On Jan. 21, in a videoconference hosted by the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, the Georgetown University Lecture Fund and the Georgetown International Relations Club, controversial Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi will address the Georgetown community. Al-Qaddafi will speak via satellite about the state of affairs between the Israelis and the Palestinians.The move to host al-Qaddafi was criticized by Hafed Al-Ghwell, director of the Dubai School of Government, in an open letter to CCAS director Michael Hudson.That the event has come under fire is hardly surprising. Al-Qaddafi has been accused of some of the most horrific human rights violations of any sitting head of state. Al-Ghwell claimed that CCAS and Georgetown would be giving al-Qaddafi an opportunity to legitimize these alleged crimes.In our view, however, the decision to invite al-Qaddafi should be applauded. The event will exemplify Georgetown’s commitment to international studies. Without a doubt, there is special value in hosting one of the most polarizing figures in world politics of late – even if the views he expresses are controversial or even offensive.Arguments similar to Al-Ghwell’s were made in opposition to Columbia University’s invitation to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak in 2007. Campus groups protested when Chris Simcox, president of the controversial anti-illegal immigration group Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, visited Georgetown in 2006.Different perspectives promote a sort of intellectual growth impossible to attain in the classroom. As Hudson wrote in response to the criticism, “[Al-Qaddafi] has spoken in similar videoconference format at Columbia, Oxford and Cambridge – why shouldn’t Georgetown students also have the opportunity if it is possible?”The university should continue to honor its commitment to honest discourse by allowing discussions like these to be two-way streets. If al-Qaddafi will have free reign to address the Georgetown community, then students should have the same opportunity.We urge students to ask al-Qaddafi the tough questions. Any chance for Georgetown students to test the intellectual rigor of a controversial world leader should be seized and promoted. There is a difference between challenging and invigorating our intellectual life and giving a random despot a platform to spew nonsense. We believe that al-Qaddafi’s virtual visit will come down on the right side of this sometimes contentious line.
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