Update 25 June 2014: This talk was cancelled by the organisers of FODI. See my post here on the cancellation and Channel 7's attempt to interview me about the campaign to boycott the talk.
It was brought to my attention by Eleanor Gordon-Smith on Twitter that the lineup for this year's Sydney Festival of Dangerous Ideas includes a talk by Uthman Badar, who will propose that "Honour Killings are Morally Justified":
I'm sure there will be well justified outrage that this man is being given a platform at a reputable event to apologise for the murder of women. A UN survey in 2008 found that at least 5,000 women around the world were killed each year in the name of 'honour'.
Three quick points need to be made about this event:
1. No matter what Uthman Badar says in his talk, the fact that his speed is titled "Honour Killing are Morally Justified" is disgusting. From the blurb, it appears he might(?) offer some intellectualised dancing around the issue and not actually apologise for the violence, but even if that's the case, it's worse that it be given the title it has.
2. I believe Uthman has every right to give this speech, though to the extent speech advocates violence (as opposed to putting it in a potentially false cultural context) it should remain criminal. However in a free society we have every right to boycott organisations and companies - like the Festival of Dangerous Ideas - that seek to make money from or generate publicity by promoting ideas and speech that we find objectionable or hateful.
3. I would not at all be surprised if the leadership at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas predicted perfectly reactions like mine and pushed ahead regardless. No doubt their explicit justification is that theirs is a festival of... dangerous ideas. But equally, I have no doubt that in their heart of hearts they know that the media coverage they will receive for this outrage will drive ticket sales, social media mentions and other things that relate to their prestige and or paycheque. If that's the case - and I think it is - it's disgusting cynical to the extreme.
Let's vote with our feet on this one - encourage your friends to boycott the entire festival. Pressure other speakers to refuse to be part of an event that features such hateful ideas and speech. Do not let limp rhetoric about free speech be an excuse for a man to be given a stage on which he says that it is in any way acceptable to murder women.
Edit: If anyone has the inclination, you should ask the corporate sponsors of FODI what they think of the company they have decided to keep. Sponsors include Samsung,JDJC Decaux, and Australian Ethical Super, Pensions and Inviestments.
It was brought to my attention by Eleanor Gordon-Smith on Twitter that the lineup for this year's Sydney Festival of Dangerous Ideas includes a talk by Uthman Badar, who will propose that "Honour Killings are Morally Justified":
For most of recorded history parents have reluctantly sacrificed their children—sending them to kill or be killed for the honour of their nation, their flag, their king, their religion. But what about killing for the honour of one’s family? Overwhelmingly, those who condemn ‘honour killings’ are based in the liberal democracies of the West. The accuser and moral judge is the secular (white) westerner and the accused is the oriental other; the powerful condemn the powerless. By taking a particular cultural view of honour, some killings are condemned whilst others are celebrated. In turn, the act becomes a symbol of everything that is allegedly wrong with the other culture.
I'm sure there will be well justified outrage that this man is being given a platform at a reputable event to apologise for the murder of women. A UN survey in 2008 found that at least 5,000 women around the world were killed each year in the name of 'honour'.
Three quick points need to be made about this event:
1. No matter what Uthman Badar says in his talk, the fact that his speed is titled "Honour Killing are Morally Justified" is disgusting. From the blurb, it appears he might(?) offer some intellectualised dancing around the issue and not actually apologise for the violence, but even if that's the case, it's worse that it be given the title it has.
2. I believe Uthman has every right to give this speech, though to the extent speech advocates violence (as opposed to putting it in a potentially false cultural context) it should remain criminal. However in a free society we have every right to boycott organisations and companies - like the Festival of Dangerous Ideas - that seek to make money from or generate publicity by promoting ideas and speech that we find objectionable or hateful.
3. I would not at all be surprised if the leadership at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas predicted perfectly reactions like mine and pushed ahead regardless. No doubt their explicit justification is that theirs is a festival of... dangerous ideas. But equally, I have no doubt that in their heart of hearts they know that the media coverage they will receive for this outrage will drive ticket sales, social media mentions and other things that relate to their prestige and or paycheque. If that's the case - and I think it is - it's disgusting cynical to the extreme.
Let's vote with our feet on this one - encourage your friends to boycott the entire festival. Pressure other speakers to refuse to be part of an event that features such hateful ideas and speech. Do not let limp rhetoric about free speech be an excuse for a man to be given a stage on which he says that it is in any way acceptable to murder women.
Edit: If anyone has the inclination, you should ask the corporate sponsors of FODI what they think of the company they have decided to keep. Sponsors include Samsung,
