How to be Stupid at Yale

College students sometimes do dumb things. I never did, but I’m told that others may have. However, sometimes the administrators at a college exhibit more idiocy than the students. Such is the case at Yale University.

You may remember the furor caused by the publishing of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad printed in a Danish newspaper a few years back. On September 30, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published twelve cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Most of the cartoons portrayed Muhammad, or his radical followers, as being violent or encouraging violence. Five months after the publication, hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Asia and Europe took to the streets in protest. Some of the protesters, claiming the cartoon’s portrayal of Islam as a violent religion was an outrageous lie, turned violent. Certain fanatic Muslims called for the death of the editors and publishers of the Danish newspaper, as well as for anyone else who published the cartoons.

Now here’s the connection to Yale. A Brandeis professor named Jytte Klausen has written a book entitled “The Cartoons That Shook The World”. She studied and analyzed both the decision to publish the Muhammad cartoons and the reaction that ensued. Her book will be published by Yale University Press at the end of September.

You would think that a scholarly book about the Muhammad cartoons would include a reproduction of those Muhammad cartoons. How can you write a scholarly book about the cartoons, without reproducing the cartoons? After all, they had already been published in the Danish newspaper and in many newspapers around the world afterwards. But Yale University Press decided otherwise. They told the author that they would not print her book if it contained the cartoons. So the author took them out. And the publisher’s zeal to limit free speech didn’t stop there. They also told the author that her book could not contain any images of Muhammad. The publisher reasoned that the cartoons or an image of Muhammad might offend someone, and the offended person might get violent. So better to leave it out.

This is idiocy. The Board of Governors of Yale University Press are cowards. They are making a mockery of scholarly research. Worse yet, they are playing into the hand of radical Muslims who argue that no negative portrayal of Islam or Muslims should ever be tolerated. By censoring this book, Yale is strengthening those who use intimidation or a threat of violence to stifle the free-flow of ideas. We must confront those who use violence to stifle criticism. Changing our ways due to a threat of violence only leads to more threats of violence. Shame on Yale.

For the record, Yale University Press is a department of Yale University. A majority of its Board of Governors are administrators or professors at Yale. It’s mission statement reads: “By publishing serious works that contribute to a global understanding of human affairs, Yale University Press aids in the discovery and dissemination of light and truth, lux et veritas, which is a central purpose of Yale University. The publications of the Press are books and other materials that further scholarly investigation, advance interdisciplinary inquiry, stimulate public debate, educate both within and outside the classroom, and enhance cultural life.”

Maybe the mission statement needs to be changed. To be more honest, Yale University Press should have added to the mission statement the tag line “that are in accordance with our multi-culturist views that hold not offending anyone to be the highest value”. Or “Censorshop is abhorred, except when we’re doing the censoring”. Simply put, stupidity is alive and well at Yale.