The Tufts Interfaith Council of Medical Students is a committee of students representing a multiplicity of backgrounds and religious faiths. We are dedicated to mutual understanding, respectful dialogue and tolerance.
Though we are located on the Tufts Boston campus, we are ashamed and disappointed that the Primary Source, another organization representing a segment of the Tufts student body, would print material as misleading and derogatory as its April 11 piece "Islam - Arabic Translation: Submission". Such rhetoric not only defames Islam and marginalizes the Muslim student body, but also mires campus discussion of serious issues in sadly puerile rhetoric.
The Primary Source's piece claimed to "supplement the educational experience" of Islamic Awareness Week, a week-long event organized by the Muslim Students Association at Tufts (MSA). The piece deliberately mimicked fliers the MSA used to advertise their events.
It mocked the MSA's symbol of crescent and star, replacing the crescent with a sickle. It quoted verses from the Quran and examples of cruelty perpetrated by Muslims in an apparent attempt to show Islam as a misogynistic, homophobic and violent religion. The Quranic passages were taken entirely out of context, without so much as an acknowledgement of the nuanced Muslim understanding of the scripture or the hundreds of years of complex exegesis.
The piece concluded with this call: "If you are a peaceful Muslim who can explain or justify this astonishingly intolerant and inhuman behavior, we'd really like to hear from you! Please send all letters to tuftsprimarysource@gmail.com."
As we are an organization based out of one of the university's professional programs, we were appalled by the shoddy and deliberately misleading and malicious content of the article as well as its amateurish presentation. We encourage reasoned, informed and respectful debate amongst students of differing political and religious affiliations, but the Primary Source's article was incendiary provocation rather than a meaningful presentation of an informed point of view.
Professionalism demands facts be presented in their proper context, a genuine effort be made to understand the topic under investigation, the name of an author willing to take ownership and responsibility for the published material be attached to any editorial or satirical piece, and all calls to dialogue be sincere. Sadly, the Primary Source met none of these requirements.
Religious extremism and violence is an important and topical issue and should be discussed, but reducing the discussion to a charade of ugly caricatures obscures the complexity of the subject matter. Interfaith dialogue, the core principle of the Tufts Interfaith Council of Medical Students, is more than simply an intellectual exercise.
Though the sharing of insights from the different religions is a very important and poignant part of the work we do, fostering ecumenical understanding goes beyond the walls of the classroom. It replaces two-dimensional misconceptions about the religions of others and serves to humanize the adherents of those faiths. When friendship with a colleague of a different background replaces vague false impressions of an entire group of people, ignorance and the bigotry it supports are eroded and, indeed, appear unsophisticated and downright childish.
This is not a new concept. The scriptures of the different religions themselves promote tolerance. We feel it most appropriate to present our own quote of a verse from the Quran: "And do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation otherwise than in a most kindly manner - unless it be such of them as are bent on evildoing - and say: 'We believe in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, as well as that which has been bestowed upon you: for our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that We [all] surrender ourselves'" (29:46, translated by Muhammad Asad).
The verse not only commands Muslims to engage in respectful dialogue and search for common ground, but also recognizes the strain that is caused when hurtful speech is used.
The Primary Source hurts its cause of advancing conservative political principles by replacing intellectual discourse with libelous stereotyping. Fostering a reputation for unsophisticated bigotry only ensures that one's opinions of other matters will not be taken seriously. If The Primary Source wants to provoke thoughtful discussions on campus, it must change its methods. Otherwise it will continue to be perceived as a bastion of hate and ignorance.
We stand in solidarity with those who have been offended by this intentionally hurtful slur and all those who believe in reasoned and constructive dialogue. We remind the campus community that there are other more appropriate avenues to learn about Islam and encourage all to approach these issues with open minds and mutual respect. We hope that The Primary Source will learn the merits of professional conduct and discipline and move towards its true motto, "truth without sorrow," rather than the current - sorrow without truth.
Jacob Berman, Ari Bergman, Pritesh Gandhi, Zaid al Hinai, Chiduzie Madubata and Christopher Russo are first-year students at the Tufts University School of Medicine and members of the Tufts Interfaith Council of Medical Students.
