Daring to Dissent in a Free Country

by: Sami A. Al-Arian
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 19, 2003

Different or even unpopular analyses, understanding, or interpretation of historical events or future readings have been an integral part of America's intellectual landscape as well as a great source of its strength and uniqueness. However, it's clear that the desperate campaign by pro-Israeli zealots to demonize me has reached the level of obsession. The latest attempt was an article by retired sociologist Lionel Lewis of New York (Perspective, The limits of faculty freedom, Dec. 29). Mr. Lewis believes that if a professor at an academic institution is involved in a publication that criticizes U.S. policy or publishes what he calls views of "dissent", then he is guilty of "moral turpitude" and his involvement is therefore "an adequate cause for firing a tenured professor."

By Lewis' definition, perhaps half of the faculty across the U.S. would qualify as dissenters, and thus be candidates for termination. Professor Lewis laments that a publication that I edited for a couple of years, more than a decade ago, criticized aspects of U.S. foreign policy. Perhaps he never heard of Z magazine, Counterpunch, The Nation, Mother Jones, or The New American.

The objective of his article was to simply muddy the waters and inflame the public in the aftermath of Sept. 11th. I contend that not only is it permissible to criticize government policy or publish dissenting views, but democracies can never function without this criticism. America has prided itself on its constitution and the bill of rights, which most certainly include the right to dissent and criticize governmental policy without fear of reprisal or punishment.

In his article, Mr. Lewis has selectively quoted statements from the magazine Inquiry criticizing aspects of U.S. foreign policy. Mr. Lewis' logic is that since I edited a magazine that included dissenting views, I am somehow guilty of viewing the West "with suspicion" and "propagating the culture of terrorism". He claims that I showed "poor judgment" and thus, "forfeited my right to a permanent academic appointment. "

Let's examine such logic within the context of American values and history.

Is the Times' editor Paul Tash or editor of editorials Philip Gailey responsible for the views espoused by Times columnist Bill Maxwell or syndicated columnists such as William Safire? Whether or not their editors agree with them, it is an accepted norm that only authors represent their views.

Is it acceptable in a democracy, that considers itself the defender of basic and political freedoms worldwide, to have dissenting views, even if everything done by the government is questioned? Our history tells us that all colossal changes in our society started with people who espoused opposing views in such issues as slavery, women's rights, and Vietnam. Indeed, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Muhammad Ali were considered "radicals" and "dissenters" during their struggles. Why does Mr. Lewis want to exempt U.S. policy toward the Middle East or the Islamic World from such a normal process?

Although Mr. Lewis concedes that "there (was) nothing in Inquiry that unmistakenly [sic] counsels acts of terrorism," he then slips his guilt by association routine by examining two published poems. The poems Mr. Lewis attacked were written by a young American female student of Palestinian origin, at the high point of the first Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation in 1990. They demonstrate the Palestinian spirit of valor, resistance and reliance on God. Mr. Lewis characterizes the poems as "encouragement of children to take an active part in suicide bombings". In his attempt to rewrite history, Mr. Lewis conveniently ignores the fact that the Palestinian uprising at the time was essentially non-violent with hundreds of children killed by the occupation, and that the phenomenon of suicide bombings was totally unheard of at the time since suicide bombings did not start until April 1994.

It is high time for Mr. Lewis and his cohorts to get over their frantic attempts to silence and demonize those who hold different viewpoints from theirs. I call on them instead to discuss the real issues and the relevant facts; not to attack and demonize.

Sami Al-Arian is a computer engineering professor at the University of South Florida who has been on forced paid leave.