|
Muslim Student Delivers “Jihad” Speech at Harvard Graduation
 |
|
Yasin's speech emphasized that a good Muslim can also be a patriotic American. |
By
Ayub Khan, IOL correspondent
CAMBRIDGE,
Massachusetts, June 7 (IslamOnline) - Harvard University student Ziyad M.
Yasin delivered a speech about personal "Jihad" at
Thursday's rain-soaked Commencement ceremonies. Yasin's speech,
originally entitled "American Jihad," was criticized by some
students and others who deemed it offensive and insensitive.
After a public outcry, including an anonymous e-mail death threat,
Yasin changed his title to "Of Faith and
Citizenship." He added one sentence condemning the
September 11 attacks but the remainder of the speech was unchanged.
Yasin's
repeated explanations over the past few days that his speech is
esoteric and spiritual as opposed to political failed to convince his
detractors - who demanded that he change both the title and the
contents of his speech. Speaking to IslamOnline on
Wednesday, June 5, Yasin said that he did not realize his speech would
be as controversial as it was made out to be. "My idea was to
show how Islam and America come together, how Islamic values and the
American dream are not only compatible, but complimentary," he
said.
Yasin
added that he also wanted to reclaim the word "Jihad"
from the way it has been misused and abused, by both Muslims and
non-Muslims. His critics among the student community and others,
however, started a systematic campaign against letting him speak at
the Commencement ceremony. Two graduating Harvard students started an
online petition criticizing the way Yasin was selected for the speech
and called on the University administration to either replace
Yasin with a " more appropriate" Commencement speaker
or have him give a speech on a less “divisive” topic.
Over
the past two weeks, Yasin had been the subject of intense media
attention with several television shows, including “Hardball” and
“Nightline” having him on air defending the appropriateness of his
speech.
When
asked by IslamOnline whether he would go ahead with his speech despite
all the controversy, Yasin responded, "There has never been any
doubt, in my mind or in that of the Harvard administration."
Amidst
all this attention, Yasin delivered his speech rather
uneventfully Thursday to rousing applause. He spoke of the
perceived contradiction between his Islamic faith and his American
citizenship.
"I
am one of you. But I am also one of ‘them.’ What do I mean? When I
am told that this is a world at war, a war between the great
civilizations and religions of the earth, I don't know whether to
laugh, or cry. ‘What about me?’ I ask. As a practicing Muslim and
a registered voter in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, am I, through
the combination of my faith and my citizenship, an inherent
contradiction?
“I
think not. Both the Qur’an and the [U.S.] Constitution, teach ideals
of peace, justice and compassion, ideals that command my love, and my
belief. Each of these texts, one the heart of my religion, the other
that of my country, demand a constant struggle to do what is
right," he said.
Defining
the meaning of “Jihad” he said, "The word for struggle in
Arabic, in the language of my faith, is “jihad.” It is a word that
has been corrupted and misinterpreted, both by those who do and do not
claim to be Muslims, and we saw last fall, to our great national and
personal loss, the results of this corruption. “Jihad,” in its
truest and purest form, the form to which all Muslims aspire, is the
determination to do right, to do justice even against your own
interests. It is an individual struggle for personal moral behavior.
“Especially
today, it is a struggle that exists on many levels: self-purification
and awareness, public service and social justice. On a global scale,
it is a struggle involving people of all ages, colors, and creeds, for
control of the big decisions: not only who controls what piece of
land, but more importantly who gets medicine, who can eat. "
He
urged the graduating seniors to look at their lives after
graduation as this kind of personal “jihad.”
“Harvard
graduates have a responsibility to leave their mark on the world,”
Yasin said. “I pray...that we will be the change we seek in this
world.”
A
handful of students protested the speech before the ceremony, handing
out red, white and blue pins. They also passed out handbills
highlighting the violent associations with “Jihad” and comparing
Yasin's public statements in the aftermath of September 11 to what
they perceive as the “patriotic quotations from U.S. President
George W. Bush.
But
both the protest and the rain failed to put a damper on Yasin's
speech, which received a loud applause and according to The Harvard
Crimson, even a partial standing ovation.
Most
graduates appreciated the speech, saying that it was less
controversial than they had expected. “Harvard is exactly the right
place to say these things loudly, to put an end to this stuff about
Christians opposing Muslims,” said Radoslav Raykov a graduate to The
Crimson.
Another
student, Alyssa M. Varley, told the newspaper, “After hearing the
speech, I think it’s awful they protested him. They should have
given him the benefit of the doubt, which is what I did.”
Yasin
majored in biomedical engineering and last summer worked as an intern
in Zambia developing public health information systems. This summer he
will be going to northern Pakistan on a Stride Rite fellowship, where
he will be working in “medical informatics,” doing disease mapping
and technology work which utilizes the Internet to allow rural doctors
to stay in contact with big-city hospitals.
|
