Judith Weiss has some questions for Brown University, after it rescinded an invitation to a former Muslim speaker that is critical of Islam:

1) Does the Brown Muslim student group have the same compunctions about bringing in a Jewish speaker who criticizes Judaism?

2) If they planned to bring one in and the Jewish students protested, would the Muslim students defer to them?

3) Has a Jew ever been silenced on a college campus for misrepresenting or denigrating Judaism?

4) Is the problem just that Darwish criticizes Islam, or that she compares it unfavorably to Judaism? For example, this appreciation of the self-reflection demanded during the High Holidays, contrasted with the shame/honor imperative of the Islam she grew up with. Is it that Darwish criticizes the Arab Middle East, or that she defends Israel?

5) Is it an acceptable stance at a university supposedly committed to the free flow of ideas for either group to have veto power over the others’ invited speakers? Whatever happened to reasoned disagreement? If Darwish is saying things that aren’t true or are unfair, let the Muslim students attend her speech and respectfully ask her tough questions.

The double standards and hypocrisy here are astounding, considering the kind of enthusiastic audiences that colleges can get for Palestinians and their sympathizers who criticize Israel and Jews.