At the kickoff event for Muslim Awareness Week, Imam Siraj Wahajj spoke at the University in Wilson Hall last night about free speech in light of the recent Danish cartoon controversy.
Wahajj is a prominent speaker and world-renowned member of the Muslim-American community, according to the Muslim Students Association.
Wahajj is imam of the Masjid At-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., and also serves as a board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America.
In his talk, Wahajj said people must ask several questions as they consider freedom of speech.
"Whenever you talk about freedom of speech, I ask three questions," he said. "One, is it legal? Two, is it moral? And three, is it wise?"
Wahajj emphasized the legality of commenting on others' religions, especially with regard to the controversial Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. But he questioned the moral correctness of taking such actions.
"I believe the editor of that newspaper [Jyllands-Posten] was trying to provoke Muslims," Wahajj said. "You can't denigrate people, disrespect people. If my neighbor said something was offensive to him, I wouldn't do it. It's legal to do it, but is it right?"
Wahaj also addressed the violence associated with the Muslim response to the cartoon.
"What was the image of Muslims--some Muslims --who responded to the cartoon?" he asked. "It was negative because Muslims were doing negative things."
Muslim Students Association President Umair Javed, a third-year College student, was pleased with the night's event.
"It was exactly what I was looking for," Javed said. "We wanted to bring in a Muslim voice to use religion to comment on what happened. We don't see that in the news."
According to second-year College student Sarah Hasan, publicity chair of the Muslim Student Association, Javad traveled to New York to recruit Wahajj for the talk at the University.
"Imam Siraj Wahajj is so prominent a speaker, it was easy to narrow [the choices] down, and so Umair went to New York," she said.
Hasan hoped Wahajj's talk would help raise awareness about Islam.
"Islam is more than black or white images," Hasan said. "We're showing people that Muslims are concerned with freedom of speech. There's so much more to Islam than we see, and we want to raise awareness."
Third-year College student Ali Hafiz, another member of the Muslim Students Association, agreed.
"My personal hope for this week is that if one or two people can learn something, they can further dialogue and misconceptions can be erased," Hafiz said.
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