On October 13, 2010, Middle east scholar Dr. Daniel Pipes gave a speech entitled “Does the War on Terror Still Exist?” at Foellinger Auditorium on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. I had the honor of introducing him.
Good evening! Thank you for coming! My name is Hannah Ihms, and I’m president of the campus club the Illini Conservative Union. This club is only one of the many organizations and individuals that made this event possible, including Stand With Us, the David Project, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Hillel Foundation at the University of Illinois, the Chabad Jewish Center at the University of Illinois & Champaign-Urbana, the American-Israeli Student Coalition, Great News Radio, and the Orange and Blue Observer. In addition, I want to especially thank Tahli Hanuka, Tali Segev, and Erez Cohen for their dedication and hard work at all stages of this event.
In a moment Dr. Daniel Pipes will share with us his insights after years of academic research. As students we all respect the freedom of speech and the right for academic freedom. Therefore we expect that Dr. Pipes will be given a stage with no interruptions. Following his formal lecture, there will be time for questions-and-answers. Every respectful question will be greeted with a respectful answer.
9/11 was our generation’s Pearl Harbor. It opened our eyes to something that our friends in Israel, Iran, and other countries had known for years. Today we can say with certainty that our lives have been altered by radical Islam. That’s why each of us has a stake in this talk tonight. There’s questions we need to raise, and answer.
Tonight, an expert on the Middle East will be joining us in answering some of these questions. Dr. Pipes has devoted his entire adult life to researching Middle Eastern issues. He studied Arabic in Cairo, and obtained his Ph.D. in Medieval Islamic History from Cambridge about the time that Ayatollah Khomeini was rising to power in Iran.
His understanding of the motives behind the headlines has helped him analyze events that others find mystifying. Dr. Pipes has addressed audiences across the world, and has taught at the Naval War College, the University of Chicago, and Harvard, as well as serving at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Today he directs the Middle East Forum, a thinktank he founded. He also oversees Campus Watch, a project that critiques work published by North American Middle East departments.
He carefully distinguishes between moderate Islam and radical Islam, and with his lifetime acquaintance with this topic, he is uniquely qualified to guide us in our pursuit of truth.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Daniel Pipes.