Saturday, November 21, 2009

Education

Religious Texts Taken Down After Complaints

September 05, 2008 04:53 PM ET | Alison Go | Permanent Link | Print

Muslim students are crying foul after the University of Southern California's provost took down historical documents that call for Muslims to kill Jewish people from a student group's site, the Daily Trojan reports. The documents come from a collection of scriptures known as hadiths, the words of Muhammad not included in the Quran. These hadiths, which include thousands of noninflammatory principles, were posted in their entirety on the school's server as part of the defunct Muslim Student Association's website.

The provost said that "the passage cited is truly despicable.... We did some investigations and have ordered the passage to be removed." But the Muslim Student Union, the dominant Muslim student group at USC, accused the university of censorship, calling the take-down "unprecedented and unconscionable."

"We are outraged at the censorship of a complete religious and classic text without consulting us or any religious authority first," the group said in the statement. "The 'compendium' is now incomplete. There are verses in many religious texts (be it the Torah or the New Testament) that when taken out of context can be taken as offensive."

Supporters of the move defend the provost's actions. "It may be part of the religious canon, but that doesn't make them less hateful," said David Horowitz, who has lobbied a number of schools to remove the "hadiths of hate," as he calls them, from their websites. Horowitz says this is the first he's heard of a university taking down documents after community members complained.

Tags: religion | Islam | USC

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Reader Comments

The Humor of Islam

I think you should all read this book. "The Humor OF Islam" by Az Zaqqum. It shows how muslim countries use those same hadiths in politics and policies.

There is a chapter on Abuse of Muslim Males and, Defending Islam. We see this every day.

Btw, Muhammad was 25 when he married Khadija.

Current disclaimer:

"The University of Southern California does not screen or control the content on this website and thus does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such content. All content on this website is provided by and is the sole responsibility of the student organization from which such content originated, and such content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University administration or the Board of Trustees"

Propoosed Change:

"The University of Southern California has determined that unlike other ancient religious texts, ancient Islamic texts contain informtion of an extremely heinous and vulgar nature, therefore the some of the content on this website has been screened. Furthermore, the University of Southern Calfornia does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of the remaining content. Any complaints regarding the remaining content on this website should be directed to the University administration or the Board of Trustees"

Disclaimer on the Muslim Students Association Website Needs Changing

Current disclaimer:

"The University of Southern California does not screen or control the content on this website and thus does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such content. All content on this website is provided by and is the sole responsibility of the student organization from which such content originated, and such content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the University administration or the Board of Trustees"

Propoosed Change:

"The University of Southern California has determined that unlike other ancient religious texts, ancient Islamic texts contian informtion of an extremely heinous and vulgar nature, therefore the some of the content on this website has been screened. Furthermore, the University of Southern Calfornia does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of the remaining content. Any complaints regarding the remaining content on this website should be directed to the University administration or the Board of Trustees"

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