Hello, I'm John Donvan, host and moderator of Intelligent Squared U.S. In this special

podcast, we're turning our attention to one of our former panelists, Ion Hershey Ali,

who became the center of a media firestorm this week when Brandeis University reversed

its decision to grant her an honorary degree. The school also revoked its invitation for

her to speak at the upcoming commencement ceremony. Ali was born in Somalia to a Muslim

family, and she is now an activist and writer. She is revered by women's rights advocates,

but her outspokeness against Islam offended many in the Brandeis community. The university

said in a statement, quote, she is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights

and we respect and appreciate her work to protect and defend the rights of women and girls

throughout the world that said, we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that

are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values. Well, what are some of those statements?

We can hear some of them in the Intelligent Squared U.S. debate from October 6, 2010, where

she spoke against the motion Islam is a religion of peace. We will also hear from her opponents

in the debate. First, here is Ion Hershey Ali arguing in her opening statement that Islam

is inherently a religion of conflict. And you look at a religion like Islam on an intellectual

level, it was expressed by the founder of Islam as a demolition of all other gods. From

those of you who are familiar with history, you know that no monotheistic religion can be

a religion of peace. Monotheistic religions know periods, lengthy periods of peace, but

they also know lengthy periods of war. The founder of Islam, Muhammad, in his lifetime

conducted 65 campaigns of war that were all successful. That history of militarism, combined

with the legacy of empire, those two points alone belive the motion tonight that Islam

is a religion of peace. But that's not all. When empires decline, those who are defeated

...