Daniel Pipes Delivers Lecture on Radical Islam

Renowned Middle East expert Daniel Pipes addressed a full Weissberg Commons on November 8, discussing current issues in the Middle East and the Islamic world.

A celebrated commentator on the Middle East issues, Pipes' syndicated columns appear weekly in Jewish newspapers around the U.S. He has been a guest on American news shows such as ABC World News Tonight, Crossfire, Nightline, and the O'Reilly Factor. He has also appeared on the BBC in England and on Al-Jazeera, one of the leading Arab television networks. His written work has appeared in magazines and newspapers such as The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Besides debating and writing for media outlets, Pipes also has written 12 books and has testified on congressional committies on Middle Eastern topics. In 1994, Pipes founded the Middle East Forum (MEF) which is an independent organization promoting American interests through various outlets, including media outreach and publications. The main objective of his organization is to be the vigilant eye in what he describes as "the age of disinformation." His more recent project is reaching out to university students with the Campus Watch program, which reviews and critiques Middle Eastern studies at universities. With Yeshiva starting its own chapter of MEF, the number of MEF clubs at American universities grows to six.

Pipes' lecture was entitled "Radical Islam and the War on Terror," and was co sponsored by the YU Israel Club and the Joseph Dunner Political Science Society. Pipes initially challenged the audience asking a few pointed questions, "How goes the war on terror? Are we winning? How do we defend against it? What do we make of the riots in France?" He described the current U.S. effort against the insurgency in Iraq as one of hardware and software, where the U.S. can have the most advanced tanks and air force (hardware), but the terrorists are working with spirit and emotion (software). These days, spirit and emotion trumps any air force, according to Pipes. This energy has been present for years, but only recently has the United States begun to try and contain it.

The real war on terror began on September 11th, but it is a much broader war than is normally understand. Pipes discussed that the war is not just about defeating the Taliban or Saddam Hussein; it has a wider scope that includes non-physical aspects. These aspects include Arab media and publications as well as textbooks used by children throughout the Arab world. To cleanse Afghanistan of the Taliban was only a partial victory, until peace is taught to its children, there will be no victory for the western world, says Pipes.

In this war, both sides have very large objectives. The U.S. wants to rid the world of terror, specifically Islamic terror, while the terrorists' goals are to apply Islamic law around the globe.

Pipes reminded the audience of attacks over the past twenty years that were the initial steps in radical Islam's attempt at conquest; such as the 1998 attacks on two U.S embassies in East Africa, and the failed mission in Mogadishu which resulted in a successful attack on a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter. According to Pipes, the fact that the U.S. did not forcefully respond to these incidents only motivated terrorists to attempt an attack on U.S. soil, resulting in the 9/11 attacks.

Pipes elaborated that the small percentage of fundamentalist extremists in the Islamic world have developed different modes of attacking and gaining influence. They use "targeted Jihad", killing outspoken clerics, leaders, and politicians who oppose their methods. The "French Intifada", as Pipes referred to the current riots in France, is a more productive political rebellion, far more effective than the London bombings. Finally, influencing political actions around the world, getting governments to make concessions in the legal system and in every public body, in order for matters to be more acceptable to Islam, are other methods of radical Islam attempting to take control.

Pipes closed by stating that no matter how much the technology and methods of the U.S. improve, so will the methods of the enemy, and we have to only be more and more careful.

After the speech, Pipes answered questions posed by the audience for nearly an hour on topics ranging from the French riots, to the recent anti-Israel remarks spoken by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and radical Islam in general. On the remarks by the Iranian president, Pipes noted that this type of incitement from the Muslim world is not surprising to him. The only surprising aspect is that someone of such high political power was the one who delivered the remarks.

The president of the MEF on the Wilf Campus, Alan Goldsmith (YC '06) was very impressed with the speech, saying that "Dr. Pipes eloquently emphasized that the war against Radical Islam has many fronts and that an American response must go far beyond counterterrorism." He was also impressed with the attendance at his new club's first event adding, "The excellent attendance showed that Y.U. students are interested in broader Middle East issues, and we at the Middle East Forum club look forward to providing them with stimulating programming in the months ahead."

Reaction from the students was just as positive. Arthur Finkelstein (YC '08) echoed Goldsmith's remarks saying, "Much like his many articles, I really enjoyed Daniel Pipes speech. He conveyed a very strong and urgent message of history unfolding beneath our eyes, and displayed the need for immediate action."

YU's MEF Club will have its second event next month, a roundtable discussion on Academic Freedom and Accountability. It will take place at the Beren Campus on December 5th.