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Liberal turnabout: UC Berkeley students want to ban Bill Maher because of his comments on Islam

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Oct 28 17:36:35 2014

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Berkeley students try to boot Bill Maher

By Jonathan Topaz
10/28/14 6:18 AM EDT

A student petition at University of California, Berkeley, aims to prevent Bill Maher from speaking on campus following his recent comments on Islam.

The petition, which now has more than 2,200 signatures and is circulated on change.org, demands that the university revoke its invitation for the liberal comedian to speak at a December commencement ceremony.

“Bill Maher is a blatant bigot and racist who has no respect for the values UC Berkeley students and administration stand for,” the petition reads. “Bill Maher’s public statements on various religions and cultures are offensive and his dangerous rhetoric has found its way into our campus communities.”

UC Berkeley student government senator Marium Navid and Khwaja Ahmed launched the petition Thursday, according to The Daily Californian. Ahmed is a member of the Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Coalition, which is a supporter of Navid.

In a subsequent interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Navid said she respects Maher’s right to free speech, but that a commencement address would give him greater authority. “The problem is that when you bring him to the university, you’re pretty much putting him into a privileged position,” she said. You’re raising his voice.”

Earlier this month, Maher made headlines during a debate on Islam on his HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher.” The comedian and Sam Harris — an author whose books have addressed the corrosive influence of organized religion — got into a heated exchange with actor Ben Affleck after they made comments urging liberals to stand up against Islam. Affleck at one point called Harris and Maher’s views on the religion “gross and racist.”

An ardent atheist, Maher has often argued that Islam has a worse influence on contemporary society than other religions. The petition lists a number of statements from throughout the comedian’s career, including a comment that Islam “acts like the mafia.”

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