Fox News Contributor Lisa Daftari Has Rutgers Speech Canceled – Islamophobia Cited
Rutgers University has canceled a speaking event for Lisa Daftari, a regular Fox News contributor, after some students accused her of Islamophobia.
Ironically, Daftari, who is a Rutgers alumna and Iranian Jew, was set to speak on “Radicalism on College Campuses” and free speech at universities.
A student led petition drove the cancellation. Adeel Ahmad, president of the university’s RU Progressives student organization, was the originator of the movement ot ban Daftari. He cited a speech at the Heritage Foundation where Daftari said “Islamic terror takes its guidance and teachings from the Quran, which is Sharia law.” The petition claimed it was just a “small sample of harmful rhetoric” from Daftari.
Daftari told the Jewish Journal in an interview that students could have asked her about past statements during a question-and-answer session at the event. “By silencing me, you’re only showing me your own prejudice and your own intolerance toward different points of view,” Daftari told the Jewish Journal.
Neal Buccino, Rutgers’ associate director of public and media relations at Rutgers, said in an email to the Journal that the university had decided to “postpone” the lecture. “The university will continue to go forward on events that reflect a wide variety of perspectives.”
Daftari took major issue with that statement in a tweet:
LET'S BE CLEAR- this was not a "postponement"- that is public relations talk for a cowardly CANCELLATION. @RutgersU told me the event was canceled.
— Lisa Daftari (@LisaDaftari) October 12, 2018
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