Nonie Darwish Gets the "Mean Girl" Treatment at Wellesley

Nonie Darwish spoke at Wellesley College last week.  I'm sorry I missed it, but Phyllis Chesler wrote about it here.  Seems that the Muslimah were out in force, interrupting Dariwsh's lecture in a passive/aggressive manner:

“ 'The radical Muslims on American campuses are getting more belligerent, far more militant,' author and lecturer Nonie Darwish tells me. 'They have perfected their intimidation and disruption techniques.' "

"Darwish is a beautiful and passionate speaker. She is an expressive, emotional orator, dramatically thrilling (as so many Arabs can be), but Darwish is also soft, almost maternal when she speaks. She is also very clear, very firm, and totally uncompromising. She grew up in Cairo and in Gaza and now lives in America. She has founded Arabs for Israel. She is pro-American and also concerned with women’s rights. Her first book, Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror, is clear-sighted, well-written, and extremely brave."

"Darwish is the daughter of a high-ranking Egyptian military officer who died in battle against the Israelis and who is considered a “shahid,” or martyr. While she continues to love her father, she has “shaken off,” renounced, the hate propaganda with which she was raised."

"Last week, on October 18, 2007, our hero Darwish spoke at the all-female Wellesley College as the guest of Hillel on campus. She was not treated as a hero; then again, maybe she was, maybe her treatment is precisely how heroes are greeted on American campuses today."

"About 80-100 students came. Far more Muslim than Jewish students came and “so many” of the Muslim girls were wearing head-scarves."

"According to Darwish, the female students in head-scarves did the following: As she spoke, they made exaggerated, “mean girl” faces at her. They rolled their eyes, practiced 'disbelieving' facial expressions—did everything but stick out their tongues. And they continued to talk to each other in loud whispers while Darwish spoke: 'How can she tell such lies!'  'I was never, ever indoctrinated against Jews!' 'Can you believe what she is saying?' 'We do not call Jews pigs and apes, how can she lie about her own people?' ”

"In addition to the 'mean girl' faces and the continual loud whispering, one by one, at least four to five head-scarved girls, got up to leave the room during Darwish’s speech. This meant that each girl took two minutes to move to the end of her row, physically causing the other students to get up or twist aside, causing the entire room to look at the departing student, not at their invited guest—and then each girl did precisely the same thing when she returned two minutes later, presumably from a bathroom break."

"They quadruple-teamed Darwish and did not stop until Darwish ended her lecture. Twenty to thirty minutes of soft-core, well-choreographed, goon squad behavior. 'They are Hamas-trained' says Darwish."

"....The Muslim chaplain at Wellesley herself wears a headscarf, and arrived accompanied by a bearded male companion. Darwish asks: 'Who is paying for all these Muslim chaplains on every American campus? Why are they needed? What is their real role?' ”

I believe I can partly answer that question!  The Muslim student advisor (I don't think she's a chaplain) is Nancy Khalil, a protege of Imam- oh!  excuse me! - Sheikh - Basyouny Nehela of the Islamic Society of Boston.  Khalil is also a student advisor at Boston College, and she's known for pushing the Muslim students to wear hijab.  Where do the imams come from? They mostly come from Egypt or Pakistan around here, and they are paid for by the Muslim American Society, who offers "free imams" to the area colleges.  More from Darwish:

Darwish concludes: 'Muslim girls like these are like gangsters. They know more about their rights in America than the Jewish girls do. The Muslim girls all have a chip on their shoulders.' ”

"And then she is silent. Softly, she says: 'We are fighting an avalanche. We are too few. I am frightened by my culture of origin. I am scared of my own people.' ”

Gangsters aren't born that way.  They're taught to be like that.  At Wellesley, of all places!  If any readers attended this lecture, please write anfd tell me about it.  Thanks in advance.

Comments

[Azzam]

If this can happen at Wellesley then the intimidation level at other schools may be outside the scale.
How is that possible?
Here are some research questions for students. They should find the answers and many of their concerns will be proven legitimate.
Q1. How did Nancy Khalil project herself into Wellesley? Trace her whole history, the agitation about the former Muslim Student Adviser, etc.
Q2. Why is it that the name of the Muslim Student Association was changed?
Q3. Is the role of an adviser to be that of a link to outside organizations (that do not reveal their denomination) and coerce students to join retreats (weekend jaunts, away from campus, with holy men who also do not reveal their denomination? (Do the parents know, this is happening? Wellesley may be in for a big Law suite.Aafia Siddiqui's parents are thinking of suing MIT!)
Q4. How many times Nancy Khalil takes Wellesley students to the Islamic Society of Boston in Cambridge to be lectured by Mr. Basyouny Nehela during the overnight Tarbiya sessions? Does Wellesley have a complete biography of Mr. B. Nehela or at least his "denomination"? (Then parents can intelligently discuss the MSA scene at Wellesley with students. There is no Stealth denomination in Islam.)
Q5. Has Nancy Khalil revealed to Wellesley Administration the money flow through her hands to the Wellesley students? Where she gets it? Why it is given as "scholarships" to certain students and secretly? Is it not against the honor code to keep financial help secret and against the financial aid office rules to keep financial awards hidden?
Would Wellesley allow an adviser to continue who has built a secret financial kingdom unknown to the Scholarship Committees? (It exists. Have her deposed under oath and the truth will come out.)

