PRESS ADVISORY
AYN RAND INSTITUTE

The Threat of Totalitarian Islam
A panel discussion at NYU

What: A panel discussion on the nature and threat of totalitarian Islam, followed by a Q&A

Who: Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute; Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum; and Flemming Rose, cultural editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten

Where: New York University, Kimmel Center, E&L Auditorium, New York, NY

When: Monday, May 5, 2008, at 8 pm

Admission is FREE and open to the public. All attendees must RSVP to nyuoc_president@yahoo.com

Description: What is the nature of totalitarian Islam--is it limited to terrorism or is it a broader movement? Are non-Muslims its only victims? Who precisely is the enemy? Does the West bear responsibility for creating this movement? What policies can defeat it?

Defenders of Islam around the world have striven to silence critics with threats, protests and acts of violence. How should the West respond to demands for censorship, as in the Danish cartoon controversy? 

Panelists will address these critical issues in a lively discussion.

Bios:

Yaron Brook is executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute and a recognized Middle East expert who has written and lectured on a variety of Middle East issues. Dr. Brook has discussed the Israeli-Arab conflict and the war on Islamic totalitarianism on hundreds of radio and TV programs, including FOX News's The O'Reilly Factor, Your World with Neil Cavuto, At Large with Geraldo Rivera; CNN's Talkback Live; CNBC's Closing Bell and On the Money; and a C-SPAN panel of experts on terrorism.

Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate. Abroad, he appears weekly in Israel's Jerusalem Post, Italy's l'Opinione, Spain's La Razón and monthly in Australia's and Canada's Globe and Mail. His Web site, DanielPipes.org, is the single most accessed internet source of specialized information on the Middle East and Islam. Mr. Pipes has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Reports, Crossfire, Good Morning America, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Nightline, O'Reilly Factor, The Today Show, the BBC and Al-Jazeera.

Flemming Rose is a Danish journalist, author and the cultural editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. In September 2005 Mr. Rose commissioned a series of cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad. He was concerned about the tendency toward self-censorship in Europe and some Muslims' insistence on special treatment of their religious sensitivities in the public domain, which he wanted to bring forward for debate. The backlash from Muslims around the world caused an international crisis and the Danish government experienced its worst foreign policy crisis since the Nazi occupation during WWII.

For more information: e-mail media@aynrand.org

Dr. Yaron Brook is available for interviews now and after this event.
Contact: Larry Benson
E-mail: larryb@aynrand.org
Phone: (949) 222-6550 ext. 213

Please note: The above event is organized, hosted and sponsored by an individual campus club. Although ARI provides financial support, educational materials and speakers for eligible student clubs, campus clubs are organizations independent of ARI. ARI does not necessarily endorse the content of the lectures and sessions offered.