicans and proclaiming the greatness of Muhammad.

“I do find it offensive, and not only because it’s depicting Muhammad as a terrorist and all the connotations with that, but also it’s perpetuating racism in Europe,” said 21-year-old Suleman Ahmed, a student who was passing out fliers that urged people to “fight anti-Muslim racism on campus.”

A discussion could have been held without including the cartoons, he said.

“They know this is an issue that’s going to touch people personally,” Ahmed said.

Campus police kept a close watch on the protesters and inside the event. At the student center’s entrance, everyone was frisked before being admitted, and at least eight uniformed police officers kept order inside the filled auditorium.

The audience of about 350 people was noisy, clapping or yelling in response to the panelists and hecklers, and security escorted two people from the room.

The panelists were Ted Hayes, an activist on behalf of the homeless, Free Muslims Against Terrorism member Abed Jlelati, journalist Lee Kaplan, and conservative activist Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson.

Hayes, Kaplan and Peterson seemed to agree that Muslims need to do more to denounce terrorism before Americans should trust them.

“If they can protest us tonight, why can’t they stand up and protest these radical, hateful, anti-God Muslims?” Peterson said.

He also said Islam is “an evil religion” that teaches that Christians and Jews are infidels who should be destroyed.

About the cartoon that included the depiction of a bomb, Hayes said, “That’s not our image; the Muslims gave us that image themselves” by perpetrating suicide bombings.

Abed argued that Christians would be offended by a picture of Jesus being humiliated.

“It’s the price we have to pay for freedom, and the price we have to pay sometimes is to be offended,” Abed said.

He pleaded with the audience and other panelists not to paint all Muslims with the same brush and assume they’re intolerant and anti-American.

Political science major Jessica Barnett, 19, came to the discussion, but she had misgivings about the cartoons being shown.

“On principle, yes, [it’s OK to show them] but I still think it was bad,” she said. “I understand why they felt like their religion is under attack.”

After the discussion, student Eiman Behzadi, 23, was among the people standing outside watching the protesters. He said he wanted to see the talk but wasn’t able to get in.

“I think it’s good if people could rationally talk about it,” he said.

Asked what he thought about the protest, Behzadi would only say, “I’m just curious as to what everybody here is thinking.”