[Mary]

i am white, jewish and american. i think that noni is spreading hatred and thus tearing already hurt people even further apart. please please, start preaching tolerance, love and acceptance of the other... not hatred and misinformation. and why are you helping her in this ridiculous but scary crusade? i am very concerned... the politics of my country today make me want to tear up my passport (i wonder. do you have one?) its always a good start....

love
peace

Mary.

[miss kelly]

Mary, you seem unduly distressed by what Darwish - a Muslim Arab woman who grew up and lived in Egypt for more than 35 years - has to say about the dangers that Islamic fundamentalism poses to women. She ought to know. Darwish is concerned to see the same dynamics operating here in the US. So was Sheikh Ahmed Mansour, also of Egypt, who was sued by the Islamic Society of Boston when he spoke out about Wahabi literature and preaching he encountered at the ISB mosque in Cambridge, MA.

Why is it "hatred" to point out a problem? What is "ridiculous" about speaking out against an ideology that restricts women's freedoms and rights, an ideology that is considers that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims?

Yes, I have a passport and have traveled a fair amount in Europe and Central America. If you tear up your passport, though, how will you be able to leave this frightening country?

[Raha]

hmmmm, I have close relations with Wellesley Alums (some of them Muslim) and was there before and after Nancy and (although I was not present at the speech) I have to object to the characterization of Ms. Khalil. Your questions make her seem like some sort of "Islam pusher." or terrorist cell operator. To the best of my knowledge that is not the case. (please correct me if that is not what you are hinting at)

Just one example of what I mean, attendance at "tarbiya"/qiyam sessions and other events at the ISB were status quo for Wellesley Muslims before she came into the picture. I'm not saying that everyone went, but it was not uncommon to have a Wellesley delegation in attendance.

at any rate, I would like to know where to find the information/research data that you intimate exists. It seems to me that when juxtaposing a first hand experience with some different written accounts can render very different readings of history.

well, that's just my two cents.

[miss kelly]

Raha, I spoke with two Wellesley women who were present at the talk, and they confimed the deliberate, sustained rudeness directed at Darwish. Not becoming of Wellesley students.

As far as the info on Ms. Khalil, if I reveal my sources here, I wouldn't have those sources anymore. Let's just say that there are several Muslim students at Wellesley and other Boston colleges, as well as parents of those students, who have contacted me and who object to the radicalism of the Muslim student organizations. They reject Khalil's pressures to wear hijab. They have complained about being forced to wear hijab at Muslim student retreats. They complained about being told that they shouldn't laugh or run at these retreats, that is unislamic behaviour for women. Imagine that for Wellesley women!

[Concerned]

I'm really very concerned by the double standard that is portrayed in this blog. If you think that Ms.Khalil is being "mean", then what do you call what Ms.Nonie Darwish says regarding a whole religion? If freedom of speech includes freedom of hate, and if you refuse to criticize Ms.Nonie Darwish, then what are your justification to criticize Ms.Khalil?

The other thing is that, where the Muslim students and Wellesley forced to go to the ISB? were they forced to wear hijab by Ms.Khalil? If they do it willingly, then I don't see what is the problem with that?

If you really are standing up for freedom of speech, then please stop the double standard attitude, and give the freedom to everyone without discrimination.

One last thing, Ms.Nonie is NOT a Muslim, and she does not represent the Muslim nor the Arab world. And if you do not believe my claim, then google her and you will find that she is the most hated women amongst the Muslim and Arab world. A person who is hated by a group can never be a representative of a group.

[Kelly]

Nonie Darwish is the "most hated woman (sic) amongst the Muslim and Arab world"?? Not Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Bridgette Gabriel or Wafa Sultan? I think there are quite a few strong, outspoken women who are vying for the honor and distinction of being "the most hated woman" by Muslims and Arabs. Kind of sad, your phrase belies the prevalence of hatred as a force in that world.

Nowhere in the above post did I say that Ms. Khalil was mean. I said that the young Muslim ladies who repeatedly interrupted Darwish's lecture were the "mean girls." They should have debated Darwish, fought her with their intellect and ideas, not engaged in juvenile displays of disrepect and disruption. It was a university setting, after all.

[orangey]

Good Response:

http://muslimahmediawatch.org/2007/10/24/false-idols-nonie-darwish-speaks-for-islamo-facism-awareness-week-2/