Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, R-Pa., spoke last night at the University about confronting what he described as the threat of radical Islam and fighting "the war against Islamic fascism." The program, aimed at raising awareness, also sparked controversy among University student groups who criticized Santorum's stance.
Santorum began his speech by addressing what he considers the two greatest obstacles the United States now faces in foreign policy: first, the dwindling support of the American people in sustaining the war on Islamic fundamentalism and second, the failure of the Muslim world to confront fundamentalism.
According to Santorum, the lack of support for the war can be attributed to the activities of the American left, which he said fails to recognize Islamic fundamentalism as the real enemy and the immediate severity of the threat.
"Our leaders' [inability] to define the enemy leads to the second overall problem -- the Muslim community's inability to deal with other Muslims who want to spread violence," he said.
Santorum stressed Americans' failure to understand the fundamental cultural differences between American and Islamic societies. "Itis a war of world views," Santorum said.Santorum attributed the cultural divide to three fundamental differences between Islamic and American culture, including Muslims' more extensive sense of history, the differing teachings of Jesus and Muhammad and differences between Jesus and Muhammad as individuals. The differences, paired with Christians' and Muslims' personal responsibility to spread their religion worldwide, outline the clash between the two religions, Santorum said.
"A natural tension exists," he added. "Many times the expansion of faith causes the battles between the two worlds."
Concluding his lecture, Santorum said in order to work towards confronting Muslim radicals, Americans need to gain a greater understanding of Islam and the current global conflict.
Some student groups at the lecture, including the Muslim Student Association and Hoos Against Prejudice and Hatred, reacted to Santorum's message with anti-hatred signs and skepticism, briefly turning their backs to the speaker before the lecture.
During the question and answer session, Mohammad Hemyari, president of the University's Muslim Student Association, said the students' motivation was to raise awareness about prejudice.
After the lecture, Hemyari stressed that the American people deserve more credit than Santorum gave them for their ability to differentiate between degrees of Islamic radicalism.
"We have plenty of academics and professors who can be very knowledgeable and helpful," Hemyari said, adding that he was skeptical of Santorum's portrayal of Islam. "He didn't intend to differentiate between radical and mainstream Islam in his lecture."
According to fourth-year College student Phil Alito, who helped organize the lecture, a healthy debate between the two sides is vital to students' education.
"The important part is to recognize that the competition of ideas isn't bad," he said, noting that the success of lectures like this one comes from understanding the tensions and capabilities of others.
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