‘Martyrdom’ graduation sashes incite violence?
June 17, 2004: When it came to members of the University of California, Irvine, Muslim Students Association – a group that had expressed support for the terror group Hamas and displayed posters on campus equating the Star of David with the swastika – wearing “shahada” sashes to graduation ceremonies, university officials preferred to see no evil, despite some saying the displays were an incitement to violence.
Sally Peterson, dean of students at UCI, admitted the word “shahada,” besides being a reference to Islam, “has also taken on many other meanings depending on where you sit. For some it is seen as ‘kill all Jews’ or it is seen as a reference to suicide bombers,” she said.
“It’s clearly a violation of free speech if we do not permit it,” Peterson said. “There has been significant case law to back this up.”
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