On Ahmadinejad’s visit to Columbia

The decision of Columbia University in New York to have Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak was a noble one.  At least it probably started off that way. The event, however, ended up being an absurd showcase of political rhetoric, rather than a forum for dialogue and debate.

The invitation was given on the grounds that academic freedom and freedom of speech should be promoted and practiced, despite popular sentiments at Columbia that the Iranian regime has eliminated those freedoms within Iran. President of Columbia, Lee Bollinger faced the threat of political and financial repercussions for inviting Ahmadinejad to speak, but prior to the Iranian president’s arrival, Bollinger made clear that an invitation to let someone speak should not be confused with an endorsement of the speaker’s views and that he would follow through with his invitation plans.

A university is a place of pluralism and civilized debate, which is what Bollinger was promising to prove through his invitation, but the goodwill of that gesture turned out to be hollow. He betrayed the original decency of his invitation. 

Instead introducing Ahmadinejad without bias or disrespect Bollinger gave a 15-minute oration of unconcealed judgment and contempt for his guest and the Iranian regime.

The undiplomatic language and tone of Bollinger’s speech was out of place at a university where standards of diplomatic debate and intellectual tolerance should be strictly adhered to.  

Granted, Ahmadinejad has proven himself to be totally unconcerned about whether his words meet any standards of diplomacy or truth (i.e. when he told the Columbia audience, “in Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We do not have this phenomenon.”). But the president of an internationally renowned academic institution like Columbia University should not lower his standards or the reputation of the University by calling his guest names (“petty and cruel dictator”) and brazenly addressing the fallacy of Ahmadinejad’s obviously fictitious claims.

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